I'm throwing *all* of my support behind Kerry.

[poskonig]

I believe Kerry is the superior choice and has a credible chance to win the primary.

The advantages of a Kerry candidacy against Bush are too great for me to pass up -- he combines the strengths of Clark and Dean without any of their weaknesses. Kerry will be able to raise unlimited amounts of money against the GOP. His democratic credentials are solid -- Kerry has been loyal to us for many years. Kerry has a record of empowering people over special interests, where other candidates have compromised with them. Kerry supports progressive taxation, has foreign policy creds for the general election, has a great record on the environment, and has taken Republicans to task (e.g. Iran-Contra) repeatedly.

While Kerry's vote for the IWR was questionable, it was he who took the initiative to get Bush to come to the Congress in the beginning. It was only after the effort failed that Kerry voted for the IWR. I'll admit that Kerry did it for political expedience, but I will not concede that Kerry will lead us into random wars. Kerry understands our security concerns and has the expertise to fix the Iraq situation. I do not doubt his loyalty.

To Dean supporters -- I will not disrespect you in the way others have. Kerry's past tactics surely don't help his negatives, along with many of the supporters. I hope I will be able to set the example, in addition to providing clean arguments for Kerry's campaign. It has been fun, and we'll be working together again no matter who wins.

Jason H. Bowden

[lib 4 all]

1. an excellent choice, he has served our party with distinction for 20 years

[Padraig18]

2. Thank you!

:hi:

[KittyWampus]

3. Congratulations. May The Best Candidate Win!

Your thread the other day inspired some interesting, quality comments.

Thank You.

[Bush loves Jiang]

4. Kerry prefers the Bush position to the Sanders position on Taiwan...

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/01/08/2003086763

Kiss my ass Kerry.

Go Lieberman! (For once.)

[CMT]

5. Good Luck

but not too much :)

[bhunt70]

6. Good luck!

[flpoljunkie]

7. Your analysis of Kerry combining strengths of Dean, Clark w/o weaknesses

is compelling. Hope undecided Iowans will reach a similar conclusion, as the race in Iowa looks like it is going down to the wire.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. and he is older than Edwards

so make that- he's times 3 candidates.

[lib 4 all]

10. and he's got more funk than Al Sharpton

so make that - he's times 4 candidates.
:)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. actually, Sharpton praised Kerry as "the only other one to go to jail..."

for his beliefs". Awesome accolade.

[Monte Carlo]

8. Welcome aboard, then!

I don't know how familiar you are with Kerry's record, but I think he has a history that makes him stand out even among the crowd he is in. He has fought in wars abroad, he has fought against war at home, his stances on the issues would make any Democrat proud, he is as green as they come on the environment, and he has a great ability to speak and be heard on his terms. Sure, he's made a few, *ahem*, goofs in the recent past, but when it comes down to the problems at hand - beating Bush in November and leading the Democrats afterwards - I think he's our best choice.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Well, I'm glad to see that one Kerry supporter admits that the IWR

vote was for political expediency. That alone is enough for me to say that I would never vote for the man I supported before that vote.

Too bad. He coulda' been a contendah. Now he's merely a footnote.

[poskonig]

12. I don't understand.

Many politicians have done things out of expediency. What makes Kerry's vote special, or even consequential, particularly when compared to other candidates?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Expediency.

Sure, most politicians will vote against their consciences for the sake of political expediency.

What makes Kerry's vote special, or even consequential? His vote for the IWR (along with Gephardt's, Lieberman's and Edwards') gave political cover to the invasion, suppression and destruction of Iraq at the cost of thousands of lives.

There is a difference between voting to name an airport after Ronald Reagan, or compromising over buidling a dam, and advocating the slaughter of people.

As much as Kerry, and the others, would like to paper over their vote to back the war with excuses and rationales, the fact remains that there are a lot of dead and maimed people in Iraq who didn't deserve their fate because some American politicians wanted to prove their "patriotism".

