[lit-ideas] More on A Case for Kerry
- From: Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 10:38:18 EDT
Hi,
I really hope no one minds me sharing these things. I am, of course, open
and desire all sides of thought.
Maybe no one else has read them?
Here is an article that showed up on a blog-contest to see who can write an
essay on why Kerry should be elected which did not bash Bush. This was the
winner...hopefully the links to the first sourced articles also show up...if
not and you want them, let me know.
Kind of interesting...
Have a great day,
Marlena
_http://www.donaldsensing.com/2004/08/case-for-kerry.html_
(http://www.donaldsensing.com/2004/08/case-for-kerry.html)
The Case for Kerry
by Scott Forbes
In the past several months I've _spoken_ (http://au.democratsabroad.org/) or
_written_ (http://www.ravenna.com/~forbes) to hundreds of Americans about
the upcoming election, and registered hundreds more to _request their
absentee ballots_ (http://www.overseasvote2004.com/) . Many have already made
up
their minds, but some are still on the bubble: They have serious doubts about
both Kerry and Bush, and are trying to weigh their options.
There are plenty of sources out there (credible and otherwise) making the
case against either candidateâ?¦ and we all have first-hand knowledge of
Bush's
performance in office, so a discussion of his merits is more reminder than
introduction. That leaves only the case for John Kerry â?? the case that says
Kerry will not only be better than Bush: He'll be a good, strong, capable
leader
by any measure.
The War on Terror
Of all the doubts I've heard about Kerry, the one I hear most from swing
voters is less about the candidate and more about Democrats in general: Some
people don't trust any Democrat to lead the nation in war. For these voters,
the
anti-war activists in Kerry's camp are a cause for deep suspicion â?? as are
Kerry's credentials as a Vietnam War opponent, in spite of his decorated
service record. If I can trust Kerry to fight the terrorists, these people
say, I
can vote for him. But how can I be sure that Kerry will walk the talk?
Well, one reason why John Kerry's combat record is under so much scrutiny
(and why so much effort is being made to tarnish it) is because it shows how
Kerry behaves under fire: _He turns toward the enemy and attacks_
(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-040821rood,1,1611037.story?coll=ch
i-news-hed) . What Kerry did on a Swift boat isn't proof of what he'll do in
the Oval Office, and some of our finest _wartime_
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html) _presidents_
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html) were men who never
saw battleâ?¦ but Kerry's valor in
the face of death speaks volumes about his instincts and his character. In
Vietnam, John Kerry believed in taking the fight to the enemy â?? and he did.
In the Senate John Kerry made his mark as an investigator, rather than as an
author of legislation: Instead of giving us Kerry Scholars or Kerry IRAs,
John Kerry used the Senate's oversight powers to shine a light in dark places.
In a three-year investigation from 1988 to 1991, in spite of attempts to
block him by powerful interests on both sides of the aisle, Kerry was
responsible
for bringing down the _global terrorist financing network_
(http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0409.sirota.html) that was a
forerunner to
today's Al Qaeda. Ten years before anyone else in Washington paid notice to
shadowy networks of international terrorist financiers, Kerry was shutting
down
the bank where Osama kept his money.
John Kerry's plan for winning the war on terror is _a comprehensive
long-term strategy_ (http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/) that
uses
all the tools at our disposal: From _strengthening our military_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/military.html) to
_reforming our
intelligence capabilities_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/intel.html) , from
_expanding Nunn-Lugar_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/strategy.html) to
_effectively preparing for post-combat operations_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0227.html) , Kerry's
plan for ending the terrorist threat is thorough and compelling.
And, perhaps most importantly of all, John Kerry understands that our key to
victory in the fight against terrorists is to defeat the enemy's ideas.
Kerry's war on terror will do more than just _roll the boulder uphill_
(http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/sisyphus.html) : His most powerful
weapons will be
_fundamental American principles_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/democracy.html) of
democracy, human rights and the rule of law. And,
Kerry's election will deprive the terrorists of the strongest weapons they
have: From the _tortures at Abu Ghraib_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33789-2004Aug25.html) to the
_nepotism and cronyism_
(http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040607fa_fact1) of our hand-picked
Iraqi
government, America's case for democracy has been compromised by actions that
run
counter to our democratic principles. By making a break with these un-American
policies, John Kerry restores our ability to fight the terrorists on all
fronts â??
to not only defeat today's terrorists, but to stop would-be sympathizers
from turning into new recruits.
The War in Iraq
Thirty years ago the pundits said "only Nixon could go to China" â?? today
only John Kerry can win the peace in Iraq. Kerry changes the political
dimensions of the conflict in ways that Bush cannot: As a Democratic
president, Kerry
can change the world's perception of Iraq, from being viewed as an
essentially American struggle to being accepted as a global peacekeeping
challenge.
Kerry and the Democrats have a legacy of using America's military might to
achieve humanitarian goals. From Somalia to Kosovo, the Democrats sent
American troops in harm's way not for short-term strategic reasons, but in
altruistic, multinational efforts to stabilize countries and prevent ethnic
strife.
For what we need right now in Iraq, the Democrats have a stronger hand
politically (and a more seasoned foreign policy team) to achieve it.
