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November 2, 2006
Kerry's Gaffe a Boon to Republicans?
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So here is my column. I know it's a bit long, but the message is important. I hope you write back and tell me what your reaction is:
Whatever precipitated the genesis of U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry’s stupid comments about Iraq and President George W. Bush reveal the depths this country’s leaders and activists have sunk to regarding the art of political hatred and partisanship.
America’s value system is out of whack, and people of politics, coupled with a media just too happy to join the fray, are making it worse.
We see it in negative campaign advertising, TV shows, movies, and newspaper articles, and hear it on radio.
Currently, there is a movie playing in U.S. theaters depicting the assassination of a sitting U.S. president, George W. Bush, and the impact such an event would have on America.
The thought is revolting, yet the movie is defended as art. The film implies that America should be prepared for Bush’s death as if an assassination were a normal everyday government activity.
Since the nation’s birth, a president’s assassination has been treated as a national tragedy. One has to wonder, though, whether some Americans would celebrate in the streets if such a horrendous act would happen today.
Republicans have condemned the film for its subject matter. In turn they’ve been attacked for supposedly diminishing the Canadian moviemaker’s “free speech� rights. Free speech was never the issue, however. Human debasement and a copycat assassination were.
Several Democrats also criticized the film. They’ve been drowned out, however, by the majority who remained silent, fearful that a public condemnation could be used against them by a special interest group or by political activists like MoveOn.org. What would be the Internet campaign?: These Democrats are “soft� on George Bush’s potential assassination.
How absurd.
I grew up respecting presidents and politicians at every level and of every party. My parents and teachers helped me understand the value of public service and the sacrifices of public servants. As I grew older, I learned that some people abused the public trust. They are the exceptions, because the vast majority of politicians are good people. But you’d never know it from negative public perceptions that are being created by misleading political campaigns and hate-filled speeches.
I still vote for candidates whom I consider the best for the job, regardless of party affiliation. I’m a proud cross-over Independent. Yet I’m feeling more glum each day that Americans increasingly define candidates by partisan political labels and support them based on specific hot-button issues — without recognizing whether an individual candidate is up to the task of making fair and just decisions for the American people.
Every American should be outraged over the state of politics in America today and the venom it has spilled into every day life, even at the local level.
Which brings me back to John Kerry, Massachusetts’ junior U.S. senator.
Kerry’s resentment toward President Bush has only grown since his close 2004 election defeat. It’s now come to the point where Kerry is wearing it on his sleeve everywhere he goes.
Giving a speech in front of a California college crowd, Kerry tried to tell a joke whose intention was to cast doubt on the president’s intelligence while emphasizing the Republican administration’s failed policy in Iraq. Kerry butchered the joke. What came out of his mouth was a knock on the U.S. military fighting in Iraq. How bad was the joke? Bad enough that a friendly Kerry crowd gasped in shock.
Now I don’t think for one second that Kerry meant to demean the U.S. military, but certainly some Republicans will use the mangled joke for that purpose.
What Kerry proved, however, is that at least one leading, Yale-educated Democrat can’t read a prepared speech from a piece of paper positioned three feet from his nose.
Worse, Kerry proved that he would go to any length to make a punch line out of the president, even if it meant ridiculing, by mistake, the U.S. military.
It takes nothing special to do what John Kerry does these days. He just has to be his supremely arrogant, vindictive self.
Is this what Democrats really want in a statesman? In a president?
Sadly, I think it is.
Posted by at November 2, 2006 10:19 AM
Comments
Great column and right on the money. First of all, Kerry and Kennedy are an embarassment but in Massachusetts that means nothing and the people keep voting them in. I also think you're right about what would happen if something happened to Bush, there would some amount of celebrating which is very unfortunate. Can you imagine the outrage if there was a similar movie made about Bill Clinton. His supporters were in a snit over the 9/11 movie and the fact that Chris Wallace asked him a very reasonable question. What I don't agree with is that Kerry just read something wrong or misspoke. This is not the first time he has painted everyone in the military with a broad brush like this and probably won't be the last. I do not believe he is truly sorry that offended anyone, he's sorry that the story got out. Thank God for the bloggers yet again. Finally, if Kerry and the Dems really think Bush is dumb, how was he able to "trick" them all into voting to support going into Iraq?
Posted by: JackC at November 2, 2006 1:09 PM
Hello James,
You are right on man, John Kerry should have
never made a statement as he did on Monday.
John Kerry is a polished politican, who
knows the affects of everything he speaks
about. The war in Iraq is a senistive issue
for all Americans. It is no joke....
Posted by: Bill Deignan at November 2, 2006 5:02 PM
Kerry is a poor comedian, a mediocre politician, but likely has the best interests of the warfighters at heart.
But let's look at the guy who is using this incident to distract the people from his misadventure in Iraq from the perspective of how our economy is performing. We should consider the policy of "spend and borrow" even more onerous than the supposed "tax and spend" mantra being laid on the Democrats.
A few facts about our economy:
Over the past five years, the U.S. dollar is significantly down against the euro, the Canadian dollar, the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan, and the British pound.
The U.S. trade deficit in August was $69.9 billion.
The United States is $8.6 trillion in debt.
Our GDP growth rate clocked in at a dismal 1.6% in the third quarter -- and that number may very well be inflated.
In other words, our country's economic position in the world is weakening.
Posted by: JP at November 4, 2006 8:18 AM
