John Kerry: Supporting Speaker Pelosi (HuffPost)

[marmar]

John Kerry


04.10.2007
Supporting Speaker Pelosi (4 comments )

We Democrats should've been unapologetic last week defending Speaker Pelosi because the truth was on our side: She had a right to go. And she was right to go. The coordinated attack on her trip to Syria was as inappropriate as it was irresponsible. And when that happens to one of our leaders, we should all damn well stand up and be counted in our support, or else we hand partisan operatives on the other side a dangerous victory.

The history on this is clear; Republicans use any opportunity, no matter how contrived, to attack any Democrat who is in a position of leadership. Believe me, I know. It's a concerted, ongoing effort to leave the Democratic Party without leadership on the issues, without voices unsullied by "controversy." They thrive on destroying our leaders - we can't let them. Especially when we've got the moral high ground.

And on this one, as on so many other "controversies" manufactured by the GOP, the facts are clearly on our side. Arlen Specter has been to Damascus 16 times since 1984. The president and the State Department were both informed of Speaker Pelosi's trip before she left and made no objection. This was an ambush for political gain-- sad but not surprising.
...(snip)...

But, time and again, not only does this administration fail to demonstrate that strength, they try to demonize those who do.

The administration forgets that conversation is not capitulation. Until recently, it was widely accepted that good foreign policy demands a willingness to seize opportunities and talk even to sworn enemies.

Talking to other countries is part of how we test their intentions in front of the world - and when they don't take constructive action, it's how we isolate them rather than them isolating us.

From Kennedy talking to Khrushchev to Nixon going to China to Reagan holding summits with Gorbachev, America has never shied from engaging with countries with which we disagree. This is such basic thinking that it seems self-evident. But, after years of a disintegrating foreign policy, it's obvious we need to get back to such basics in our political conversation. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/supporting-speaker-pelosi_b_45498.html

[beachmom]

1. K & R. Thanks for pointing this out. n/t

[ohtransplant]

2. Love this guy.

He may have muffed a joke but I'm glad he's on our side. (The joke wouldn't have been such a big deal if some Dems hadn't piled on.)

As my kids used to say(feeling old now), He has the stuff. This guy is the real deal.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. indeed he is

and the Dems did pile on mercilessly.

[blm]

6. Force of habit - Some DC Dems always pile on against anti-corruption Dems whenever

the opportunity arises. Gotta protect secrecy and privilege.

[rinsd]

7. But but he only made this annoucement on Huffpost

Where is he on the national news declaring his support of Pelosi?

:sarcasm:

[blm]

8. He was on ABC Sunday and backed up Pelosi as he's been doing since April 3.

This Huff Po article is an ADDITIONAL tactic like the DKos post he put up on Sunday morning because he sees Dems dragging their feet about defending her on this.

Last week he also did some print interviews backing Pelosi up to the hilt. Wes Clark has, too.

Surely you didn't miss all that?

[mloutre]

9. Sarcasm duly noted, but your statement is still inaccurate.

Among other things, while speaking up in several interviews and on the floor of the Senate, Kerry also issued an official statement on April 3 that was quoted in this DU post at the time (along with a number of other places both online and off):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3204675

He then spoke quite firmly in support of Speaker Pelosi during an interview with MSM reporters a couple of days later:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/06/MNGJOP41AE1.DTL

He also spoke about this during several of the other West Coast appearances he made last week while discussing his and Teresa's book "This Moment On Earth" -- there are a whole series of posts and comments to that effect at http://blog.johnkerry.com along with press releases and video clips of those appearances.

In addition, on Easter Sunday, he wrote the following dKos blog, which served as the basis for the updated version that he posted at HuffPo today:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/8/7259/09964

So, yeah, Kerry has been speaking out publicly on behalf of Speaker Pelosi all along. The fact that so many DUers seem not to have noticed despite the ongoing blog and MSM coverage of it elsewhere is kinda indicative all by itself, hmm hmm?

[rinsd]

Oh I know it was inaccurate. This was just feces thrown blm's way (nt)

[mloutre]

11. Ah. Then I know how much to respect what you have to say from now on.

Thanks for the heads-up.

