Kerry Haters: We're Not Fonda John

 
Kerry's Magic Number



Kerry reveals how many votes in the UN Security Council it would take to get him to start evacuating New York City.

 
Kerry Haters FAQ

1. What's with the name?

It's memorable, and it's not entirely inaccurate. I didn't like John Kerry when I started blogging about him 800+ posts ago, and my opinion of the Botoxicated Brahmin has not improved since I really started paying attention to him. Kitty has mentioned that she felt an initial reservation about the site due to the name, which is understandable.

The New Republic had a blog called the Dean-O-Phobe, but Kerry-O-Phobe just didn't convey the message I wanted. I don't fear Kerry; I hate him. Hate is a shocking word; to say that you hate someone even I will admit says more about you than it does about the target of your hatred. I'll take that one for the team--Pat.

2. What can I expect to find here?

We try to offer our readers intelligent commentary about the presumptuous Democratic nominee John Forbes Kerry, mixed with humorously captioned photos and links to others who have intelligence on the famed Anti-War Criminal.

3. How can I tell the difference between Kitty's posts and Pat's posts?

A. Kitty has done a marvelous job of making this obvious. Kitty's posts have the header in ALL CAPS, while mine are in Initial Caps. Her headers are bolded and italicized, where mine are just bolded. In the text, my comments are plain, hers are boldfaced.

4. You're Republicans and just have nothing good to say about President Bush!

A. Guilty on the first part. We don't pretend to be Democrats. Not guilty on the second part. Both Kitty and I are happy every day that President Bush is in the White House. We could both list dozens of reasons why we want him to remain in office. But that is not the goal of KH. We want Bush to win. But we also Kerry to be rejected, resoundingly, by the American people. And we have chosen to express that here.

WELCOME!

 
Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200

The RNC invites you to play Kerryopoly.

Hat Tip: MJG's Political Blog.

 
Left Face

The New York Times remarks that the left wing of the Democratic Party is remarkably calm about the fact that Kerry is not going along with their desire for an immediate pullout from Iraq. They cite this as proof of the myth that Democrats are united in their desire for anybody but Bush.

"Kerry has less of a problem on the left in the Democratic Party than any Democratic candidate in my memory, which goes back to Kennedy," said Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, referring to John F. Kennedy. "The proof of that is I am less busy this presidential campaign than other ones. I'm not being sent out to calm down the left."

This is a complete fiction. For one thing, Ralph Nader is consistently getting 3-7% in current nationwide polls. In 2000, Nader got 2.7% of the vote. Now, Nader may have trouble translating those poll numbers into actual votes, especially since he's going to have to qualify state by state. But it certainly does not indicate that the left is falling in line.

 
Kerry's Louisiana Push Paying Dividends

President Bush won Louisiana by 8 points in 2000. Despite this, Kerry thinks he can break through to pick up a southern state, so he's been running ads and making personal appearances.

It's working. In March, a poll showed Kerry losing in Louisiana by a 14 percentage point margin. However, now that the Cajun State has gotten to know, know, know him, Kerry's losing in the latest poll by 19 points.

 
Yet Another Flip-Flop

Kausfiles nails both Kerry and Sandy Berger:

Another Kerry Surrogate Embarrassed: Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger says, "John Kerry has been amazingly consistent from the beginning on Iraq and he has been consistently right on the need for troops ..." MSNBC's Tom Curry immediately busts Berger:

In an April 30 Fulton, Mo., speech Kerry said that if U.S. commanders in Iraq need more troops then "they should get them."

Yet last September in a debate with other Democratic contenders in Albuquerque, N.M, Kerry emphatically opposed sending more American troops to Iraq. "We should not send more American troops," he said on Sept 4. "That would be the worst thing. We do not want to have more Americanization, we do not want a greater sense of American occupation." [Emphasis added]

Maybe Berger meant "amazingly consistent for John Kerry." ... Note to pro-withdrawal left: You'll always have Albuquerque!

 
John F'ing Kerry, Hawk

The NY Post takes on Nuancy Boy's recent hawkish pronouncements on what he'd do to the terrorists if elected.

Actually, Kerry has cited the 1991 Gulf War coalition as the proper way to build an alliance for military action — except that he opposed that war, too.

This time around, he complained, "They looked to force before exhausting diplomacy. They bullied when they should have persuaded."

Yet it was John Kerry who last September boasted that "I voted to threaten the use of force to make Saddam Hussein comply with the resolutions of the United Nations."

Four months earlier, he said that "it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein and . . . I support the fact that we did disarm him."

 
The Long and the Short of It

Michael Crowley presents everybody who could possibly be first mate on the SS Kerrytanic. He comes up with 28 names. Oddly, he misses the obvious--the other John Kerry. John Kerry the war hero should get a good percentage of the veteran vote, while John Kerry the peacenik should pick up the Kumbaya vote. The John Kerry who voted for the $87 billion can talk about how he supported the troops, while the John Kerry who voted against the $87 billion keeps the Ralph Nader-leaners in line.

