Welcome to the John Kerry Forum at DU. Come in, wipe your feet.

[TayTay]

Sit down, grab something to drink (we have Guinness on tap or some nice extra sour lemonade or some excellent red wine, as suits your taste.) Grab some couch or floor space and have at it.

I am TayTay. Occasionally I am also a sort of 'office Mom' here, though I rarely acknowledge it. (Cuz I actually have grown children and the thought of going through all that again gives me a pain in my eye.) I come from the Boston area (actually north of Boston, but so what) and remember when John Kerry ran for Lt. Gov. (Again, eh, sometimes it comes up, sometimes it is probably a distraction from the greater matters of the universe, I'm not sure.) Ahm, because I am 'local' I get to see Mr. Kerry far more than people from other parts of the country do, a fact that I apparently rub in and then feign innocence over. (I don't mean to, but it does happen.) This also doesn't matter much, except when I screw up the photos and can't post for the benefit of people who didn't see the man and expect me to be responsible and share Senators with them. Again, sigh!

Ahm, a FAQ of sorts that desperately needs to be added on to:


Why are you still here? (Didn't you get the memo? The Dems have moved on.)

Cuz he's still there. Still fighting and being interesting and cogitating in public and stuff. A lot of us don't want to miss anything. And we became fond of and attached to the man after the last election and, well, we like him. What, is there like a statute of limitations on people, cuz I did not get that memo. (Democrats are so disorganized.)


Do you work for John Kerry and were secretly sent here to spread Kerry posts throughout DU in hopes of ensnaring the weak-minded and annoying 'real liberals' with your agenda?

No, but if they want to send a check, click the PM next to my name. I could use the money. (Tuition bills for aforementioned kids, sigh!) Ahm, I do not know of anyone in this forum who currently works for Sen. Kerry, his PAC or any other organization associated with him. I do, however, on occasion, buy Heinz condiments. (No, condiments. Watch yourself there woman.) I'm not sure if that is aiding and abetting through other means, but in the interests of full disclosure, I disclosed it.


Has anyone here met Sen. Kerry.

Yes, a number of us went to his Birthday Party/Fundraiser last year and 'hung out' with the Senator and his wonderful wife Teresa. It was 'a time.' We also had the legendary 'beer with John Kerry' that you hear so much about. (Full bodied, nice foamy top and a deep and wonderful flavor that tasted great and was quite filling.) It took some of us about a month or so to get over the experience, cuz it was rather unexpected. But wicked, wicked nice.


Welcome to this here group. As the Cheshire Cat said to Alice, hookah in hand, "Who are you?"

:patriot:

[whometense]

1. Hi

I'm whometense, and that name is no joke. I've been in a state of semi-paralysis since 2000 when I took one look at George Bush and started a primal scream that has continued for six years.

I'm one of the history keepers. I first became aware of JK in 1971, when he was a mere youth protesting the Vietnam War just like so many of the rest of us were. Only he did it so much better than anyone else. He still does. He's my political knight in shining armor, and I feel very lucky to know him and to be able to cast my vote for him. :loveya:

I've dabbled in political activism before (see above: Vietnam War), but this has been the most sustained period of involvement of my life. Did anyone see Sarah Vowell on the Daily Show a while back? She said it perfectly - that Bush always horrified and frightened her, but that she'd experienced a complete failure of imagination in trying to imagine how much harm he could do. I feel the same way, and JK is still my hope, though some days that hope feels very thin and insubstantial.

[Fredda Weinberg]

2. snuggling into soft cushions ...

Well, I've been posting under my own name since the early 90's ... I started on the first Usenet newsgroups when corporate accounts predominated and I countered countless accusations of Clinton dealing drugs out of Mena airport - you get the scene. I was setting up freenets back then, which were library dial up banks - put out of business, unfortunately, by Clinton's telecommunications act. Sigh.

No one is an ideal candidate, but the best are adaptable. Clinton adapted, you know, after his gubernatorial re-election defeat, so I've got hopes for Kerry. He's got almost as much $$$ as Hillary for '08 and if he learns to use the assets he's got, has lots less baggage.

I know something about Internet organizing and grass-roots political movements, but deliberately have not made it my bread and butter. That gives me freedom to speak my mind - and the liberty to walk away when the time isn't right.

The time is right - and I've been making small donations to http://www.johnkerry.com every time he does something of which I approve - I also leave a message explaining my contribution.

And I'm here - because this is where I should be.

Anyone care for a snifter of Godiva liquor? My brother gave me a bottle for my birthday last week and it's fine stuff ...

[whometense]

4. Hi Fredda!

Is this your first post in this forum? If so, welcome. And I love Godiva.

