Dear Mr. Kerry...

[mikelewis]

Today you spoke of truth or more to the point the lack of it in today's politics. Today, you stood in mock outrage pointing your finger at a party that continually engages in lies and deceit to further thier agenda of power and domination. While I support your statements, I find them to contain a certain level of irony that I just can't let pass by.

So, in the spirit of questing for truth, why, oh why, Senator, do you not practice what you preach? Where has your call been for the truth about 9/11? Where has your call been for the truth about Iraq and the Downing Street memo? Where, oh, where has your call been for supporting the thousands maybe hundreds of thousands of citizens who believe our election was stolen, resulting, quite ironically, in your defeat? Where are your convictions when the truth is being buried by sacks of lies that smell like, feel like and since we are the ones who have to eat it, tastes like shit?

Our country was attacked by George Bush on 9/11 and yet you say nothing. We invade a country illegally based on the flimsiest of evidence, which you yourself were privy to as a member of the foreign relations committee. Yet you speak nothing of truth. We ally with dictators and terrorists and turn our backs on our friends, yet you say nothing. Now, when it's your power that is at risk, you speak of truth. Well, Mr. Kerry, maybe if you began by stating some of the truth you dare not speak, others may find your words less hollow. I do support you but you have lost a great deal of respect in my eyes. If you want someone who can stand before the Senate and speak of truth-telling, I suggest you look to your colleague Senator Boxer. This is a person who stands up for truth. This is a person who holds people accountable. I have grown fond of you over the past year but that does not give you a blank check from accountability. You, more than any of us, know the true nature of what is happening in this country and you have more power to stop it than any one of us here in the trenches. I suggest you start telling some truths that you know and then, and only then, will your remarks not ring of hypocrisy.

[kaygore]

1. YES!!!!!!!

Go, Boxer.

I am still angry about what a poor campaign Kerry ran adn for his just caving in despite the obvious rigging of the voting machines.

[LittleClarkie]

9. Really. Do tell.

Day 143: still pissed.

Alrighty then. Thanks. Same time tomorrow?

[blondeatlast]

27. You seem to be in quite a mood today. Anything a Dem can do to

make you happy?

[meppie-meppie not]

31. I think growing a spine would be one. Having principles that aren't for

sale and that they stand on no matter what the polls say. For a start.

[cindyw]

2. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[jmaier]

3. Tiring

This sort of smack Kerry stuff is unproductive.

[Frances]

5. Agree

The Repubs never take their eye off the ball.

I don't know how any Dem can see anything but the HUGE ball of evil that the Repubs are.

[corbett]

16. They Miss The Point Because 1% - 5% Are True Patriots

A tiny fraction of those Republicans inside the Beltway go there with true intentions of obeying the constitution and helping their constituents. Sadly, the system is rigged and KKKarl has learned how to use that rigged system to his extreme benefit so that tiny fraction of patriotic Republicans either get steamrolled or go over to the dark side.

http://www.moveonpac.org/savetherepublic

[XanaDUer]

22. .

:boring:

[Capn Sunshine]

7. Especially since he has done nothing wrong

Operative word being "nothing" He's done nothing. Nothing. But that's what we expect from our politicians today. I guess it's unproductive to expect accountability from them even when they won the election yet are too tired or timid to fightover that basic fact.

[LaurenG]

11. I disagree People need to state how they feel

As far as I'm concerned it's the truth. We've been dumped. AH well everything comes around again. The wheel of fortune and were on the down side. If we can keep from blowing ourselves to pieces we can be on top again.

[LittleClarkie]

15. That's cool. But that's all we're all doing

You're feeling dumped. We're feeling weary. We're both stating it. It's all good.

[wtmusic]

4. How can you ask Kerry

to come out as a "MIHOP" when you know 9/11 was caused by extraterrestrials? :crazy:

[LittleClarkie]

6. Was Boxer standing up for truth when she voted for the Patriot Act

Let her down off that pedestal before she falls off.

God love her, she's not perfect. And I don't seem to remember her mentioning the memo either.

I'd be happy to be wrong if somebody has a source for some statements by her on the Downing Memo.

Considering how I think she voted on the IWR I'm sure there are statements for that.