Would the war (if you can the slaughter a war) have happened if Kerry had voted against the IWR? Most certainly. But, that's sort of like saying that you oppose "collateral damage" if it won't cost you votes.

With that vote, Kerry said that it's OK that people will die because Bush wants to look like a "decisive leader".

Please remember that there were 23 of Kerry's fellow senators who had the courage to vote against the bloodshed despite the political risks.

That's what make Kerry's vote "special". If you can write it off as mere political expediency, then you have a stronger stomach than I do.

[poskonig]

22. some contradictions--

It is accepted that Kerry's vote was not consequentially important.

"Would the war (if you can the slaughter a war) have happened if Kerry had voted against the IWR? Most certainly."

Given Kerry doesn't support invading random countries (his error was trusting Bush to be responsible), it is unfair to slime Kerry as a war "supporter."

[NewYorkerfromMass]

24. This is true. A NO vote would have been purely symbolic

It would only amount to a symbolic flip of the bird to Bush, and would only be a comfort among those who believed the IWR meant a war would necessarily result.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

29. He voted FOR the war in Iraq.

"Given Kerry doesn't support invading random countries (his error was trusting Bush to be responsible), it is unfair to slime Kerry as a war "supporter."

How else would you describe him but as a supporter of the war? Since most of the rest of the world didn't make the "error" of "trusting Bush to be responsible", where was Kerry? And, you yourself admitted that the vote was made for the sake of expediency not a mistake in "trust".

Not "consequentially important"? You'd better check his poll numbers against Deans. There are an awful lot of us who aren't supporting Kerry because of that one inconsequential vote.

The "slime" on Kerry was put there by himself.

[poskonig]

33. Please listen.

Howard Dean is running an excellent campaign and I do not intend to disparage him in anyway.

We agree that the resolution was flimsy. If Kerry didn't require Bush to go to the UN, the world resistance to the war would have remained disorganized. Usually Presidents don't even go to Congress before waging war. Kerry, like Dean, supported a stiffer bill (Biden-Lugar) but unfortunately it did not pass.

Give the guy some credit!

[paulk]

27. I think your wrong to blame Kerry

for something Bush did. I also think you're wrong to punish Kerry, or the other Democrats who voted for the IWR, for something Bush did. Ask yourself - would we have invaded Iraq if any of these candidates had been president?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

30. I'm not blaming Kerry for what Bush did.

I'm blaming Kerry for what Kerry did. He advocated the killing of thousands of people with his vote.

"would we have invaded Iraq if any of these candidates had been president?"

Talk about hypotheticals. The invasion did take place with the backing of Kerry, Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt.

Punish them? You bet I will, they certainly deserve it for selling their votes so cheaply.

[poskonig]

34. Kerry does not advocate killing thousands of people.

Keep in mind the resolution was passed *before* Hussein even let the inspectors in.

[happyiowan]

14. No longer undecided Iowan

Long-time lurker - no longer an undecided Iowan. Decided yesterday and put my Kerry sign up in the evening. Had to use a sledge hammer, but at least I know it isn't going anywhere.

[flpoljunkie]

20. Welcome aboard, happyiowan!

Admire your grit in putting up the John Kerry sign in the frozen ground! Hope the weather is good for the caucuses on Monday.

[happyiowan]

26. Happy to be on board

It has been pretty mild out here and the long-range forecast is for the weather to be great for caucuses. The excitement for the caucuses is becoming tangible out here. You can feel it when you walk downtown. Don't think it's just hype, Kerry is really building momentum.

[flpoljunkie]

28. Thanks for weather report and your assessment of Kerry hype being real.

Fantastic! This race is turning out to be a real barnburner! Great for Iowa!

[blm]

31. Thanks. The team that needs to face BushInc.

Kerry is the best hope to take them down for ALL their crimes of the last 3 decades.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

32. I didn't think he was great on MTP Sunday.... BUT.....

when it came to crunch time with Russert on defending IWR, he did a great job ticking off his impressive laundry list of accomplishments and summarizing by saying that he was the guy who's been doing this for 35 years and we never would have went to war the way Bush did and that we can count on him to lead us and do the right thing.