 
Iraq Al-Qaeda Connection Detailed

Stephen F. Hayes spells it out in the Weekly Standard. I found this part the most interesting:

Where did journalists get the idea that Saddam and bin Laden might be coordinating efforts? Among other places, from high-ranking Clinton administration officials.

In the spring of 1998--well before the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa--the Clinton administration indicted Osama bin Laden. The indictment, unsealed a few months later, prominently cited al Qaeda's agreement to collaborate with Iraq on weapons of mass destruction. The Clinton Justice Department had been concerned about negative public reaction to its potentially capturing bin Laden without "a vehicle for extradition," official paperwork charging him with a crime. It was "not an afterthought" to include the al Qaeda-Iraq connection in the indictment, says an official familiar with the deliberations. "It couldn't have gotten into the indictment unless someone was willing to testify to it under oath." The Clinton administration's indictment read unequivocally:

Al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.

 
TRUST KERRY WITH OUR MILITARY?


This is Memorial Day weekend: NEVER FORGET!

KERRY PLAYS THE HAWK
John Kerry grew a beak Thursday and turned into — that's right — a hawk.

Oh, he’s got a beak all right, but it’s more like Pinochio’s.

In what was billed as a major foreign-policy speech — the first in a series to unveil Kerry's plan to fight terror — Kerry vowed to "disrupt and destroy" terrorist cells and "take the fight to the enemy on every continent."

Like this is a new idea? Isn’t that exactly what Bush did, take the war to the terrorists? The whole idea was to prevent the terrorists from attacking us again here at home.

But while the presumptive Democratic nominee insists that virtually everything President Bush has done is wrong, in reality Kerry has few specific disagreements. Nor does he offer any significant new initiatives — beyond what the president already has proposed or undertaken.
Much of his gripes — on fighting terrorism generally, and the war in Iraq in particular — stand in direct contradiction to the positions he's taken in the past.
The very recent past, in fact.
Little wonder, then, that the Massachusetts senator had spokesmen and advisers scurrying all over the place trying to explain what the candidate actually meant.
The speech was a prime example of political gall: John Kerry, who came to prominence by trashing the U.S. military as a bunch of war criminals, now proclaims himself the most militant of defense hawks, ready to take the offensive in the War on Terror.

Culling pull quotes was a challenge because this is such an excellent summary of L'Fraude's multi-stands on the military. Read the entire editorial.

 
Live Shot is Boarding the Flying Skunk

 
The Return of the Intern

Alexandra Polier returns for her second fifteen minutes of fame. This was amusing:

In the article, Polier even wonders whether one of Kerry's closest advisers thought the candidate may have been lying when he denied the affair.

Their suspicions were aroused when Kerry pounded on the lectern and said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman--Ms. Polier."

 
A Reasonably Funny Song

Bill at InDC Journal has the link. Not the greatest song of all time, but it's got the right theme.

 
How's The Weather Up There, Your Highness?



Kerry looks down on the commoners.

 
The Kerry Plan Revealed

Graham Lester has the word on Kerry's plan for world peace and international harmony. An outstanding and funny post, very well-done.

 
Kerry's National Insecurity Team

Captain Ed takes a long, hard look at the people who would be running the US national security organizations in the event of a Kerry presidency. It's not a pretty sight.

Kerry promises a forward-looking foreign policy, but he's signed up with the people who demonstrate nothing except the fecklessness of the past. This is one reunion show that we don't need in prime time.

 
Off-Topic, But Funny

Andy Borowitz has the latest on Gore's demands for mass resignations from the government.

 
Or Should Kerry Be JFK?

Kitty points out that Kerry (or his speechwriters, who will undoubtedly be blamed) cribbed a line yesterday from a speech that John F. Kennedy was supposed to deliver on November 22, 1963.

Here's the line from Kerry's speech:

"We do not have to live in fear or stand alone. We don't have to be a lonely watchman on the walls of freedom."

Here's the line from Kennedy's (never delivered) speech:

"We, in this country, in this generation, are -- by destiny rather than by choice -- the watchmen on the walls of world freedom."

Now quite aside from the plagiarism (which is already drawing comparisons to Joe Biden) the thing that strikes me as odd is that Kennedy was saying we are the watchers on the walls of freedom, while Kerry is saying we don't have to be. Which is more inspiring? No wonder all the folks at Kerry's speeches look like they're bored out of their minds.

 
Yet Another "Enthusiastic" "Crowd" for Kerry

 
Should Kerry Be Kerry?

I don't usually point to The Nation, but David Corn has a very interesting article over there today that makes a lot of very good points.

But Kerry and the campaign have yet to convey fully and widely that he is a candidate of strength, purpose, ideas and passion. Late-night host Craig Kilborn cracked, "I just saw John Kerry's new television commercial, and he said, ‘I'm John Kerry, and I approve of this message--if I have one.'" MoveOn.org has drafted a petition calling on Kerry to "go big" and be "bold." And reporters, Republicans, and others have asked, where's Kerry's plan for Iraq?

Corn tackles the subject of whether Kerry should go for energizing the base or appealing to moderates, but unlike most leftists, he does not say that the answer is to energize the base:

To triumph in the battleground states, is it better for Kerry to be a populist firebrand who excites the Democratic base or a center-chaser who nabs swing voters? This is more a question of theology than a correct-or-incorrect choice. Neither path guarantees success. Ask Howard Dean and Joseph Lieberman.