[mikelewis]

18. I agree with you that's she's not perfect but you do have to admit...

she hold peoples feet to the fire more often than not. If anyone n the Senate can be counted on to ask the tough questions, it's Boxer. I wish she would say something about the memo and 9/11 but she hasn't. Her vote for the Patriot Act was understandable given the fact that the bill came packaged with Anthrax and no time to read it.

I don't hold Kerry to task for not voting against the Patriot Act, I just found his statements to be rather ironic given the fact that he refuses to be more vocal about the truth.

[MarianJack]

8. YAWN!

Let's attack other Democrats! WOW, What a productive idea!

HOW DARE JK not live up to every one of your expectations. Speaking for myself, I've watched John Kerry for 36 years now. Way longer than necessary for me to give him MUCH benefit of the doubt.

[LittleClarkie]

10. How dare he not be JUST LIKE MEEEEEEEE

How dare he not have my same views. Why that dirty rat.

[undeterred]

12. How dare Kerry not fix the mess others have made!

He made a great speech today and you attack him- what gives?

[LittleClarkie]

17. That seems to be the usual pattern

He does something good. People attack him. He does something else good. People attack him. Sort of like 5 o'clock Charlie on MASH.

[Skip Intro]

13. yeah - Kerry just worked his ass off running for Prez because he was bored

he never really wanted to win. He put himself and his family thru two years of hell, hatred and slander just to say, "nah, never mind" at the slightest obstacle.

makes perfect sense

:eyes:

[LuPeRcALiO]

14. "Today you spoke of truth"

Is it possible that he's been speaking the truth all along, and we never noticed before since he was just that guy from MA with the same name as the guy from NE? That's how it was with me anyway ...

[bunny planet]

19. Snooze to you.

[Sydnie]

20. Yeah, he was the only one that could have stopped the war

because he (and every other member of the FR committee, I might add) saw the fabricated intelligence and forgot that his superpower lie-detecting eye glasses were in his other suit. Yeah, he should be held accountable for the fact that he read the manufactured intelligence (of which we are just getting the proof of it's manufacturing process) and took it at face value that blivet** wouldn't send men to war unless it was the last resort. Yeah, just because he is a man of integrity (remember the 70's protests... and oh yeah, BCCI and Iran Contra - he is such a slacker, only three major deeds in all those years) and gave others the opportunity to exhibit that same level of integrity, only to discover later that they are bald faced liars in cahoots with other bald face liars who control EVERY LEVEL of government and thus all the intel as well in more than one country, we should hang him from the nearest tree.

Instead of pointing out ones failures all the time, we might be better served by praising and recognizing when they do something outstanding ... with out the caveat of the backhanded slap once we stop shaking their hand in gratitude.

In layman's terms -- don't shit where you eat. Heaven forbid we give those that speak truth through the din of hypocrisy some encouragement to continue challenging and pushing the message that must be heard.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't ain't much of a motivator.




Here, have one of these -- you'll feel better.

edit - forgot a word

[mikelewis]

21. He is a Senator on the Foriegn relations committee

I was unaware of the objections to the war but he was not. I was unaware that there were others out there opposing this war but I was not. I was still under the spell of the media at the time. He most certainly was not. His duty is to the American people and to lead us and inform us of the things that affect this country and our future. His job is to have oversight of the things that affect this country political in respect to foreign policy. In his bid for the Presidency, he had the chance to speak the truthbut he didn't. In the run up to Jan 6th, he had the ability, no the duty, to support those who had questions and he was silent. Now he wonders why, when his powers are being threatened, that people aren't storming the citadel? Sheesh, he can do wrong and he has. He's guilty of a sin of ommission and by perpetuating the ridiculous idea that America stands for Freedom and Democracy all evidence to the contrary. I do like him but I can't help pointing out the irony.

[Sydnie]

23. He also had objections to going to war

and stated so in his speech before his vote in the Senate. He made no bones that he was voting for this resolution to give blivet** the power if, and only if, something happened on the fly that broke down negotiations.

You have been hijacked by the very press you claimed to have listened to at the beginning of the war.