The Bush administration has stated a goal of _maintaining America's military
dominance_ (http://www.psr.org/home.cfm?id=nss_fact_sheet) , and supported
the view that our military should only be used to pursue our own strategic
interests. By choosing and openly declaring these values, the Republicans have
lost a degree of freedom: Their appeals to other, more idealistic values are
perceived through a cynical filter. Fairly or unfairly, charges that America's
interest in Iraq is strategic and selfish stick to the Republicans. The
Democrats are largely immune to these attacks, and can make a far stronger
appeal
to idealism when seeking support for U.S. peacekeeping in Iraq.
In principle, a Democrat should have been able to open relations with
Communist China as easily as a Republican. In practice, only Nixon could go to
China â?? and _only Kerry can win the peace in Iraq_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/iraq.html) .
Deficits, Taxes, and the Economy
My favorite bird in Washington, the deficit hawk, has been kicked out of the
nest by a flock of cuckoos. The cuckoos pretend to be deficit hawks, until
they take office â?? and then they _bribe the people with their own money_
(http://www.tocqueville.org/) . Or, rather, they bribe us with our children's
money, since our kids will inherit the deficits we accrue.
(http://www.ravenna.com/~forbes/images/deficit.jpg)
Sources: _Congressional Budget Office (1990-2003)_
(http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm? <br />index=1821&sequence=0) , _Congressional
Budget Office (2004
projection)_ (http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=1944&sequence=0) , _Citizens
for Tax Justice_ (http://www.ctj.org/pdf/gwbdata.pdf) , _Friends
Committee on National Legislation_
(http://www.fcnl.org/smith/congress_defense_bud401-04.htm) .
I think even staunch conservatives will concede what kind of bird George
Bush has been, so the question is whether John Kerry will be a responsible
steward or another cuckoo. And the irony here is that Kerry has already shown
his
colors on that scoreâ?¦ and he's paid a fairly high price for taking the
fiscally responsible road.
Back in September 2003, President Bush requested an additional $87 billion
in supplemental appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan â?? funding for a
post-war reconstruction effort that administration officials had _promised
would be
paid for by the Iraqis_ (http://democrats.senate.gov/~dpc/pubs/108-1-345.html)
. At the time, I _blogged_
(http://www.ravenna.com/~forbes/index.cgi/2003/09/) :
I would stand up and cheer right now if anyone in Congress demanded fiscal
accountability in response to Bush's request for another $87 billion in Iraq
reconstruction money. If any member of either party insists that Bush either
raise taxes or cut spending by $87 billion, I'll be a fan for life.
â?¦and John Kerry took me at my word. He co-sponsored _an amendment to the
appropriations bill_ (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:SP1796:)
that
suspended $87 billion in tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent of
Americans, instead of forcing our children to foot the bill; the amendment was
defeated, on a largely party-line vote, and then Kerry voted against the bill
that financed Iraq's reconstruction with deficit spending.
In the world of dirty gotcha-game campaigning, Kerry has taken a lot of heat
for that vote: First it was used as an allegation that he didn't support the
troops â?? and then, when he pointed out the amendment he co-sponsored, that
was used to accuse him of flip-flopping. But the truth of the matter is that
Kerry proposed and supported an alternative to deficit spending.
You can argue, if you wish, that Kerry and the other Democrats only oppose
deficit spending when Republicans are in favor of it â?? but ultimately that's
an argument in favor of electing Kerry. If you think it's important to tame
the deficit, and you believe deficit reduction only happens when one party has
the White House and the other has control of Congress, then the only way to
achieve your goal this year is to put John Kerry in the White House.
John Kerry's _plan to restore fiscal responsibility_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/economy/fiscal_responsibility.html) cuts
taxes for 98 percent of
Americans, restores the _PAYGO_
(http://www.c-span.org/guide/congress/glossary/paygo.htm) rule for revenue and
spending bills, and supports an innovative
strategy to _end corporate welfare as we know it_
(http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/relatedarticles/30177.php) . Kerry's team
of economic advisors includes
former Treasury secretary _Robert Rubin_
(http://www.businessweekasia.com/magazine/content/04_31/b3894006_mz001.htm)
and billionaire investor Warren
Buffett; in matters of economics, job creation, and fiscal policy, Kerry's
credentials are impeccable.
Conclusion
I've run out of space, and I haven't even touched on Kerry's plans for
_energy independence_ (http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/energy/) , _homeland
security_ (http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/homeland_security/) , _health care_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care/) , the _environment_
(http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/environment/) , and countless other issues
where John Kerry
offers a compelling vision for our country. Kerry is more than just the
Anybody in "Anybody But Bush" â?? he's a capable, talented leader, with good
ideas
about how to face the issues and challenges of our time. I believe John Kerry
should be our next President, and that a vote for him is more than just a
vote against Bush: It's a vote for a better future, and for a stronger America.
sorry this is so late in the day getting online - my internet service has
been out for much of the day.
by Donald Sensing, 6:30 PM. _Permalink_
(http://www.donaldsensing.com/2004/08/case-for-kerry.html) _Comment (46)_
(javascript:HaloScan('109373666945424766');) |
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
- » [lit-ideas] More on A Case for Kerry