Of course, bringing Dean and Lieberman into it is a bit of a non-sequitur, since primary campaigns are nothing like general elections.

 
Cheer Up, We're Going to Win

The media are going to try to make it seem as if John Kerry is rolling to victory. There is a new poll out that purports to show that Kerry would win 49%-41% if the election were held today. But as our good friends at Crush Kerry pointed out yesterday, polls can be biased--oversample Democrats and qualify voters only to the extent that you're measuring registered voters, and you can show a swing to Kerry.

I believe that Kerry is slightly in the lead at this point. RCP has it 44%-43%. So what? Look at that little calendar up at the top. It doesn't say 1 day to the election, it doesn't say 30 days, it doesn't even say 100 days. It says 158 days. Michael Dukakis led Bush the Elder by over 10 percentage points much later in the year back in 1988; the Duke got run over by a tank.

The economy is on our side; just yesterday the first quarter growth rate was adjusted up to 4.4%. Abu Ghraib will be a distant memory in November. The number of casualties in Iraq is way down in May (although you wouldn't guess that from the media). Remember, our side is the one that believes in the essential good sense and wisdom of the America people. When the time comes, they will do the right thing.

Don't let the Democrats in your office or neighborhood get you down. When they cite the polls, tell them there's only one poll that matters. Hold your head up proudly. If nothing else it will get them spooked and they'll start talking again about how they have to dump Kerry.

 
Kerry Gets Macho

Had to chuckle at this one:

John Kerry yesterday rapped President Bush's handling of a dangerous world, as the Democratic contender put international terrorists on notice that he would "crush" al Qaeda's networks if he wins the White House.

Let me guess, he would crush them with UN resolutions and subpoenas. Remember, Kerry declined to characterize it as a "war" on terrorism; rather he prefered to talk about an engagement of economies, whatever that was supposed to mean.

Some L-Dotters had some good comments on this as well:

Reply 83 - Posted by: LetGeorge1, 5/28/2004 10:11:09 AM
He's going to throw his war medals at them.

Reply 34 - Posted by: Sludge, 5/28/2004 7:41:38 AM
'I'd crush 'em' (if the UN and France let me).'

RCP has a good take on Kerry's foreign policy proposals:

That's it, folks. Personally, I'd say that's a little lean in the specifics department. Kerry's overarching national security vision boils down to something like, "trust me America, I'll get the French and Germans to like us again."

 
NOT FOR POLITICAL CONSUMPTION



People Like Waffles
By Patrick Hynes, a copywriter for the Republican consulting firm Marsh Copsey + Scott and proprietor of CrushKerry.com.

I read Patrick Hynes’ piece in TAS and shook my head. Then I read that he is “proprietor” of our fave Crush Kerry and was dismayed. Using what appears to be Monday morning quarterbacking analysis, PH believes that Bush wasted $70 million on his ads depicting Kerry as a waffler. I disagree, but it’s a niggling point.
Thus far, President George W. Bush's re-election campaign has spent around $70 million on advertising.
…
The "flip-flop" labeling of John Kerry was a $70 million (and counting) rabbit hole that jeopardizes the re-election prospects of President George W. Bush.
Don't get me wrong. Calling out Kerry's flip-floppery did provide great blogging fun and it made for hours of entertaining talk radio, care of the Sean Hannitys and Rush Limbaughs. But it has barely scratched public perceptions of Kerry's qualification for public office.

My primary disagreement with PH is his contention that Ronald Reagan “flip-flopped a lot.”
It's important to note many voters consider it a plus that a potential president can alter his positions to adjust to political fluctuations. You know who flip-flopped a lot? Ronald Reagan. He was tough on the Commies, then he would back off and negotiate, be tough, then negotiate some more.

There is a mighty difference between Kerry's flip-flops and Reagan’s altering his tactics. Whereas Reagan may have changed his tactics to achieve his goals, he never wavered from his position. Communism had to be defeated!

On the other hand, like Clinton before him, Kerry freely changes his positions depending upon which political wind will carry him into the White House. I do believe that Kerry said it best when he said, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

Reagan put the country before himself; Kerry never stops thinking of himself first.

Keep waffles out of politics.

 
You Rang?



Sorry for the Lurch picture; I figured it would be better putting it up now rather than in the morning.

 
Kerry Campaign Sinks to New Low

Crush Kerry points us to this NY Times article on AG Ashcroft's elevated terror alert warning. Typical for the cretins at Kerry HQ, they couldn't just issue a statement of support, they had to impugn President Bush with dark motives.

Harold Schaitberger, head of the International Association of Fire Fighters, told reporters in a conference call organized by Mr. Kerry's campaign that he found the timing of the announcement to be "politically convenient at best" because it came after "we see the president's approval ratings plummet."

Schaitberger is a major league Clymer, so it's not surprising that he would say something stupid like this. What is surprising is that the brain trust at Kerry HQ would trust him to not go off half-cocked in a conference call with reporters.