Read this speech -- http://www.c-span.org/vote2004/kerryspeech.asp which I have given a small taste of here --

<snip>
"Writing in the New York Times in early September, I argued that the American people would never accept the legitimacy of this war or give their consent to it unless the administration first presented detailed evidence of the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and proved that it had exhausted all other options to protect our national security. I laid out a series of steps that the administration must take for the legitimacy of our cause and our ultimate success in Iraq --seek the advice and approval of Congress after laying out the evidence and making the case, and work with our allies to seek full enforcement of the existing cease-fire agreement while simultaneously offering Iraq a clear ultimatum: accept rigorous inspections without negotiation or compromise and without condition.

Those of us who have offered questions and criticisms--and there are many in this body and beyond--can take heart in the fact that those questions and those criticisms have had an impact on the debate. They have changed how we may or may not deal with Iraq . The Bush administration began talking about Iraq by suggesting that congressional consultation and authorization for the use of force were not needed. Now they are consulting with Congress and seeking our authorization. The administration began this process walking down a path of unilateralism. Today they acknowledge that while we reserve the right to act alone, it is better to act with allies. The administration which once seemed entirely disengaged from the United Nations ultimately went to the United Nations and began building international consensus to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. The administration began this process suggesting that the United States might well go to war over Saddam Hussein's failure to return Kuwaiti property. Last week the Secretary of State and on Monday night the President made clear we would go to war only to disarm Iraq.

The administration began discussion of Iraq by almost belittling the importance of arms inspections. Today the administration has refocused their aim and made clear we are not in an arbitrary conflict with one of the world's many dictators, but a conflict with a dictator whom the international community left in power only because he agreed not to pursue weapons of mass destruction. That is why arms inspections--and I believe ultimately Saddam's unwillingness to submit to fail-safe inspections--is absolutely critical in building international support for our case to the world.

That is the way in which you make it clear to the world that we are contemplating war not for war's sake, and not to accomplish goals that don't meet international standards or muster with respect to national security, but because weapons inspections may be the ultimate enforcement mechanism, and that may be the way in which we ultimately protect ourselves.

I am pleased that the Bush administration has recognized the wisdom of shifting its approach on Iraq . That shift has made it possible, in my judgment, for the Senate to move forward with greater unity, having asked and begun to answer the questions that best defend our troops and protect our national security. The Senate can now make a determination about this resolution and, in this historic vote, help put our country and the world on a course to begin to answer one fundamental question--not whether to hold Saddam Hussein accountable, but how."

There is much, much more at the link provided. You see, he DID question it and he DID make clear what he was supporting and what he wasn't. Can he be held accountable that they hijacked his partiotism and used it against him?

He did nothing wrong. He's not a screamer. If you want a screamer, you need to look to someone else to fill those shoes. He is a thinker and a statesman. Quite a rare breed these days, imho.

So, kick him when he does speak the truth and see how long any of them continue to try to challenge the cabal.

[meppie-meppie not]

32. respectfully, words are cheap and can ring of "parlor tricks". He should

have followed up his beliefs with action and voted NO.

[JackRiddler]

34. So, are you in denial or just a shill for Kerry?

Speaking of tedious... are you telling me Kerry didn't know the intel was manufactured when he gave that vote? How come I did? How come I knew all about the Office of Special Plans and Kwiatkowski's revelations and Feith's and Wolfowitz's machinations? Because I can read Democratic Underground and follow the links, and Kerry can't?

On Feb. 6, 2003, when Powell delivered his pack-of-lies speech to the UN with the casus belli for the Iraq war, I had all the information I needed to expose every single one of his statements as a lie, exhaustively. I got it all from the press and common sense, and from DUers like Mr. W.R. Pitt (the Kerry man). Much of my infro was thanks to the foreign press, but Kerry has access to that, too, and to many other sources far superior to anything I can get.

WE HAVE LEARNED NOTHING NEW SINCE. All the subsequent confirmations are merely just that, confirmations of what any citizen could have known, let alone a Senator.

At no point did I doubt that there were no WMDs in Iraq, since the former Marine and Chief Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter had overseen their complete destruction by 1998, and was loudly saying so. Kerry certainly knew about that. Nor did I doubt that there was no Iraq connection to 9/11.

Was I special? No. On that day, I was as well informed as the majority of the world, who saw right through the obvious lies of Bush and Co. Unlike Kerry and the 25-odd Democratic senators who voted for the war, I was not beholden to the ideology and interests that allow every single war desired by the war faction to be started, and only discover opposition afterwards when it's "too late" so the occupation must continue, blah blah.