[rinsd]

12. Cool have fun with blm's mission against the Clinton's

:hi:

[blm]

15. You're mistaken. My mission is to expose BushInc and their crimes of office and

Bill Clinton just managed to become an obstacle ON HIS OWN, disappointing me and many anti-corruption, open government Democrats who worked hard for him and defended him mightily for over a decade. Knowing that fuller revelations of those crimes would have prevented Bush2, 9-11, and this Iraq war, it's hard to go back to casual political oneupmanship games between the GOP and Dems.

Could it be surmised that you and other Democrats defensive of Clinton on the subject of his alliance with Poppy Bush are on a mission against the full exposure of BushInc and their crimes of office just because it benefits a charismatic Dem leader?

[rinsd]

10. Oh I know it was inaccurate. This was just feces thrown blm's way (nt)

[blm]

17. No problem. I've changed many a diaper and rescued many sick dogs and cats

over the years.

Feces smearing comes with the territory.

;)

[karynnj]

23. That is really mature and responsible - why ruin a good thread?

[blm]

28. No sweat, kiddo.... the snark is OK .... water off a duck.

.

[mloutre]

5. He is. And wicked smaht, too --

-- not to mention wicked tall. He's the only politician I've ever spent time with who casually puts his foot up on top of a conference room table and leans his elbows on it while he's talking to people without even noticing that he's done it.

[blm]

27. Jimmy Fallon, is that you?

.

[Tigress DEM]

4. Hooo-Yah! Kerry. Bravo!!

[Morgana LaFey]

13. Wow. Good for him.

It's amazing what strength of character one can find when not running for office.

[blm]

16. Kerry's always supported other Democrats under fire throughout his career.

And I'd say the strongest test of character is when you yourself are under constant attack and survive and continue to serve even without backup from most of your own party, as Kerry has been nonstop since his early uncovering of IranContra and continuing through to the swifting and attacks for his Iraq withdrawal plans and a dropped pronoun. Some in his own party publicly joined his detractors.

How many of us could show the character to continue if we were targeted by every White House since Nixon's seeking to shut down our voices and close down our investigations that threatened their secrecy and privilege?

[Morgana LaFey]

18. As soon as I saw the subject line of this post in my DU

I absolutely knew who'd written it. "Aha! That's a post from blm."

:hi:

[blm]

19. Heh - I understand - but us anti-corruption Dems have to take our opportunities

wherever we can get them. So, I don't mind being the butt of jokes for my persistence. I should work for Waxman's office, shouldn't I? LOL

[Morgana LaFey]

20. I didn't mean that as a joke

I hope you understand that. I know you as John Kerry's most ardent, most dedicated and most articulate defender / explainer. I don't like it when you're defending something I think is indefensible about his behavior (and there've been some things), but I've come to the point of (sometimes begrudgingly) admiring it. Really. And of course, over the last 6 months or maybe longer he's actually done some things I thought were very, very good -- which certainly makes YOUR job (with me) easier.

So, I'm hoping whoever you work for has your dedication and therefore persistence. You can be, if needed, a formidable champion and when needed a formidable foe.

No joke about it.

[blm]

21. I don't work for anyone. it's two decades of tracking Bush crimes and the cover ups that compel me

to fight to keep the truth out and get the Dem party to focus on exposing their entire crime network and taking BushInc down - for good.

Just look at what you find when you google these days - stories that were buried lomh ago are now popping up all over the internet because some of us devoted to their exposure would not let them die - we kept connecting them repeatedly for years now to everything happening. There are at least a dozen warriors here at DU who stay on top of the BFEE and have for years, even before Bush2.

DU and the Democratic party is lucky to have good antiBush warriors. We need to make more elected Dems aware of the big picture, too.

[Morgana LaFey]

22. re elected dems

yes, so true that they're not aware. I'm always astounded, and then profoundly saddened, when I see some elected Dem who clearly doesn't know as much about something as I do, simply because I spend so much time here.

Check your PMs.

[blm]

25. Cool

.

[LittleClarkie]

24. It was always there. You just had to look hard enough

The 2004 election forced me to do that. He's a good man. Always was. Always will be.

[blm]

26. The sad thing is that the media and Dem party should have pushed what a GREAT man he is

and instead we got distraction and weakness from them because they didn't WANT his anti-corruption efforts to become prominent - too many establishment GOPs and Dems they need to protect.

[wisteria]

14. Thanks for posting this. n/t