 
Nader Crater?

Captain's Quarters is one of my favorite blogs. Today Captain Ed takes on the Nader Factor. Will Nader's press from the left force Kerry to adopt the "cut and run" strategy on Iraq?

If nothing else, Kerry is a political tactician -- after all, he's drafted behind Ted Kennedy most of his career, using the senior Massachussetts Senator to draw fire while he votes to Kennedy's left. I predict Kerry will announce at the convention that he now favors withdrawal in order to garner a Nader endorsement for the general election, and gamble that the transfer of power produces an increase in violence that will overcome the disgust of retreat that centrists and independents will surely feel.

 
Some Favorite Kerry Quotes

"Right now, what I would do differently is, I mean, look, I'm not the president, and I didn't create this mess so I don't want to acknowledge a mistake that I haven't made."

Kerry, laying out his proposal for Iraq.

"If you don't believe ... Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn't vote for me."

Kerry, making sure that the Moo-On crowd won't vote for him.

Asked if he would vote against the $87 billion if his amendment did not pass, Kerry said, "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible."

Kerry before he voted against the $87 billion.

"I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

Kerry after he voted against the $87 billion.

 
Poll Fault

Our good friends at Crush Kerry have come up with an excellent post on the topic of those national polls that the media have been trumpeting (Bush approval rating lowest ever, etc.).

Even worse, they fail to inform the reader that, in a very unusual step for a supposedly "independent" pollster whose brother is an apologist for terrorists, John Zogby recently claimed the election was Kerry's to Lose". Don't you at least think his preconceived opinion on the election's outcome should be highlighted in all stories on Zogby polls so the readers know of the potential for biased poll results?

 
Why Should Democrats Have All the Fun with Silly Comparisons?

 
Gore Mean to Dogs?

Our good friends over at Crush Kerry have the evidence.

While we're on the subject, Kitty has a way for you to help out our four-footed friends.

 
Kill this Blog!

Our semi-regular request. Kitty and I are happy to create posts for this blog, but we want the last post to come on November 3rd, with two simple words: Thank You!

 
Call Me, Unlikeable...

To the shock and consternation of Maureen Dowd, most Americans would rather hang around the barbecue with George W. Bush than the New-Wonk of Nuance.

Half of the registered voters surveyed said they would rather have a barbecue with Bush, while 39 percent chose Kerry and 11 percent either didn't know or would not answer the question posed by Quinnipiac University pollsters.

You can almost hear the sputtering. But--but Kerry writes poetry! He can recite the sermon on the mount at the drop of a hat!

 
Breck Girl the Frontrunner?

That's what Howard Fineman says.

Where Does the Process Stand?
And just where is Kerry in the veep selection process? Edwards’ busy schedule in June, culminating in the Iowa state convention at the end of the month, is strong evidence that the presumptive nominee is unlikely to announce a selection until the July 4th weekend at the earliest. Some of his top staff had been aiming and hoping for an earlier announcement—as early as the end of this month. But with President Bush lashed to the mast of Iraq, what’s the hurry? And in the meantime Kerry can have the several vice presidential contenders—others include Rep. Dick Gephardt, Gov. Tom Vilsack and retired Gen. Wes Clark—busy trying to prove their worth as they raise money and the party standard from coast to coast.

Personally I remain of the opinion that Kerry will not pick Edwards. Historically the choice has been somewhat unexpected. Did anybody predict Geraldine Ferraro? Or Spiro Agnew? Or Joe Lieberman?

 
Presumptuous? Yeah.

Note the Kerry "Flag" on the plane is not an American flag, although it contains elements of Old Glory. It has one star, which stands for the United Nations--the one guiding Star of Kerry's foreign policy. It has three red stripes which stand for France, Germany and Russia, the three countries Kerry has promised to apologize to should he become elected president. It has two white stripes in the middle, which tells us that Kerry is twice a skunk--once when he came back from Vietnam, and once when he became his party's candidate for president.

 
PRESUMPTUOUS?


Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites)'s new charter plane sits at Miami International Airport, Sunday, May 9, 2004, in Miami. Kerry's presidential campaign is scheduled for takeoff Tuesday morning, May 25, 2004, in a new plane designed for work and some play. The Boeing 757-200 includes two conference tables, eight phone lines, a copy machine, a printer, and a power outlet in every seat for laptops and cell phone charging. It also has a standup bar for socializing. The plane is emblazoned 'John Kerry for President' and can seat 94 in five separate cabins. (AP Photo/Kerry for President)

QUESTION: The caption says that the plane “is emblazoned 'John Kerry for President.'” Where is the word “for”? I don’t see it. I do see “John Kerry PRESIDENT.”

 
Remember, This Guy is On the Democrats' "A" Team!



Le Fraude is just a second stringer.

 
Funny Parodies

KH reader Chicago Ray has a well-designed website with some very amusing Photoshop political parodies like this one. Good job Ray! I'm putting you on the Funny Folks section of the blogroll.