23 senators also did not vote for the war!

I STAND WITH THEM AND NOT WITH THOSE WHO MAKE EXCUSES FOR WHY SOME WORTHLESS POLTICIAN VOTED FOR A WAR OF AGGRESSION JUST BECAUSE HE HAPPENS TO HAVE A "D" NEXT TO HIS NAME.

All who voted for the Iraq War Resolution have no excuse, Democrat or Republican. They all authorized a crime. They all aided and abetted treason.

As for 9/11... I doubt I can help you there.

[Dr Fate]

24. I wish Kerry would utter a sentence about the UK memo too. Why wont he?

How about a "yay" or a "nay", a grunt, or a "nothing to see here" or a "this raises concerns."

Somthing. Anything. Little help.

As it is, he ,Dean, Hillary and the others who could make it a front-page issue pretend it does not exist.

[paulk]

25. another big, steaming pile of horseshit

served up on the Trash Democrats Underground.

[meppie-meppie not]

33. I disagree. Hiding our heads in the sand benefits no one. Having the

strength of character to stand behind ones words should be important.

[welshTerrier2]

26. sorry ... anything but a blank check is unacceptable ...

during his remarks today, and I paraphrase, Kerry reiterated that we are in Iraq to support "Democracy" ...

i applaud much of what he said today; i do not applaud his, and many other Democrats, misguided support for this tragic occupation ...

how much longer will Democrats not speak out against bush's corrupt occupation of Iraq? when will the Democrats warn that we must not attack Syria? when will the Democrats speak out that we must not attack Iran? or will the militaristic hawks, hawks in both parties, continue to support the evil of American imperialism ???

Kerry's remarks about respecting the rules of the Senate and maintaining a system of checks and balances so the minority is not drowned out by the majority were right on the money; too bad he chose to make an ad hoc remark about Iraq as part of his speech ...

wake up Democrats ... the Middle East is rapidly becoming an international tragedy of unimaginable proportions and too many of you continue to "GO ALONG WITH BUSH" ... stop it now before we have no voice left to stop it ...

[Lexingtonian]

28. oh, yay, same shit but different day....

Dude, you're unbelievably simpleminded. Every fire-and-brimstone preacher thinks he's talking 'the Truth'.

If you had a clue, you'd check what the crucial voters considered 'the Truth'. Kerry did. And 'the Truth' was biased toward what Republicans said- they had all the benefit of the doubt on Terrorism and Values. Kerry had the benefit of the doubt on every other subject.

So forget the monday morning quarterbacking. Puh-leeze. Sanctimony and thinking that greater purity and more loudness 'works' is just foolish.

[kerrygoddess]

29. Well maybe you have not been paying attention. N/T

[meppie-meppie not]

30. damnit Mike I hope you sent this to him!!!

[saltpoint]

35. Kerry's career in the Senate stands on his complex and intelligent --

-- opposition to the Vietnam War. By that path he achieved national prominence and helped affirm many people's legitimate objections to the carnage our government had visited upon southeast Asia.

His accomplishments, which are many, exceed that of most Americans.

He is everything Bush is not.

This post singles him out as being somehow an example of why things are not as we would prefer them to be.

I reject this model.

From Auden's eulogy for Yeats we hear:
"In the prison of his days
Teach the free man how to praise."

You can grocery list what you don't care for in Kerry, but it would be more useful in the long term to hold the Bush administration accountable for its considerably more grievous transgressions against this country and against the world.

[dbeach]

36. No dems should be given a pass on Iraq..9/11 or any other bushevik agenda

Dems that can't act like Dems are part of the problem

kerry rolled on 11/02/04.

100-0 on real id national id...
DEMS have allowed 5 bush tac cuts..5..
no push for greater accountibility in wall st.

keep giving Dems a break and they will sure break my heart..
kerry gave great speech..lil late..

Nobody escapes critcism.
Its proven time and time agin..
You cannot compromise with the republican party..

Mr. Kerry shoud study his own play book and march into that US Senate every day and speak out against ALL in this bushevik admin.
HE nailed it in 1971..Where is that John Kerry??