Kerry criticizes Mass. Democrats for gay marriage support

[paineinthearse]

Strike 2, as far as I am concerned (the first being his caving on November 3).

See LBN for heated discussion.

=========================================================

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2005/05/06/kerry_criticizes_mass_democrats_for_gay_marriage_support/

Kerry criticizes Mass. Democrats for gay marriage support
May 6, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. --U.S. Sen. John Kerry, visiting Louisiana for a forum on children's health care, criticized the Massachusetts Democratic Party for its expected approval of a statement in the party platform in support of same-sex marriage. "I think it's a mistake," Kerry said. "I think it's the wrong thing, and I'm not sure it reflects the broad view of the Democratic Party in our state."

Kerry made the comments to The Boston Globe after hosting the event on his proposed KidsFirst Act, which would bring health care to uninsured children. Kerry's opposition to gay marriage puts him at odds with the chairman of the Massachusetts Democrats, Philip W. Johnston, who said that the senator's stance will not change the expected approval of the language at next weekend's party meeting in Lowell. "I have great affection and respect for John, but I disagree on this issue," Johnston said. "It is important that the state Democratic Party support civil rights. We need to take a stand."

U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said he supports the inclusion of the same-sex marriage language in the party platform. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts since last year. The 3,000 delegates to the Massachusetts Democratic Party are scheduled to meet at Tsongas Arena on May 14. Johnston said he did not expect that there would be an effort to block the same-sex marriage plank.

In his Louisiana appearance, Kerry also touched on his failed 2004 presidential campaign, saying that he saw promise in how much support he received even in states where he lost. In Louisiana, he lost to President Bush 57 percent to 42 percent, but received 30,000 more votes than the previous Democratic nominee, Al Gore, in 2000. Kerry's stop in Baton Rouge was part of a weeklong series of events around the country to promote the Kidsfirst bill. An aide said he has a similar forum scheduled Friday in Miami.

[bertha katzenengel]

1. I'll tell him and anyone who does not support my right to marry the same

thing I have always said to anyone who cares to offer me their opinion:

I AM married. I am just waiting for my government to catch up with me. What YOU think doesn't much matter to me.

Eventually the minority will be protected from the tyranny of the ign-- the majority.

[Warpy]

2. What a disappointment

Personally, I don't give a flip who gets married, as long as it's not me.

I can't fathom the reasoning behind denying the protection of marriage or civil union to any stable, adult couples who wish to enter into it.

I suppose Kerry's just nervous about being excommunicated by the new pope.

[wisteria]

3. KERRY IS ENTITLED TO HIS OPINION!

He was just stating his opinion on a platform issue WHEN HE WAS ASKED THIS QUESTION! He would not be pandering to the right because, THE RIGHT IS ANTI-GAY RIGHTS OF ANY KIND. KERRY SUPPORTS CIVIL UNIONS AS DO MOST OF THE OTHER DEMS. I fail to see how this is strike two.Actually, I fail to see how there is even strike one. I can't comprehend how some people think he caved in on November 3rd. Gore's and Kerry's situations were completely different. On November 3rd there was nothing tangible to fight for. Obviously, you had issues with Kerry before and during the election and are angry over the loss. I am too,but instead of looking back and continually fighting the past,I have channeled my anger and sadness over the last election into a positive effort. I am looking ahead to the 2006 elections and the positive outcome that will come from all of our joined efforts.

[Dr Ron]

4. Agreed on both issues

Re civil unions, it should be pointed out that Kerry has also insisted that civil unions must include all the legal rights currently provided through marriage.

On the election, he did the right thing. There was not sufficient evidence to claim the election was stolen. People like Boxer also requested that he lay low so that this would not look like someone complaining about losing. This was necessary to avoid discrediting everyone fighting for election reform.

[paineinthearse]

5. "On November 3rd there was nothing tangible to fight for"

:wtf:

Did I copy and paste that correctly?

And with regard of taking civil rights away from all as proposed (yes, going from marriage to civil unions would do just that), no thanks. I prefer the Massachusetts constutution was written by John Adams and interpreted by a majority of the SJC.

[rox63]

6. He's not suggesting same-sex marriage be overturned in MA

He's just suggesting that the party platform remain neutral on the subject, so as to be welcoming to a diversity of opinions. I see this as similar to when Howard Dean suggested the Democratic Party should be more welcoming to voters who don't support abortion rights.

[paineinthearse]

7. Kerry's continued determination to distance himself from his liberal roots

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/08/dont_forget_us_senator/

EILEEN MCNAMARA
Don't forget us, senator
By Eileen McNamara, Globe Columnist | May 8, 2005

If Senator John F. Kerry really wants to influence the Democratic Party in Massachusetts, wouldn't he have more impact in Lowell than in Louisiana? The failed Democratic presidential nominee was in Baton Rouge last week when he said it would be a mistake to include a statement of support for gay marriage in the platform of the Massachusetts Democratic Party because the issue is so divisive. But Kerry himself won't be attending the party's platform convention in Lowell next weekend. He is traveling the country, testing the waters for another White House run. I mean, he's already on the road holding town meetings on children's healthcare needs.

It is a shame Kerry could not fit a stop at the Tsongas Arena on his cross-country tour. He would discover what the 3,000 delegates to the convention already know. He could bring the news to the rest of the nation. The earth did not tilt off its axis one year ago when same-sex marriages were legalized in Massachusetts. The demonstrations are over. Massachusetts has moved on. Like Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, Kerry is spending a lot of time these days talking to audiences far from the Merrimack Valley. That might explain why both men find themselves so often misreading the sentiments of the folks back home.

Last week, while Kerry was ignoring a March poll that showed solid support for gay marriage among Massachusetts Democrats, Romney was ignoring the endorsement by state law enforcement officials of a bill to allow over-the-counter sales of hypodermic needles. Romney opposes the bill, his office says, because it ''facilitates illegal drug use," a rationale rejected in public hearings last week by two prominent district attorneys and a representative of the Boston police commissioner. Even his own Department of Public Health endorses the needle sale legislation as a means of slowing the spread by tainted syringes of the virus that causes AIDS. It is easy to fall out of touch with Beacon Hill when you spend so much time dining with political strategists in Washington or courting audiences in Missouri, South Carolina, Michigan, or Utah.

These days, the two frequent fliers look less like potential adversaries for the American presidency in 2008 than tactical twins courting the same bloc of socially conservative voters. In their political calculation for higher office, both men are running away from the one constituency they were elected to serve, the people of Massachusetts. Romney might get a laugh when he tells audiences that in liberal Massachusetts he feels like a ''cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention," but the joke is on him. Recent polls indicate those vegetarians might put him out to pasture if he stands for reelection next year.

Kerry's continued determination to distance himself from his liberal roots is even more perplexing.

more.......

Eileen McNamara is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at [e-mail].

[TayTay]

8. I found this column to be whiny and inaccurate

par for the course for the Globe:

This was my satirical response. (Sarcasm and satire warning, okay!)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=26578&mesg_id=26590&page=