[Fredda Weinberg]

6. Only my second

Tay Tay showed me the way.

Here ... have a glass

[whometense]

7. Thanks!

Looks good to me!

:D

[TayTay]

8. Glad you checked in.

Ahm, I was describing the beer in my opening statement, btw. (What else?)

Nice to see you here. Today, I'm having Guinness:

[Fredda Weinberg]

9. So what are you having tomorrow?

Isn't every Irish on St Patrick's Day?

[TayTay]

10. Jameson. Straight shots.

After breakfast, who knows.

[Fredda Weinberg]

12. Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.

http://www.sineirishpub.com/richmond/toasts.htm

[kerrygoddess]

16. Make mine a snifter of Irish Mist

No finer liquer around for an Irish Lass!

Welcome to the Kerry Forum, Fredda!

[Fredda Weinberg]

19. How 'bout a Green Mist?

Start with a large measure of Irish Mist and a dash of Blue Curacao.

Then top with a sparkling water or 7Up.

This drink, Ireland's national colour, is the perfect toast for St. Patrick's Day or any other Irish occasion!

[TayTay]

20. I like it.

It looks elegant and understated, yet a bit on the cheeky side. (Hmmm, well, that just screams, ahm, ME) I will give it a shot.

Thanks!

[WildEyedLiberal]

3. Howdy

I'm WildEyedLiberal. The name's kind of a joke - when you're from a little town in rural Illinois, being a committed Democrat automatically makes you a wild-eyed liberal. I've been a liberal pretty much my whole life, thanks to a good upbringing and, if I may be permitted to brag, a decent amount of brains (and a soul, which I am convinced most of Bush's administration lack).

I love John Kerry. Just love him - everything about him, from his undaunted courage to his unwavering principles, his compassionate liberal ideals and his SMOKING good looks.

I, like most of the lovely ladies of this group, am a little bit :evilgrin:, so consider yourself warned.

:P

[JI7]

5. i always thought

it was based on the Republican campaign attacks during the 2004 election against Kerry and some other Dems as being "wild eyed liberals".

kind of like taking it proudly and throwing it in their faces.

[WildEyedLiberal]

11. It's funny how many times I get attacked on DU over my screenname

Every week or so I get some foaming-at-the-mouth idiot raving at me, "You're not too WILD-EYED!!!!!1" or "Your username is a JOKE!!! Your a PHONIE!!!"

It's pretty amusing, actually, that there are some brainless extremists on the left as stupid and incapable of grasping irony as their counterparts on the right.

[BlueIris]

13. I'll probably regret posting this later, but here goes:

Wait. Why might I regret it? 'Cause I'm kinda disenchanted with DU right now, with the exception of this forum. These past two weeks have shown me a lot of disappointing things about the people who post here--things I never thought our "regulars" were capable of thinking, let alone putting up on a public website that is supposed to be for adult, civilized discussion of issues, concerns and hopes for the Democratic Party and related progressive groups. I'm hanging in there with the hopes that the few folks I don't have on Ignore can continue to make contributing here an enjoyable hobby. Also, I'm feeling a tad under the whether now. Finally, I'm shy. And I'm not feeling all that creative at the moment, so I'm just going to borrow TayTay's FAQs:

I'm BlueIris, which is the name of my favorite soap (plus, my eyes are blue, I'm 'blue' as in 'voting Democrat,' and well, I used to be 'blue' as in 'sad,' but I think I've finally got that under control). I live in Oregon where I am one of the only Kerry fans I know, especially among voters under 30. Oregon kids are stupid, snotty, selfish, often wrong about everything, and had Reganite parents who didn't do a very good job of teaching them about real history, inspiring them to fucking pay attention in history courses, study in college, critically evaluate information or stay abreast of current events. I have a lot of work to do to try to wake up the sad, sorry, pathetically apathetic members of 'my' generation around my state and most of the time, I discover it isn't worth the breath it takes to attempt to ignite their minds. I don't know how Kerry manages to do it elsewhere 'cause I? Get so goddamn frustrated. It's like trying to persuade brick walls.

Why are you still here? (Didn't you get the memo? The Dems have moved on.)

I'm still here because there's still no one else from the Party worth supporting for any major leadership positions. No one else who so precisely captures what a Democratic senator and future president should be. No one else who can be anywhere near an effective leader if eventually put in the WH. No one else who hasn't tragically let me down since the '04 "election" (Billary? I'm looking at you). And while some who don't follow credible news think Kerry isn't in the game anymore, to me, he is the game. By mid-2007, no other person currently claiming to want The Big Chair is going to be brave (or skilled) enough to take on the soul-straining task that is trying to fix the mess this country will have become.

