May 21, 2004

QUOTABLES:

“John Kerry is rapidly gaining a reputation as the Whirling Dervish of presidential politics, what with his constant position reversals on every conceivable issue.” – writes the New York Post.

"As I pointed out repeatedly during the floor debate, the [Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act] does not ban soft money notwithstanding repetitive claims to the contrary. ... Nevertheless, we're now stuck with complex and convoluted law," Rep. Bob Ney said.

"Because CNN pays me a lot of money to do it." Conservative columnist Robert Novak replied to the question of how he stomachs sitting across the table from James Carvilleon CNN’s Crossfire.

"Don't judge me by the people who preceded me. You may have had a disagreement with [President] Bill Clinton, or [former Vice President] Al Gore or the Democratic leadership in Congress ... but that's not me. I have fought with you, I have been with you on a range of issues, and you should judge me by my record in the Senate," said John Kerry to Ralph Nader.

“Not all Democrats fully accept the strictly "liberal" view, of course, but they belong to a party that, of the two main parties in American political life, is the one identified with the belief that moral choices are profoundly conditioned by circumstance and therefore aren't truly free. It may be too much to suggest that God himself is a Republican. Then again, it may not.” -- writes David Klinghoffer a columnist for the Jewish Forward.

JUST POLITICS

Nader Meeting Bombshell: “Kerry & I talked about Iraq”

Ralph Nader is telling a different tale than Kerry regarding their 70-minute meeting on Wednesday. At issue is the subject of Iraq. In widespread news reports, Kerry’s aides are quoted as saying Iraq did not come up during the meeting. Nader disagrees. According to the Union Leader:

Immediately after Wednesday's meeting, aides to Kerry said Iraq had not come up during the meeting, but Nader said Thursday he had raised it and recommended that Kerry develop and enunciate an exit strategy to sharpen his differences with President Bush.

"I told him you've got to look at it from the point of view of mainstream Iraqis and how they can be persuaded to separate themselves from the insurgents," Nader said in a brief telephone interview. He added that he urged a policy that sets a firm date for a U.S. "military and corporate withdrawal" from Iraq, coupled with internationally sanctioned elections, the promise of more humanitarian assistance and international peacekeepers.

"I said you need to give the public an exit strategy," Nader said. "Bush doesn't have an exit strategy. He (Kerry) said I have an exit strategy and I'll be talking about it more."

Currently, Kerry and Nader disagree about Iraq. Nader favors the cut and run withdrawal of all U.S. forces. As of today, Kerry opposes withdrawal prior to stabilization. With other Democrats crying, “Cut and run,” it seems unlikely the chronic flip-flopper Kerry will suddenly stand firm under pressure.

And how about American sentiment? Here’s a revealing comment from columnist Tony Blankley:

“A general once said of his own troops that he didn't know what the enemy thinks of them, ‘but they scare the hell out of me.’  I get that same queasy feeling observing about half of American public opinion and the politicians and journalists who try to shape it. . . . (L)ess than three years after America began to face down the greatest threat yet to our national survival, not only has half the country given up the fight, but they have closed their eyes to the danger.”

Kerry’s abortion flip-flop-flap

The New York Post says, “John Kerry is rapidly gaining a reputation as the Whirling Dervish of presidential politics, what with his constant position reversals on every conceivable issue.”

Kerry’s abortion flip-of-record happened this past Wednesday when he said he would be open to appointing judges who oppose abortion -- provided the appointment did not provide a deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

As the New York Post article goes on to say, “that stunned quite a few of his strongest supporters — after all, in the primaries Kerry campaigned on his promise to impose a strict litmus test on abortion when making judicial appointments.” Adding insult to injury are the ads Kerry has been running, which exhort the dire warning:  "George Bush will appoint anti-choice, anti-privacy judges."

This latest abortion flip-flop portray what polls show as a key Kerry weakness: Voters think he tries to straddle both sides of an issue, a point underscored in Bush campaign attacks on the "Boston Fog" of Kerry's views.