 
First Sign of Energy At a Kerry Rally

 
Microbe of the Day

As I commented the other day, it's a little hard finding much worthwhile--far too many moonbats and teenage girls moaning about their insufficiently sensitive boyfriends. So it's great to stumble across a blog like The Second to Last Resort, with solid conservative commentary, good links to stories and regular posts.

 
Mayor Daley Chides Kerry

Mayor Daley of Chicago chided Kerry for his joke about "Did the training wheels fall off?" on President Bush's recent bike spill.

"The thing I worry about in politics is all of these people hating one another [saying], 'I hate Kerry', 'I hate Bush.' I wish the former presidents -- Carter and Ford and Clinton and Bush -- would all get up and tell people, 'You may support candidates, but don't hate the other candidate.'

I agree 100%. Errr.

 
Et Tu, Teddy?

Even staunch supporter Ted Kennedy is miffed at Nuancy Boy:

Kennedy privately mocked Kerry at a party fund-raising event this week for failing to consult him, pretending to take orders from the junior senator over the phone, sources said.

The senior senator, pretending to be on a telephone with Kerry, said, "Yes, John. Whatever you say, John," according to one eyewitness at the Massachusetts Democratic Party event.

 
Nominatus Interruptus II

Mickey Kaus sees the clever planning behind the proposal to delay Kerry's acceptance of his party's nomination. Keep Kerry out of the spotlight and he does well; it's when people see him that they become less enthusiastic.

But the Kerry camp faced what might seem to be an insurmountable challenge: the July Democratic convention in Boston, when the nation's press surely plans to focus on the Democratic nominee, beaming his every word into the nation's living rooms, allowing voters to get to know him and take the measure of his character and personality. Kerry's highly-paid strategists instantly recognized that this would be a disaster for their client. So they have crafted a cunning plan designed to get the TV networks to avoid covering the convention entirely, while the reporters who might otherwise be exposing Kerry to the world are convinced to stay at home. (Give up 'tons of free publicity'? Nothing's more threatening to Kerry than tons of free publicity.)

 
When you feel that nobody loves you,
Nobody cares for you,
And everyone is ignoring you,
You should start asking yourself,


Am I just TOO sexy?

Thanks LoanCat!

 


Crush Kerry has a great analysis on the June 1st South Dakota elections. Here are the highlights:

South Dakota to Set the Stage for National Election
The Dem's strategy? Hate-Bush and keep away from Kerry ...
All eyes political turn to South Dakota this weekend for the June 1st special election to replace murderous ex-congressman and ex-governor Bill Janklow. The Democrats have nominated Janklow’s unsuccessful 2002 opponent Stephanie Herseth. The GOP has put up a popular state senator and prominent soy bean farmer Larry Diedrich.

The Tim Johnson Affair. At a rally for Herseth, Tim Johnson referred to Republicans as the “Taliban wing.”

Turnout try-out. “For the Democrats, it’s about getting the Indians drunk enough to vote all day, but not too drunk they pass out and stop voting.”

John Who? Conspicuously absent from South Dakota, however, has been John Kerry. In fact, Democrat Herseth doesn’t even want the liberal Senator from Massachusetts to campaign for her. She laughs at the idea.

The role of negative ads. The tone and tenor of 2004 will be set in large part on the results of this special election. Herseth has run perhaps the most repugnant television commercial we have ever seen (and at least one Kerry Crusher produces ads for a living!)

The Daschle Factor. It is not hyperbolic to suggest Senator Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s political life is at stake on June 1st. … If Herseth goes down, Daschle will certainly lose his leadership post in the US Senate.

 
"Mr von Ziffer Would Stick His Finger in the Guy's Ear and He'd Freeze Like a Statue.... oops!"



Five trivia points if you know the reference.

 
Dishonest Bloggers?

Roger L. Simon's blog has the greatest comments section going, with a very high level of discussion on the topics of the day. Today he had a visit from one or more Mobyites. Moby, who apparently is a famed musician (yes, I am an auldephart), suggested that people sabotage President Bush by (for example) going into pro-life chatrooms and asking whether people are bothered by the (phony) rumor that Bush paid for an abortion for a girlfriend back in the 1970s.

The poster to Roger's site purported to be a "Republican for Kerry"; he even has an owned website by that name. Not surprisingly, that turns out to be a lie, as the blogger admitted in a comment:

nice blog, just shotgunned it, but the commentary is actually intelligent. sure you are a republican? ok sorry, low blow, it would be harder to be a republican and vote for kerry i should think, than be an anti voter(me) and vote for kerry. keep it up. and remember John Kerry Kicks Ass!!! Peace.

Posted by: charley at April 23, 2004 07:23 PM
You caught me. I'm not a repub, but I didn't have to be to register the this domain and build this site, any more than I was obligated to get all gritty after I built my kids' sandbox. I'm just a formerly non-political guy who is hoping that some smart, anti-Bush repubs will find their way here, get an idea or two, and even jump in and contribute some ideas of their own.
Posted by: Ampleforth at April 23, 2004 08:43 PM

Not only is he not a Republican, he's not really for Kerry either. He's just a typical rabid anti-Bush fanatic. I browsed the site for about 20 minutes, did not find a single positive comment about Kerry. It's all anti-Bush, all the time. Am I being hypocritical for pointing this out, when we spend our time bashing Nuancy Boy? Not at all. I don't pretend to be a Democrat for Bush. I'm a Republican and I hate Kerry.

