Do you consider Kerry a DINO?

[ButterflyBlood]

unless you consider him a DINO, I don't see how you can't vote for him, and if he is a DINO, I'm interested in who isn't.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. No I consider a lot of the people trashing him DINO's or worse

[Bertha Venation]

2. I don't, and I'm not voting for him

in the primary.

[ButterflyBlood]

4. that's fine

but some people here won't vote for him in the GE.

[Bertha Venation]

5. That's disheartening, as it could cost us the election, but

that is their prerogative. Doesn't make them any less a patriot than you or I.

[tryanhas]

3. Yes...

...yes I do. :D

[OKNancy]

18. Well if Kerry is a DINO, then that makes Edwards a flat out

Republican. Kerry is rated more liberal by every raking organization there is. For example, ADA ranks Kerry's lifetime at 92, Edwards is 85 or 87 ( I forgot)

By the way, both Kerry and Edwards are fine Democrats and I'm proud one of them will be our nominee.

[tryanhas]

21. 85 or 87 for a southerner is...

...very good, lol.

[sangh0]

28. So a moderate from the South is more liberal than a MA Liberal?

That makes a certain kind of sense......NONsense

[tryanhas]

57. I'm not "LIBERAL" and I'm from the south...

...I'm not "CONSERVATIVE" and I'm from the south.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Mmmm _just_ to the left of Dino I guess

He's a mixed bag. Some things I want to love about him, but there's alot that makes me cringe.

[Warpy]

14. No pol is all things to all people

...and most of us learn to vote for the fellow who's got more to offer us than the other guy does. Dole would do about 15% of what I anted, while Clinton clocked in at 30%. That choice was unpleasant, but clear. This one is a little more clear. Kerry votes the way I would about 75% of the time. Bush clocks in at 0%.

Affixing silly labels in a case like this is counterproductive, at the very least.

[johnlal]

7. He's not a DINO

But there is a WIDE spectrum of Democrats. He should do his best to assure us that his views are in line with our values. Kerry feels comfortable in garnering votes from the left because of our ABB stance. I think he has to work harder to convince us that he's on our side.

[Rowdyboy]

8. Let's see, The National Journal's survey of his votes

calls him THE MOST LIBERAL SENATOR IN AMERICA

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/02/26/politics/main502099.shtml

http://nationaljournal.com/

So, yes, by DU standards, that makes Kerry a DINO...

[goobergunch]

10. Based on how many votes? (n/t)

[Rowdyboy]

16. Good question

I'm not a Journal subscriber and the cbsnews link is poorly written. Neen to find the whole Richard Cohen article.

[NewJerseyDem]

22. They use 63 votes

EDIT: But, then again I don't know how many of those votes he showed up for so that could screw up the ratings, obviously.

[sangh0]

29. So you don't know, but you comment anyway

Ni-i-i-c-e!

[NewJerseyDem]

32. Actually

I commented to say that they use 63 votes in the Senate.

Then, later I edited it when I realized that he didn't show up for the votes and the poster probably just wanted to know how many votes Kerry voted on, not the total number used.

Now, the "EDIT:" that I put there may have tipped you off to the change but you still thought that it would be a good idea to comment anyway.

[sangh0]

34. Atually, it was meant for gooberbunch

who complains about Kerry's missing votes without knowing if any of these votes were missed.

I should have replied to his/her post. My mistake.

[NewJerseyDem]

36. Well

He did miss a lot of votes so one can safely assume that some of them are included in the rankings. It would be virtually impossible to find 63 senate votes and have Kerry voting on all of them. That may also be the reason why Edwards comes out so liberal in the ratings.

EDIT: Here is a link on senate roll call votes in 2003. Just clicking randomly on votes and you can see that Kerry missed a vast majority of senate votes.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_108_1.htm

[goobergunch]

31. Well, thanks for the info

Although it does depend on how many votes he showed up for. :shrug:

[sangh0]

35. If you cared about info

you wouldn't complain about Kerry's missing votes until you knew if he missed any of these votes.

[goobergunch]

38. Clicky

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=2&vote=00018

EDIT: Clipboard Error

[BL_Zebub]

43. Not any from the last three years, obviously.

Kerry might have been a "liberal" at one point in distant history. But he hasn't been one when it counted. When this country needed the so called leadership in the Democratic party, where was Kerry? And Gephardt? And Daschle? And far too many others.

Why was Robert Byrd, a guy who was once a member of the fucking KKK (however many decades ago) acting more like a true liberal than a bunch of supposed ex hippy war protestors.

If Byrd wasn't in his mid 80's I would demand his nomination as one of the few Democrats in DC who still has balls.

[blondeatlast]

45. Hah! Yes, we are quite representative of the nation...

Love it.

RB, you are becoming one of my favorite DUers!

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

9. Absolutely not.

Although I am a Kucinich supporter, Kerry does have, overall, a solid liberal Democratic voting record. On some key votes he didn not vote "liberal" (such as NAFTA), true, but overall he has been a loyal Democrat.

