Who's ashamed of their liberal values?

[redqueen]

Not this guy!









SHOW AMERICA YOU'RE PROUD OF YOUR LIBERAL VALUES!

VOTE DK!

[StopThief]

1. John Kerry turns and runs at any mention . . .

of the L word.

[redqueen]

Well to be honest I didn't see him get up and run.

But he did start in pretty quick with the 'homina homina homina' crap when asked about this on Sunday.

Just another democrat content who's seemingly content to allow the right to control the debate. :(

[library_max]

15. These are the first ten hits from searching "liberal" at Kerry's website.

Doesn't look to me like he's "running and hiding" from liberal principles, if this stuff is on his own website www.johnkerry.com. Of course, I don't have the same motive as some to just make stuff up.

1. :: John Kerry for President - Kerry defends his liberal views during debate with Edwards :: •••
Baltimore Sun Article: Kerry defends his liberal views during debate with Edwards
...Kerry defends his liberal views during debate with Edwards Massachusetts senator rejects rival's assertion he can't win the South 27, 2004...
...Democratic presidential contender John Kerry defended his liberal views in a televised debate last night, arguing that he is his party's best choice to...
...a detailed argument designed to answer expected Republican attacks on his liberal voting record. "When I went to the United States Senate in 1985, I...
76% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:16:37 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_...


2. :: John Kerry for President - The Trial of John Kerry :: •••
Truthout Article: The Trial of John Kerry
...Here is a Democratic candidate for the Oval Office in a year when the liberal base of the party is almost completely unified in its disgust for the...
...for the sitting Republican President. The candidate, a Senator, has a 20-year liberal voting record to admire: He is peerless on the environment, a...
...to the death to keep Social Security fully funded and reliable. It is the liberal base of the party that turns out to vote in the primaries, so the...
65% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:14:14 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2003_...


3. :: John Kerry for President - Kerry imports Kennedy in health care push :: •••
GET KERRY EMAIL GET INFORMED About John About Teresa On the Issues Press Room Endorseme...
...Looking to score with party liberals, John Kerry enlisted fellow Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy to join him here Saturday and join in a fiery call...
...Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." On Saturday, Kerry was targeting the liberals Dean is attracting. Kennedy has been a fixture in Iowa since...
...That race was contested between party moderates and liberals and Kennedy maintains a loyal following among liberals who play an important role in caucus...
63% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:13:34 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2003_...


4. :: John Kerry for President - A Man in Full, Vogue :: •••
GET KERRY EMAIL GET INFORMED About John About Teresa On the Issues Press Room Endorseme...
...seem to be everything the Democrats could ask for in 2004: a war hero, a true liberal with a tough reputation, a proven campaigner, and a windsurfer....
...a “Massachusetts liberal” can succeed nationally, especially in the South, where not even local boy Al Gore, viewed as a “Washington liberal,” carried a...
...out swinging. He warns that his opponents “better not be too happy” about his liberal label. He is, he says, “a lot harder to define.” He is also far...
63% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:12:22 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2003_0303.


5. :: John Kerry for President - For Kerry, Veteran Voices... :: •••
Washington Post Article: For Kerry, Veteran Voices...
...against charges that he is your typical elitist, out-of-touch Massachusetts liberal -- a selection of adjectives the Republicans will sell in a...
...on Sunday night and all over New Hampshire -- says that Kerry's is not the liberal campaign conservatives love to parody. As often as not, the veterans...
...John Edwards. It will not stop Republicans from attacking Kerry as a liberal. But a liberal with a uniform, a war record and a regiment of veterans...
63% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:15:11 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_...


6. :: John Kerry for President - Kerry's Patriotic Populism :: •••
Kerry's Patriotic Populism
...running away from ghosts. No, the Democrats would say, we're not tax-and-spend liberals, we're not weak on defense, we're not soft on crime, we're not...
...underscores that the core divide in American politics now is not between liberals and conservatives, or between capitalists and socialists. It is...
62% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:12:29 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2003_0520.


7. :: John Kerry for President - For Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday :: •••
Chattanooga Times Free Press Endorsement: For Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday
...Sen. Kerry, to be sure, will be labeled by the Republicans as a Massachusetts liberal who is out-of-step with conservative American values. Indeed,...
...If Mr. Kerry is, by contrast, a "liberal," at least his policies make sense and would benefit all Americans. He has supported the sort of responsible...
...to go against the liberal mold and advocate changes in teacher tenure and for charter schools. He's bucked the prevailing liberal view to support...
62% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:15:51 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_...


8. :: John Kerry for President - Kennedy visits state in support of Kerry :: •••
Portland Press Herald Article: Kennedy visits state in support of Kerry
...with the liberal members of the party, to whom he has been a leader during his 42 years in the senate. On Friday, Kennedy vouched for Kerry's liberal...
...charges that Kennedy's presence in Kerry's campaign proves that Kerry is too liberal to be elected. "People from Maine are tired of cliches, tired of...
61% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:15:46 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_...


9. :: John Kerry for President - College Democrats decide to endorse Sen. John Kerry :: •••
The Johns Hopkins News-Letter Article: College Democrats decide to endorse Sen. John Kerry
...we were mostly excited by the prospects of Kerry being a very presidential and liberal candidate." "So far, Senator Kerry is the ideal candidate. Not...
...Garlick called Kerry a "solid liberal" and also praised him for his experience and war-hero military background. "We really think he can beat Bush,"...
61% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:16:00 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_...


10. :: John Kerry for President - Kerry says he would have deferred action in Iraq :: •••
Boston Globe Article: Kerry says he would have deferred action in Iraq
...would fight any attempt by President Bush to pigeonhole him as a Massachusetts liberal as Bush's father characterized his 1988 opponent, Michael S....
...beat Bush in the Midwest and South if he were "portrayed as a Massachusetts liberal," Kerry said: "The labels are not what's important. What's important...
61% Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:13:52 GMT http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2003_...