Kerry: Another Foggy Week

Kerry's Vietnam Veterans “Band of Brothers” photo-fraud
Kerry’s ads show a Vietnam Unit photo of 19 depicting his Band of Brothers supporters... of which only 2 actually support him

The Ralph Nader Meeting bombshell
Kerry camp says Iraq was not discussed, Nader says it was

Abortion flip-flop-flip
Kerry says he’s open to appointing pro-life judges

Kerry raised $1 million a day

The Federal Election Reports show that last month Kerry raised $31 million. That made for a total of $117 million through April and includes a loan of roughly $6 million.

Kerry's financial growth since he won the Democratic primaries is due in great part to Internet fund-raising. His campaign has taken in more than $35 million online this year and is going for $10 million in May alone. Kerry spent $35 million last month.

The Bush campaign started last month with $72 million on hand. Bush spent $31 million in and has used up a record $126 million since officially starting his re-election effort last May. The campaign raised $15 million last month topping $200 million for a record.

Bush to change ad

The Bush campaign will air a more critical ad of Sen. John Kerry beginning Monday. The ad will not only be critical of Kerry’s flip-flops on Iraq but will also be critical of Kerry’s flip-flops on the Patriot Act.

Make it Hillary

Exactly 657 Democrats and independents leaning left were asked by Frank Luntz's research firm: "If you could vote for the candidate to run against George W. Bush in the fall and your only two choices were John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton, for whom would you vote?"

Mrs. Clinton: 47 percent

Mr. Kerry: 44 percent

Hillary’s money pitch

Hillary Clinton has an email to potential contributors mailed out by the Democrat National Committee, which literally screams that the Democrats’ world is coming to an end:

We all know the stakes in this election are incredibly high. If we win, we'll have John Kerry in the White House leading America with the hope, optimism, and sense of common purpose that have always been at the center of America's response to challenging times.

If they get their way, you and I will be living in an America governed not by our hopes, but by our fears. We'll be living in an America where we see our freedoms diminished when they ought to be embraced, our rights restricted when they ought to be strengthened.

We'll be living in an America that shrinks away from the political and economic challenges of the 21st century, rather than rising to those challenges and working together to meet them.

Don't let Republicans create an America we won't recognize.

Kerry’s America... back in the Vietnam boat again

The Kerry campaign has a new theme, “Let America be America again.” Best of the Web’s James Taranto has this to say about it:

"Let America be America again." What does this mean? We didn't realize America stopped being America, and we have no idea what America is now if not America.”

Senator Kerry attempted to clear up the fog with the following explanations: "Talking about 'Let America be America again' is tapping into that value system that people think makes this country strong..." "What is it that makes us strong, and what do we have to do to get that back, to let America be America? Strength means people being able to do better in their jobs. Strength means having the courage to stand up to special interests that steal the agenda here in Washington. Strength is fighting to have health coverage for children. . . .

And this hippie-zone one-liner Kerry “shaped” all by himself: "For America to be America for any of us, America must be America for all of us...”

And finally, Kerry offers this view of America: "We were Americans and we were literally in the same boat," he said, recalling his Navy crew in Vietnam. "We're all in the same boat here in America, and we need to come together now to lift this country up, not tear it down. . . . We are the can-do people, we are the can-do country, and we need to get the job done."

And there you have it... John Kerry’s “Let America be America again” means we’re all back in that Vietnam boat again -- with John, and Jane. Ah, I can almost hear the campaign music. Yes! It’s the Beatles ...

Get back, get back,

Get back to where you was belonged....

Kerry interrupted

Sen. John Kerry is looking at ways to enable him to get around the problem of not being able to raise unlimited funds once he becomes the nominee and takes the $75 million from the Federal Election Commission.

Democrat Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe wanted the selection process for the Democrats to be over early. Because of this the Democrats are holding their convention in Boston from July 26 to 29 five weeks before the Republicans meet in New York from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. This would normally mean that the Republicans would have five weeks to raise unlimited funds because both have opted out of the FEC funding of campaigns.

So, Democrats are trying to figure out how to hold a nominating convention without nominating a candidate to make up for the mistake of holding the convention too early. It will be a great scam if they can pull it off.

 

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