 
How to Annoy Your Host City

Kerry's giving lessons.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino said Kerry convention staff members in Boston have "been in the loop" all along, and were made aware of the planned closings well in advance of the announcement last Thursday.

"I actually did know about the road closings, before I didn't know about them."

 
Kerry Moving States Into Battleground Territory

The Washington Times notes that the International Man of Mystery has not been locking up states considered to be Democratic strongholds. New Jersey and Michigan are in play; if Kerry loses those he's probably doomed.

Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt said New Jersey's proximity to New York is playing a role in the polls.
"The September 11 attacks hit very close to home and are very much on the minds of people in New Jersey, and the president has a strong record on those issues while John Kerry has backed away from them," Mr. Holt said.
Although Mr. Gore carried New Jersey by almost 16 percentage points, Mr. Kerry is locked in a statistical dead heat there — 46 percent for Mr. Kerry, 43 percent for Mr. Bush and 5 percent for independent candidate Ralph Nader, according to a Quinnipiac poll of 1,122 registered voters.
Notably, independent swing voters were split almost evenly between the two major candidates. Even more surprising was Mr. Kerry's low popularity in the state: 28 percent viewed Mr. Kerry favorably and 28 percent unfavorably, while 33 percent had "mixed feelings" about him, the poll found. More than half of the voters approved of Mr. Bush's job performance.

 
Why Do I Have to Come Up with a Plan?

Ron Brownstein appears to think that Nuancy Boy had better announce his plan for Iraq. Of course, we all know that Kerry doesn't have a real plan himself, he just wants to gripe at Bush's plan.

Peter Feaver, a Duke University political scientist who studies public opinion on national security, said Bush's speech would "raise the bar" for Kerry and other critics to explain their plans. "It will be hard to identify something in [Bush's speech] that is wrong-headed that will allow a critic to say, here's a better way to do it," he said.

 
UNCONVENTIONAL BEHAVIOR



THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL NOTHING: Democratic Party leader Terry McAuliffe was caught off guard last week when word leaked that the campaign of presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry was considering a plan to continue unlimited fundraising and spending via a delay in accepting the party's presidential nomination.
…
McAuliffe spent the weekend, according to DNC and party convention planners in Boston, attempting to tamp down the growing anger in Boston that the Kerry campaign's plan was going to deny the city millions of dollars lost due to smaller turnout at the convention.
"We were already looking at the city actually losing money on this thing," says a Boston-based convention planner. "Now this Kerry plan would almost ensure a huge loss. Without a nomination process at the convention, there is no need for state parties to finance big trips here. This could be a disaster. What's more annoying is that this is a plan put out by a candidate from Boston."
…
"This argument just confirms what a lot of people have thought about Kerry and his people," says the DNC source. "That they think they are bigger than the party. They think they have the stature of the Clinton crowd. They have no idea how wrong they are."

Although John Flipper Kerry has no plans to offer a response to President Bush’s speech, he is planning to give a “major” speech himself this Thursday on his ideas on national security and terrorism.

THE NEW PATRIOTISM: For months, Kerry has claimed he opposed the PATRIOT Act in all forms. But after polling revealed that most Americans support the act, Kerry has since been attempting to align himself with the law, now claiming that as president he would make only "minor" adjustments to it.

 
LOSING HIS GRIP?



Kerry faltering in ex-strongholds for Democrats
Several states once seen as "solidly" behind Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, including Michigan and New Jersey, have turned into battlegrounds where President Bush is a serious contender.
Months ago, Michigan and New Jersey, which are heavily unionized and voted for Al Gore in 2000, were considered beyond Mr. Bush's reach. Now, despite the president's falling national approval rating for his handling of the Iraq war, pollsters say the economic recovery and perception of the president as a strong leader have turned both states in his direction.
"It's very hard to see us winning in November without carrying Michigan and New Jersey," said a Democratic National Committee official.
The swing in these two pivotal states underscores growing criticism within Democratic councils that Mr. Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, has not put together a compelling message for the swing voters he needs.

 
Great Anti-Kerry Page

Just found the Barking Moonbat's site tonight. He has a great page on Flapjack.

 
Kerry Comes Up With A Quick And Credible Alibi

 
Tour de Farce

As I mentioned earlier, I've been reading Tour of Duty by Douglas Brinkley so you don't have to. Let me tell you, as far as personal sacrifices go, this is right up there with Sidney Carton.

Here are a few examples of the ridiculous fawning that the book lapses into with appalling frequency:

Such raw ambition rubbed some schoolmates the wrong way. For every three friends Kerry made at St. Paul's--like Danny Barbiero, Stephen Kelsey or Pete Johnson--there was an enemy who even decades after graduation remained bold in declaring his committed animosity toward Kerry.

It's nothing like 3 friends for every enemy from everything that I've read. Flip it around, three guys who hate him for every one who likes him. Check out the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

It was at St. Paul's that a cult of envy emerged toward Kerry, that would follow him throughout his entire career.

