John Kerry — perennial weathervane
Every time I hear Massachusetts’ junior Senator speak, I breathe a sigh of relief that he was not elected president last fall. While doing some chores around the apartment this morning, I was watching FoxNews which was covering live his commentary on the president’s speech and heard this erstwhile Democratic presidential nominee claim that while he got home from serving in Vietnam in 1969, he didn’t start protesting the war until two years later — in 1971.
(QUICK ASIDE–Fox News covering Kerry remarks live?!?! Must not be the right-wing shills that the left claims it to be. Oh, wait a minute, it’s their clever Rovian strategy to present Democrats’ actual remarks and so reveal their absurdity.)
I wonder why it took Kerry two years to protest. I mean, in his testimony before the Senate, he claimed that the U.S. has committed war crimes in Vietnam. If he had witnessed such crimes, he owed it to the victims of these crimes — and to his nation — to speak out as soon as possible so our leaders could take action, punish those responsible and put and end to such atrocities. (As happened with Abu Ghraib, nearly four months before CBS broadcast the disgusting pictures and the crimes there became common knowledge.)
If this Democrat is ever to run for national office again, people need to ask about his delay in protesting the war. Perhaps, he (or others) already addressed it in last fall’s campaign. (If you have links to articles/commentary on this topic, please e-mail me or reference them in the comments below and I will update this post accordingly.)
Kerry’s comments today that it took him two years to protest the war merely show how even at the dawn of his political career, this man lacked a spine and put his finger to the wind before taking a political stand. In 1969, when he returned from Vietnam, he did not think opposing the war would serve his political interest. In 1971, he did.
UPDATE: I’m trying to find the text of Senator Kerry’s speech online and after checking his official Senate site (where he has not updated his linked speeches since July 21, 2003) and his pemanent campaign site, have yet to find the speech.
GP UPDATE: Let’s not forget how the Kerry weathervane twirled in circles over gay marriage during the 2004 campaign. One day he supported Massachusetts’ amendment, the next day he supported Missouri’s total ban… it all depended on where he was in this great country of ours and how the wind was blowing that day.
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maybe the pan that he used to sear his memory was not hot enough yet
Comment by nuyorker — November 30, 2005 @ 1:04 pm - November 30, 2005
Two weeks ago, Kerry was demanding that Bush pull out 20,000 US troops by the end of the year. Now, he’s claiming that he never suggested cutting and running, and never demanded a timetable for withdrawal.
Comment by V the K — November 30, 2005 @ 1:35 pm - November 30, 2005
Well, it’s been 34 years since Kerry defiled the US military (“in the manner of Genghis Kahn”) in his testimony to Senate. It’s been 34 years since he went to Paris to meet with the leadership of the enemy – and returned to advocate their position. It’s been 34 years since his position on the Viet Nam war resulted in the deaths of millions of South Viet Namese by their neighbors to the north, it’s been 20 years since he advocated a unilateral nuclear disarmament in the face of the Soviet threat, it’s been 1 year since he insulted Mary Cheney and used her as a campaign tool, and it’s been over six months since he promised (on Meet the Press, I believe) to release ALL his military records by singing the appropriate paperwork.
To the best of my knowledge, Kerry has never apologized for any of his above actions and has never released his complete military file.
Frankly, I don’t give a damn what he “thinks”.
Comment by Vera Charles — November 30, 2005 @ 2:03 pm - November 30, 2005
Vera, does Auntie Mame agree with you?
Comment by GayPatriotWest — November 30, 2005 @ 4:07 pm - November 30, 2005
It would seem Kerry’s When-we-proposed-cutting-and-running- We-didn’t-really-mean-cutting-and-running-how-dare- Bush-attack-our-patriotism speech is getting much more media play than Lieberman’s Iraq-Is-Worth-Fighting for speech.
Comment by V the K — November 30, 2005 @ 4:17 pm - November 30, 2005
How soon we forget:
http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/kerry_faq.html
Comment by Maggie Leber — November 30, 2005 @ 4:27 pm - November 30, 2005
#4 “Vera, does Auntie Mame agree with you? ”
Of course she does! As does Agnes, Ito, and that sniveling little towhead, Patrick..