[rucky]

2. Ya know all those granola-munchin', dope-smokin', patchouli-wearing...

Plumbers, Steamfitters & Steelworkers


gotta distance myself from those types

[slinkerwink]

3. Not me!

[blm]

4. When I was sending a donation to DK back in 92

I was hassled by some of my friends in LA for donating to someone who was prolife. Back then, after the Clarence Thomas hearings, the issue of abortion rights was THE litmus test.

I supported DK, anyway. I knew his heart and his record, and felt he wouldn't make a difference to the abortion debate. He now agrees with my prochoice stand. I was right to believe in him.

I also don't agree now with his stand on flag-burning. It was an important issue to me, although I understand completely where DK is coming from on this issue. I just cannot overestimate how much I disagree with him on it.

I support free trade, but, want to see tighter regulations implemented by the next Dem president. I disagree with DK on this issue, too. But, I support hs candidacy and his view.

I sent money to DK and support him as I did in 72, 92, and today. Even as a staunch Kerry supporter, I support DK and used my primary vote to vote for him.

I don't see DK as the more liberal between him and Kerry. They are just varying degrees of liberal depending on the issue and your view on that issue.

[redqueen]

6. Well I disagree with some of what you said

but this thread is about who among us (or the candidates) will back down and start obfuscating if called on their liberal values.

:hi:

[blm]

10. The point is that at varying points they ALL have strayed from liberalism

as per the strictest definition of liberalism, anyway.

I wouldn't let that determine my support. I understood that DK had to be prolife to win in his district back in 92. I wouldn't have traded that win for Congress just to stick to a principle. I never saw him as one who was obfuscating his inner liberalism.

[redqueen]

11. Oh of course they have

I wouldn't expect that many people would fall into the neat little pigeonhole that society places in the definition of 'liberal'ness. So of course everyone has their area where they divert from the 'norm' of whatever larger group they fall into.

But again, what I'm talking about is how quickly one gives up the battle of ideas when it comes to the 'liberal' label.

More than anything what I'm concerned that Democrats STILL haven't learned that you will LOSE the battle of ideas if you consistently allow the right wing to define the terms. That's what I perceive that Kerry & Edwards did on Sunday -- they missed an opportunity to reject the demonization of the word 'liberal', instead choosing to reaffirm it.

[blm]

12. I heard him rejecting labels as silly, period.

Are liberals NOT supposed to care about balanced budgets? I think liberals ARE fiscally responsible in the RIGHT way. Kerry's point was no label works if you're basing it on stereotypes and not facts.

[redqueen]

13. Sure and that's a great point

But he missed an opportunity to reject the demonization of the word 'liberal', and instead chose to reaffirm it by backing away from it as if it were life-threatening.

You must not see it as a big deal. No biggie. We just disagree.

[rucky]

8. Trouble is more with the Limbaugh definition of liberal

being dominant right now, because if we followed the dictionary definition, most people would say they are liberal.

I always defend DK as being more mainstream than one would think. It's hard to do that & redefine "liberal" at the same time. I guess it takes more time than an election cycle to change people's mindsets.

[Mistress Quickly]

5. for what its worth

I'm voting for Dennis tomorrow.

[redqueen]

7. Since it is widely accepted that Kerry is guaranteed to be the nominee

it only means that you add your voice to the chorus saying WE WANT A LIBERAL PLATFORM!

Thanks for your support!

:yourock:

[sangh0]

9. Is protectionism a liberal value?

Kucinich is a protectionist. He said so himself.

[no name no slogan]

14. And you're not?

You want American jobs to go to sweatshops overseas? You want everybody to be burger-flippers in the "New Economy"?

You want no choice but to buy slave-labor-produced goods at Wal-Mart? You want to work for a wage that won't support you, much less your family?

How could you NOT be a protectionist at this point? Hell yes, I want to PROTECT American jobs from corporate greed that has all nations racing to the bottom. Hell yes, I want to protect ALL workers from predatory capitalists who toss them on the scrapheap, once their "useful" years are over.

So, yeah, I guess I'M a "Protectionist" too. As are a good number of liberals today (and many conservatives who've seen their high-paying jobs go overseas, too).

[lams712]

16. I did not like Kerry's dodge of the question in the...

debate yesterday. I'd rather have a fighter than a faker any time!!!



Dennis Kucinich 2004!!!!

[tryanhas]

17. I'm a moderate...

I'm progressive on a lot of issues, like helping the poor not only in this country but in other places, just like John Edwards (Help Those in Need - Edwards believes that the United States should be a world leader in helping countries overcome hardships like hunger, poverty, and the scourge of HIV/AIDS and other public health concerns. This is especially true on a continent like Africa that has so much potential for growth and democracy. http://www.johnedwards2004.com/foreign-policy.asp )

I agree with the Democratic party on most issues dealing with the economy, but I'm not "liberal" at all when it comes to social issues like gay marriage.

In terms of abortion, I'm not pro-life or pro-choice. I define myself by my own terms, and I am "pro-responsibility." If a man fathers a child, I believe that he should be man enough to take care of it if the woman decides to have it. If a woman gets pregnant, I believe that she should be woman enough to have the child, but I still believe that it's up to her to choose to have it, although the responsible thing to do would be to have it and put it up for abortion.

After all, HAVING AN ABORTION INCREASES A WOMAN'S CHANCES OF BREAST CANCER BY 150%. HAVING 2 ABORTIONS BY 270%. AND 3 OR MORE, MEANS CERTAIN BREAST CANCER.