The first members of the Legion of Kerry-Haters, we salute you!

The sentiment was that anybody who excelled at everything he tried had to be a phony.

Of course, they hated him because he was so good, or if not, it's because his dad only had a 57-foot sailboat instead of a real yacht. It couldn't possibly be because he was a jerk!

Talking about the famed photographs of Kerry with Kennedy aboard a (somebody else's) yacht, Brinkley lapses into prose more suitable for Tiger Beat:

Taken with Kodak color film, the photos have that long ago Polaroid look, but they reveal much about the clean-cut Kerry's demeanor. Clutching his binoculars, the tall youth wore a dark blue suit with a Brooks Brothers tie, yet there is nothing presumptuous about him.

 
Nominatus Interruptus

Jim Geraghty has a good piece in the National Review about Kerry's proposal to delay accepting the Democratic nomination.

'After 200 years of conventions and all, every speechwriter has always written an acceptance speech, and the key moment of an acceptance speech, right at the beginning, where the candidate stands up in front of the convention and says, 'I accept your nomination,' and the place goes wild and everybody has a spontaneous demonstration," Safire said. "Can you imagine John Kerry getting up and saying, 'Thank you for that nomination. I'll accept it in a month'? It's going to ring hollow."

 
Microbe of the Day Update

Haven't had one for a couple days, largely because I've been browsing the Microbes and either I see a Michael Moore link at the top, or Daily Kos, or it hasn't been updated in about 2 months. However, I did note a new reader this morning who has a blog. Michael Gallaugher has the Christian Conservative Blog, which fits as he introduces himself as a Sunday School teacher and designer and prepress dude for a printing company. Michael's blog has well-written commentary on the intersection of Christianity and political conservatism.

 
The Assassination Game Part XIX

Gerald Nicosia, who wrote Home to War about the VVAW movement, has a very long piece in the LA Times today based on his review of the FBI files on John Kerry. It has the predictable take (that Kerry was a moderate trying to contain the wilder factions of the VVAW), but it does have some additional details on the notorious Kansas City meeting where members debated targeted assassinations of US senators as a means to ending the Vietnam War.

The meeting reconvened at St. Augustine's Catholic Church, 7801 Paseo Blvd., in Kansas City, and it was again closed—meaning only national officers and regional and state coordinators. Several things about it are still unclear, especially the chronology, but there is no doubt that it was the most intensely angry leadership meeting that had yet taken place. And there is also no doubt, if the files and witnesses are to believed, that Kerry was present for all of it.

Because wives and girlfriends, like ordinary delegates, were locked out, Julia Thorne Kerry, John's wife, sat outside on the grass—it was a warm, sunny November day—with a bunch of other women that included filmmaker Nancy Miller Saunders, the girlfriend of Arkansas-Louisiana coordinator Don Donner. Saunders says she remembers a lengthy conversation with Julia Thorne Kerry there, as do two other people interviewed: Rusty Lindley and Wayne Beverly, one of the Texas Marines sympathetic to Camil, who was barred from the meeting because he was not a coordinator.

And later:

Many vets I spoke to are angry or disappointed about what they see as Kerry's retreat from VVAW—not least of all Joe Urgo, who remembers being in that Saturday afternoon meeting with Kerry when he confronted Hubbard. "It was extremely important that people like Kerry—especially officers—spoke out against the war," Urgo says. "He came and shone and added something to all our efforts. I'm saddened that he hasn't kept to it. It was a tremendous thing for someone like him—with Yale and all that rich background—to step over the line and join working-class guys like me. But then he saw this thing getting out of control, and it was too much for him to handle. He saw it as a liability to his political career, back then, 33 years ago, and I'm afraid he sees it as a liability for him again now.

"But the Republicans are going to keep using his membership in VVAW against him, until he makes a clear statement. He has to clarify everything, not only what happened in Kansas City, but also why his politics changed—why he's moved more to the middle of the road. That's what's being hidden here."

 
Kerry Taking More Flak on Non-Acceptance of Nomination

Nedra Pickler (one of my favorite names) reports on the Boston Fog Machine's attempts to reassure people that it will still be a real convention.

"No decision has been made, but it will be a full-fledged convention with all the excitement and everything," he said. "What's important to me is that Boston is going to be open for business, people are sitting down, we're working through these issues."

 
BATTLE OF EGOS



I love this! Dems accuse Darth Nader of allowing his ego to get in the way of Botox Boy’s run for the White House.

BTW, I tried to find this group but couldn't. Can't log on using the address, it's not linked in the article, and it's not popping up on Google, either.

Concerned Democrats Launch 'Don't Vote for Nader' Ad
A group called StopNader.com is running what it calls a "hard-hitting" TV ad intended to convince voters that a vote for Ralph Nader is really a vote for President George W. Bush.
…
The ad concludes with Nader and Bush appearing side-by-side, as the narrator asks: "Ralph, what's more important? Your nation or your ego? Don't do this to us again."
…
In addition to running ads in Oregon, StopNader.com said it also will file a brief in Texas, where Mr. Nader failed to get enough signatures to get on the November ballot - and is now challenging the ballot access process in court.
…
A second anti-Nader group, the National Progress Fund, also plans to run ads this week featuring voters who say they wish they hadn't voted for Nader in 2000.