BTW was there a MTP thread here? I thought Kerry was OK but not as spectacular as he can be.

[sandnsea]

15. Welcome, but it wasn't expedience

Have you read the New War, that he wrote in 1997?? One of the reasons I support Kerry is that I know he is serious about these weapons all over the world. He supports the land mine ban treaty. He's written legislation to stop the sales of U.S. weapons to third world nations. He voted for IWR for the exact reason he said he did, if you haven't read his floor statement, you might want to. PM me and I'll get it for you. There was a variety of information, over the years, that showed Saddam was consistently trying to get WMD and there was the possibility that the new construction and parts he was buying could contribute to the construction of WMD. There was cause for CONCERN. He really and truly wanted the inspectors in Iraq and he really and truly thought the only way to make that happen was with a unified U.S. threat of force. But he most certainly did not want a war. This vote was conscience, not expediency.

But welcome anyway. Because the bottom line for me is really that I trust his history and I know he'd do the work to get these weapons off the planet, care for those around the world in poverty, and do wonderful things for this country, all at the same time. And he's ready to do it from day one.

[Insurance_Analyst]

16. Clark or Kerry is a tough choice...

In the end, I chose Clark. Mainly because of image (not policy) I think he has a better chance in the Midwest and the South in a general.

Edwards is an attractive candidate too. However, I am concerned that he "looks" inexperienced.

Clark, Kerry, or Edwards are acceptable to me.

Gephardt would be ok.

Dean...a disaster IMHO!!! Sorry Dean people please don't take issue.

[poskonig]

17. Keep fundraising mind.

While Dean is not the most polished candidate, his fundraising has made him extremely competitive. The same applies to Clark in the primary.

In the general election, only Dean and Kerry have opted out of public financing. Given Bush is going to spend a quarter of a billion dollars smearing our candidate, the financial capacity to have an image of *our* choosing is important.

Just something to think about....

[Insurance_Analyst]

18. All good points, but...

I think that WHOEVER the nominee is, lots and lots of $$$ will pour in the day after we have a nominee!

The internet is a beautiful thing. I don't think it is unrealistic to believe that 2 million Americans would contribute $100 each. I am planning to do just that!!!

[cindyw]

21. I think it is fair to say that a Kerry/Clark or Kerry/Edwards would be un-

stoppable. In the West, South, Midwest and East.

[nightperson]

37. I agree.

I've thought for a while that Kerry/Dean could also be a wise choice. It would keep a broad spectrum of the party energized and happy, would combine some of the strongest qualities of old and new, "outsider" and "insider", etc. in the present party, and would keep a lot of valuable people from feeling abandoned. I think it would be healthy to try to think a little in terms of this inclusive "combo" (look at how intensely loyal their respective supporters have been here at DU for example, despite whatever setbacks), even if we ultimately nominate Clark/Gephardt or whoever. I think Kerry is a necessity somewhere in the ticket, at the very least he can be the experienced Cheney-type figure in the background lending "years of credibility" to the "front guy". Didn't a lot of Repubs vote for W in part because they trusted the team surrounding him? "Undisclosed location", anyone? }( Welcome to the converts, and thank you for testifying about your "seeing the light" experiences. Preach on!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

23. Kerry's got the momentum.

Now that it's coming time to vote, folks are starting to take this thing seriously. Polls still show the race is pretty much wide open. I hope everyone will take a good look at the folks they are voting for and if they do I think they will come to the same decision that JK has the length, breadth and depth of experince, and the committment to fighting the good fight, needed to be a great President.

Welcome aboard and don't forget to visit https://contribute.johnkerry.com/ -- it doesn't matter if you can only give $5 - it all adds up!

[returnable]

25. Good Luck!

I'm a Clark supporter, but Kerry's a sound choice. :toast:

[YellowDawgDemocrat]

35. Can't argue that. I like Kerry as well

He has certainly proved himself and has the track record to back it up. I can easily get behind him should he become our nominee.

[CalProf]

36. Welcome aboard! n/t