We love military men but we hate liars (and detest the French).
It’s not too nuanced, but it is patriotic.
Comment by Vera Charles — November 30, 2005 @ 5:36 pm - November 30, 2005
No, it’s not nuanced, but Vera never was very good at nuance.
Comment by GayPatriotWest — November 30, 2005 @ 7:02 pm - November 30, 2005
Commander-in-Chief
“Setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would send a message across the world that America is a weak and an unreliable ally. Setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would send a signal to our enemies — that if they wait long enough, America w…
Trackback by The Right Nation — November 30, 2005 @ 7:43 pm - November 30, 2005
Who’s John Kerry?
Comment by glisteny — November 30, 2005 @ 7:47 pm - November 30, 2005
” “My fellow Americans:major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the war of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.” May, 2003
Comment by bbbustard — November 30, 2005 @ 8:23 pm - November 30, 2005
Of course, Lurch voted for the war before he voted against it.
Speaking of which, where’s his insufferable wife? Not that I really care…
Regards,
Peter Hughes
Comment by Peter Hughes — November 30, 2005 @ 10:39 pm - November 30, 2005
During the campaign, the liberal columnists said that Kerry only seemed to be contradicting himself because he was too sophisticated and intelligent for the average simple-minded American to understand. When nobody bought it, they claimed instead that Kerry’s critics were quoting his nuance out of context.
I monitored the DU postings on election night and they included things like “John Kerry is too good for a country like America” and statements that began, “We, the intelligentsia…” and “We, the educated…”
And you still can’t tell liberals that they’re America-hating elitists.
Comment by Conservative Guy — November 30, 2005 @ 11:04 pm - November 30, 2005
#14
Ain’t it usually the dumbasses in life who run around bragging about how smart they are?
Funny how none of the talk shows have put Lieberman on after Murtha’s whirlwind tour.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — November 30, 2005 @ 11:39 pm - November 30, 2005
#14 should have been #13
Comment by ThatGayConservative — November 30, 2005 @ 11:50 pm - November 30, 2005
Oh boy, now you guys have done it. You’ve probably ticked off JFKerry and his supporters –that means he’ll have to run again in 2008 just in spite. Thanks a lot, guys. Let’s just cool it on Kerry and he might get the message no one cares WTF he says.
In the alternative, I say beat up on SlickWilly -that bozo is giving any critic lots of fodder for fuel; leave JFK alone. We don’t want him thinking he’s credible.
Comment by Michigan-Matt — December 1, 2005 @ 1:05 pm - December 1, 2005
For purely selfish reasons, I hope that he does run again because I still have a lot of bumper stickers and tshirts left at johnnyflipper.com
Comment by Bobo — December 1, 2005 @ 2:09 pm - December 1, 2005
Hmmm I know what movie I’m going to watch this afternoon instead of studying for finals. *Sigh* If only Lindsey Woolsey was here to keep me company.
Comment by cbi — December 1, 2005 @ 2:12 pm - December 1, 2005
Linkage
Yes, I’ve been busy. Why do you ask? Baggy-Pants Logic: Cobb, uncharacteristically, rants. Ken Summers is ‘hawking’ a book. It’s that most wonderful time of the year: the Army-Navy game. A non-Christian contemplates the war on Christmas. There??…
Trackback by baldilocks — December 2, 2005 @ 12:37 am - December 2, 2005
I THOUGHT JOHN KERRY AND MICHAEL MOORE WERE STILL MOUNTAIN BIKING THE HIMALAYAS!?!
Comment by postsoviet — December 2, 2005 @ 11:02 pm - December 2, 2005
Why Voting Republican makes one a big fat idiot……
John Kerry’s infamous speech was absolutely brilliant. Let me tell you why……
Trackback by Thought Leadership — November 5, 2006 @ 1:27 pm - November 5, 2006