So, no, not a DIINO.

[Evil_Dewers]

11. Hmm...Some think the most liberal US Senator...

more liberal than Teddy freakin' Kennedy, is a DINO?!?!

I wish the lunatic fringe here would commit mass ritual suicide, preferably in front of the White House.

It is time to thin the herd.

[goobergunch]

19. Please show one vote

in which Kennedy voted to the right of Kerry.

[NewJerseyDem]

24. Kennedy voted for prescription drugs bill in June

Kerry voted against it in committee and had Harry Reid announce on the floor that he would vote against the final bill.

[goobergunch]

27. Thanks

I've got to give Kerry that one.

[Forkboy]

12. No,I believe he represents today's Democrats perfectly

[AndyP]

13. new-b question

what does DINO stand for? :dunce:

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Dem in name only

[AndyP]

17. thanks

:)

[Zookeeper]

48. Thank you!

I was just trying to decide if I wanted to ask that question, or strain my brain by trying to figure it out myself.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. Dino? No. He's typical of the DLC "not too liberal" candidate.

He votes "liberal" on minor issues but "moderate" or conservative on the big ones..like IWR and NAFTA.

Just another DLC tweedle-dum, run of the mill, centrist with a little less backbone than the average squished slug.

[wyldwolf]

37. Simply astounding! You put the most emphasis on a few issues.

You're using IWR and NAFTA as wedge issues.

Have you looked at Kerry's Senate voting record?

Care to tell us which are the "minor" issues?

[Catholic Sensation]

23. to some of the more vocal people on this forum

Karl Marx is a right winger it seems. If the candidate doesn't believe in income redistribution, equal wages for all independent of one's productivity, government control of all factors of production, they're "Republican."

[corporatewhore]

25. I think hes a liberal...A Neo liberal

[dae]

26. You want to see a DINO come to the South my friends. Not that

there aren't quite a few scattered elsewhere. But we have some doosies, and I assure you, Kerry would not be considered among them. :)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Y-D-D!

[wyldwolf]

33. To someone who voted "yes" --- answer this...

Define what it means to be a democrat?

Then explain to us all why Kerry isn't.

I've got my popcorn out. This oughta be good!

[kiahzero]

39. This just in:

30 people incapable of seeing forest for trees.

[Protagoras]

40. Zell Miller is the only real Dino I know

The rest may shift to the right on some issues, but if you look at almost any place like http://www.progressivepunch.com/ and compare the overall voting records...especially when you don't fixate on a single issue...you quickly see there is still a pretty wide gulf between democrats and republicans.

[WillyT]

42. Exactly Protagoras, Nicely Said !!! --- And Welcome To The DU !!!

Kerry is no DINO, and Zell Miller should just switch parties and get it over with. He's a major embarrassment to the Dem Party.

Again, welcome aboard!!!

:toast::bounce::toast:

:yourock:

[Cuban_Liberal]

41. I don't, but he's not getting my primary vote.

He's a Democrat, just not one I'm terribly fond of...

[IndianaGreen]

44. Evan Bayh is a DINO, but John Kerry is a Democrat

Kerry is a misguided Democrat, but he is still a Democrat!

[LiberalFighter]

54. Too bad that "Political Compass" didn't do Bayh

Kerry is a whole lot better than gw*

http://www.digitalronin.f2s.com/politicalcompass/usprimaries.html

[ulysses]

46. no.

"DINO" is a subjective description - Kerry doesn't meet the standard on my terms. Still, I have unanswered questions about his willingness to truly change things, at least a little. I'll vote for him, but at this point it will be with a strong understanding that many battles will continue.

[Piperay]

47. NO way! (nt)

[Zookeeper]

49. I can't vote on this.

I apologize in advance to those of you who really like Kerry, but I have a hard time forcing myself to think about where he stands on anything. If it comes down to Kerry, it's really just ABB for me.

[arewethereyet]

50. no, he's a flip flopping fool

and isn't even good at it.

[Spirochete]

51. I don't think so

he certainly doesn't compare to someone like Zell Miller, for instance. I think he's a real Democrat. Maybe not the most gutsy Democrat that ever served, but a Democrat nonetheless.

[David Dunham]

52. He's the most liberal senator according to National Journal.

[citizen snips]

53. What does DINO stand for?

n/t

[corporatewhore]

55. democrat in name only

[Eloriel]

56. No, he's an opportunistic chameleon

[ozone_man]

58. It's not really a yes/no question.

Kerry goes anyway the political wind blows. A vote for IWR, Patriot Act, and NCLB are Republican causes. There appears to be not much difference between the Republican PNAC and the "Progressive Internationalism" that Kerry supports. So, I had to choose DINO, but would prefer a category such as "spineless opportunist".

[w4rma]

59. No.

A bit snobbish? maybe.
A bit paternal? maybe.
A bit of a doublespeaker? maybe.

However, I do believe that his good points outweigh his bad ones. No candidate is perfect.