What would things be like now if Kerry had won?

[gulliver]

We would have the same upsurge in Iraqi violence, but the right would be screaming that it was caused by the Kerry Administration and the fact that our election sent the wrong signal to terrorists. Mitch McConnell, instead of saying that things are looking good in Iraq would be saying that things have headed south since Kerry took office. Cheney would be saying that the insurgency was in its death throes before the election, but that the Kerry presidency had given the insurgency new momentum.

More conservatives in Congress would be calling for withdrawal of troops, saying that Kerry's mishandling had probably cost us victory. "We had Iraq won, but Kerry dropped the ball," they would say. "Kerry's victory signaled weakness to America's enemies. That is why we are losing now. The left lost Vietnam, and the left has probably lost us Iraq."

Had Kerry won, Bush's Folly would now be crumbling around Kerry. With Bush in the White House and a Republican majority in Congress, the worst mistake in history, the Iraq war, stands a good chance of being blamed on its perpetrators. The rubber-room right has grievously misled, damaged, and blood-sucked America, and they have no one but themselves to blame.

[GetTheRightVote]

1. I would hope Kerry would have pulled us out,

but it is making Repubs look pretty bad alright.

:kick:

[still_one]

6. unfortunately looking back on everything

I do NOT think Kerry would have pulled us out

They would have used the excuse that we can't leave until it is stable

Remember the killing didn't stop in Viet Nam until we left

[LuPeRcALiO]

9. At least he would have brought in other players.

I think he'd have gotten us out by now, and turned the reconstruction over to foreign firms that are actually willing to do it.

His chief constituency isn't Haliburton-Boeing-Bechtel.

[goclark]

2. It's all on them this way

Things happen for a reason.

[Karenina]

3. Woulda, coulda, shoulda...

Waste.of.bandwidth.

[clydefrand]

4. I often think the same thoughts as you so well put in print.

Makes me kinda glad Kerry, my choice, didn't get in there. He's probably glad also.

I say let the repugs fall flat on their collective faces in this pile of manure they've created. And if they don't do something soon to get our people out of Iraq, they won't be in power much longer. I see this happening now when such people as Senator Hagel comes out against the WH as he has done today. These Congress people want to hold onto their power, but they won't succeed if they don't voice their objections to Bush and his cronies. More will keep their positions if they call for the impeachment and removal of their leader...he's not mine.

[Benhurst]

5. I hope he would have pulled out by now. But wasn't he

going along with the "we have to finish our mission" bullshit? When a mission is illegal and immoral it should be terminated, not finished.

Bring the troops home NOW!

[NewJeffCT]

7. There would have been an international summit on Iraq...

Remember, i think it was the German defense minister that said that Kerry's idea of a summit was a good one. If that had happened, along with opening up bids to non US corporations for reconstruction, maybe it grants more international legitimacy?

If Kerry was in charge, maybe the torture enablers like Gonzalez, Rummy & those top generals would be in the process of getting prosecuted (assuming Bush didn't pardon his whole administration for crimes they may have committed...)

We'd probably be negotiating with North Korea & not backing troops out of there when North Korea talked tough.

[LightningFlash]

8. Kerry did win and apparently you don't know it yet.

Just another stolen election to add to the growing pile. Kerry never fought and did not really care to make sure all votes were counted. He didn't have it in them and is different than he first appears.

[Ysolde]

10. Good point.

It would not be good for us Dems, but the country would be better off. That abysmal bankruptcy bill would have been vetoed as would the class action lawsuit "reform". The energy bill would actually be tilted to conservation and renewables and not be a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry. Brown, Owen, etc. wouldn't have been given lifetime appointments. The Supreme Court would stand a chance at getting a moderate to replace Rehnquist.

It's a tough call seeing the harm that is being done by Bush, but knowing Kerry would have been the scapegoat, especially with the lapdog media wanting to CYA on its collusion for getting us into the war, makes that not pretty, either.

[dr.zoidberg]

11. Not a whole lot.

Kerry probably would have pulled the troops out of Iraq by now. There would also be a lot less bitching and a whole lot less entertainment here;-) .

[brindis_desala]

12. I am amazed that most people don't understand what fueled the insurgency

in the first place. Do you think those supply dumps were left unguarded by accident, that Iraq's water and electricity grid is still not fully functioning because the Iraqis lack the know how? That importing foreign labor when there was high Iraqi unemployment would not guarantee the insurgency would mushroom. Do you think a Democratic president could have overseen this level of malfeasance and corruption even if he wanted to? Look, the Iraqi are not stupid. They know we came for their oil but they are shocked by Bush's corruption which makes Saddam seem like a small fry and they just don't want their country run by thugs and gangsters like Chalabi and Negroponte either. Kerry would have bolstered the Coalition because he would not have to bribe the military brass to let his cronies steal. See why Iraq is a scandalous hornswoggle and why Bush is guilty of treason with or without the Downing Street memo.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1866833&mesg_id=1866833