 
Every Father's Nightmare



Clue to Alexandra (or Alexandria): Don't let him drive you home!

 
Abandoned Brothers

The NY Times Magazine looks at Kerry's support level among veterans.

O'Mara isn't the only veteran who is angry about the Kerry campaign. Kerry's antiwar activism may have jump-started his political career -- it was only a few weeks after his Senate testimony that Morley Safer asked him on ''60 Minutes,'' ''Do you want to be president?'' -- but it also made Kerry a target for some of the many Vietnam vets who were hurt by the chilly reception they received when they came home from the war. Another Vietnam veteran opposing Kerry is a former Green Beret named Ted Sampley, who was a leading P.O.W.-M.I.A. advocate in the 80's and 90's and was furious with Kerry when a Senate committee headed by Kerry concluded that there were probably no living P.O.W.'s or M.I.A.'s in Vietnam. Sampley now runs a Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry Web site that accuses Kerry of a litany of sins that go well beyond his antiwar activities, from the debatable to the ludicrous -- from claims that Kerry engineered an early transfer out of Vietnam by putting in for three Purple Hearts he didn't deserve to charges that he committed war crimes. As soon as Sampley put up the Web site in late January, those charges spread like wildfire on veteran listservs and other veteran-related Web sites.

Typical NY Times, implying that saying Kerry committed war crimes is ludicrous. Kerry himself stated that he committed atrocities.

 
Nader Recommends Veep Picks to Kerry

This is kind of weird:

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader said he had advised John Kerry to choose North Carolina Sen. John Edwards or Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt as his running mate on the Democratic ticket.

No word on whether Kerry advised Nader to choose Bernie Sanders as his running mate.

 
Kerry's Non-Acceptance Speech

Adrian Walker has the first draft.

To my longtime colleague Edward Kennedy, who is at home in Hyannis tonight -- and why shouldn't he be? -- let me just say that we don't need a convention to tell everyone how much Massachusetts means to the Democratic Party. It's true that we've never had a convention without a nominee before. But, as we both know, Massachusetts is a state of "firsts."

My friends, we're gathered here to begin a great journey. Well, not to begin it -- we don't want to give the Federal Elections Commission the wrong idea. Let's just say we're here to take a major step.

 
The Triple-Reverse Flip-Flop

The Boston Herald tries to call heads or tails on Kerry's position(s) regarding pro-life judges.

Sen. John Kerry [related, bio] told the Associated Press last week that he wouldn't impose a pro-abortion litmus test on his judicial selections should he become president. Flip.

After a bevy of women's groups complained, Kerry said he would impose such a litmus test on candidates for the Supreme Court. Flop.

But he's actually voted the other way. Flip.

Pro-litmus test Kerry, by the way, was simply reverting back to a position he espoused to win the hearts of Democratic activists during the primary season. Flop.

But it wasn't Kerry's position during his early tenure in the Senate when he decried ``the systematic targeting of any judicial nominee who does not meet the requirements of a litmus test.'' Flip.

And, of course, Kerry voted in 1986 to confirm anti-abortion Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Flop.

 
Reading Tour of Duty So You Don't Have To

It's pretty rough sledding. The primary source for information is Kerry himself, and the secondary sources are various diaries that Kerry compiled over time.

 
NOTICE HIS HANDS


They're very delicate, feminine even. He never did a hard day's work in his life, not even in Vietnam.

 
I'd Like to Offer You a Hearty Handclasp II



Kerry gets up close and personal with the common folk.

 
Somewhat Off Topic But...

This is very much worth reading.

 
The Invisible Man Returns

The Democrats' state party chiefs are claiming once again that the people don't know Kerry.

Arizona Democratic Chairman Jim Pederson said voters just don't know Mr. Kerry.
"They haven't bought into Senator Kerry yet because they don't know the man and that is going to be the primary challenge for the Kerry campaign in the coming weeks," he said.
Mr. Pederson added that once voters get to know Mr. Kerry on a personal level, the senator's numbers should start to climb.

Considering that those who know Kerry the best generally don't like him, this amounts to whistling past the graveyard. As we've reported in the past, Kerry is tremendously unpopular among Massachusetts politicians (who are mostly Democrats). His former girlfriends Michelle Phillips and Morgan Fairchild contributed to Kerry's rivals for the Democratic nomination. In short, there is zero evidence to support the notion that to know know know him, is to love love love him.

 
If They Gave A Convention Where Nobody Was Nominated, Would The Networks Cover It?

The Lowell Sun covers Kerry's vacillation on accepting the convention's nomination. This can't be welcome news:

The timing couldn't be worse for Kerry on the local front. Every Democratic office holder, including and especially Boston Mayor Tom Menino, are taking on political water over the disruption the convention will cause Boston residents and commuters.

Now, after defending the cost and inconvenience by arguing that it's an historic event, they find out it might be a non-event.

Even network news executives are balking at the thought of covering a nominating convention that won't nominate anyone.