Salon: "The Republicans' Kerry Problem" by Sydney Blumenthal

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2004/02/12/kerry_nixon/print.html

In the spring of 1971, a worrisome new political figure emerged to oppose his Vietnam policy. On April 22, John Kerry, wearing combat fatigues, his Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam?" Kerry asked. "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake? This administration has done us the ultimate dishonor. They have attempted to disown us and the sacrifices we made for this country."

According to Nixon's secret White House tapes, there were a number of fretful meetings held on how to discredit Kerry. Nixon, the ultimate opportunist, wanted to characterize Kerry as one, too. "Well, he is sort of a phony, isn't he?" Nixon says. "A racket, sure." "He came back a hawk and became a dove when he saw the political opportunities," Charles Colson, his hatchet man, says. Nixon sneers, "Well, anyway, keep the faith." Colson sends Nixon a memo: "Destroy the young demagogue..." The day after Kerry's testimony, Nixon held another meeting. Chief of staff H.R. Haldeman says, "He did a superb job on it at Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. A Kennedy-type guy, he looks like a Kennedy, and he, he talks exactly like a Kennedy." That sort of comparison could only incite Nixon's dread and envy. Nixon disbelieves that Kerry won medals for bravery. "Bob, the Navy didn't have any casualties in Vietnam except in the air," he insists. Three days later, Haldeman returns. "We've got some interesting dope on Kerry. Kerry, it turns out, some time ago decided he wanted to get into politics." In another meeting, Haldeman and John Ehrlichman suggest to Nixon that if Kerry led protesters who cut their hair and wore ties and allied with "the hardhats," they would win a majority to their side. "That's right," says Nixon. But, he adds, "They're against all that."

From the Republican side, Kerry's march toward the Democratic presidential nomination has appeared as another chance to refight the patriot game. But questions raised about the rationale for the Iraq War have brought to the surface the palimpsest of Vietnam. Bush, the heir of the Nixon party, facing a genuine war hero, critic of that war and this, finds himself scurrying to explain his apparent absence without leave from his National Guard service for an entire year during Vietnam. His White House is tossing scraps of records to the press that are only provoking additional questions about his prior false explanations. Democratic strategists are now planning to use the tape of Bush, wearing a flight suit on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, declaring, "Mission accomplished," which Republicans were once aiming to use as the centerpiece of their campaign.

Kerry's appeal to veterans isn't simply because he's a veteran. For the Vietnam vets, he has come to stand for the male blue-collar worker of their generation, the ultimate swing voter. In the light of comparison, they are coming to see Bush as the privileged evader of service who now is standing with his wealthy friends against them. Kerry is the aristocrat as member of the band of brothers. Nixon's fear is being realized. Marco Trbovich served in the Navy with Kerry, marched against the Vietnam War with him, worked in his campaigns, and is now the communications director of the United Steel Workers of America. "John's been in the foxhole," he told me. "He's endured, survived and never forgotten who these guys are. This is completely authentic. If you're a veteran of Vietnam you understand how unjustly the system can treat you. Now the economic system is treating them unjustly and Bush is responsible. John's credibility with working-class men who didn't get college educations is enormous. A guy who pretends and puts on a jumpsuit doesn't get it. "

[The Blue Knight]

1. Good article.

I'm actually reading Blumenthal's "the Clinton Wars" as we speak, and today in study hall, I was reading about his clashes with Matt Drudge, and low-and-behold, I get online, and everyone's talking about Drudge smearing Kerry with this story.

[Wells]

2. An endorsement for Kerry

When the Democratic Primaries began, I delayed supporting one candidate over another, to be fair, to measure strengths and weaknesses, to see how each stands up under pressure, to observe the media circus. To avoid rallying behind my pick I needed time for these things and more.

The coming year will be difficult, knowing that Bush and the rightwing political machine will be extremely manipulative, will distort facts, events and policy, and make vacuously empty charges and promises. My health cannot bear much witnessing the Bush campaign propaganda. I take the failures of his administration too personally and fear future events under a 2nd term.

I have found solace in John Kerry's public appearances and candidacy. I am relieved to place in him my trust. His demeanor before audiences is exemplary. His campaign slogans are exceptional. He exhibits a political boldness that is not brash nor diluted with self-aggrandizement. Whether he wins or loses in November, his candidacy represents an outstanding example of democracy personified. During his Presidency, I expect the majority of Americans will once again feel that our ship of state has stabilized and resumed a secure course in the sea of nations. My confidence in John Kerry as an excellent executive, will help me to bear with and survive the coming year of poltical turmoil.