Do you work for John Kerry and were secretly sent here to spread Kerry posts throughout DU in hopes of ensnaring the weak-minded and annoying 'real liberals' with your agenda?

Sadly, I've never even met the good senator. While I first encountered his work for a paper I wrote on heroin maintenance and federal drug policy in 1999, I didn't get excited about supporting his activities until January of 2004, and no opportunities to meet him have come my way since that time.

Snerk. I'm accused of "annoying 'real liberals'" around here from time to time. Usually by idiots who don't understand that Kerry's a real liberal and they're the posers. Because they are clearly special and challenged individuals we Kerry supporters will need to work extra hard to get through to in the future. Ahem.

Has anyone here met Sen. Kerry.

Once again, no. But if I get the chance in the future, assuming my finances improve at all within the next few months, I'll definitely make the effort to do so. Even though I'm pretty sure that if I ever actually met him, I would wind up saying something extremely dorky and making him unhappy.

[whometense]

14. Nah.

JK is the coolest dork I know, and I'm quite certain meeting you would in no way make him unhappy. He is most touchingly appreciative of those who appreciate him. I hope you do get a chance to meet him.

[BlueIris]

15. Oh. Good to know.

:-)

[JI7]

17. i see one less post in this thread

than the number of posts it lists as having on the forum.

is this happening to anyone else ?

[BlueIris]

18. Everything looks good on my system.

?

[JohnKleeb]

23. Yeah noticed it yesterday afternoon

[JI7]

24. then it's not just me

probably just a glitch on DU. i haven't noticed it in any other threads.

[ginnyinWI]

21. My testimonial for those who are new

My ID is because my name really is Ginny, and I live in Wisconsin--duh.

I'm one of the older part of this group(just turned 54), with two grown daughters and a grown son, and married to my first true love (who says Dems don't have family values??). I live in the suburbs among Republicans, but am happy that at least Wisconsin is blue. (And I still have my Kerry sticker plastered bravely on the back of my car--the only one I see out here!) In fact, I was born and raised a Republican until I found my own mind during the 1990 campaign season! So I know how "they" think all too well.

Like Whometense, I have been horrified since 9/11 at the lack of intelligent leadership in this country. We seem to be a ship sailing around without a rudder, bumping into random landmines as we go. I hated * at first sight and my hatred and disgust has grown steadily--because he truly frightens me.

Knowing JK is out there doing his best is some comfort. He is exactly what our country needs--an experienced intelligent man with a lot of guts and a big heart. Sigh--if only. I hate the treasonous cowardly * minions who willingly smeared JK. It wasn't so much the outright smears as the slanted media which posed as a fair broker during the campaign--when it was no such thing. The other side owned the dialog--and still--still-- JK almost won. Those who say it should have been easy to beat * are dead wrong--not with the cards stacked the way they were. Even an idiot could win a re-election with that kind of help(and did, apparently). But I also give partial credit to black box voting and sleazy crooked election officials.

But back to JK. I saw him twice in person during the 04 campaign--being in a swing state, I could have seen him even more often if I had wanted to travel a bit. Also saw JE twice. I first found out about JK in the primary season--he won me over during those primary debates, and since then I've not found anyone I trust more, even my own good Senator Feingold. Once people "get" Kerry, they stay loyal--what can I say? He was never just an ABB choice for me--he was my first choice. (I worked at our local campaign headquarters for the cause--even knocked on doors, which I was scared to do, and spent hours and hours on phone banks. My first political volunteering--but I'm staying with it.)

John Kerry's good on TV, but in person he is even more charismatic. He charges up the atmosphere around himself somehow. A true Alpha-male, a natural leader.
:loveya:
I also love this group--who graciously allow me an outlet for political discourse--and my husband thanks you too--because his patience with said political discourse is limited! He's a CNBC type guy. I found you guys in December right after the election disaster and after the JK blog folded and I was still hurting a great deal.
:grouphug:

[TayTay]

22. Oh Ginny, this is wonderful

You know, I think we should compile some of these stories from 'regular people' who talk about this and talk about how it was scary to go out door-to-door but we did it anyway and so forth. This is just wonderful. (Gawd, I swear, it's the 'regular people' who will save this country.)

Thanks for writing this. You have made my month my dear.

[ProSense]

25. That's a really wonderful story.

I'm just glad to be here. My hubby would much rather joke around with me and do the stuff he enjoys than discuss politics. But that's cool because when I do make a passionate statement about politics he gets it. . On occasion when watching the news, he'll blurt out something that lets me realize that he is paying attention. I actually believe more people get it than is reported.

Anyway, skeptic that I am, my journey to becoming a JK supporter has been an interesting experience. You should have seen the enthusiasm when we went to vote for JK. My family spent a long time comfort each other after the election. My mom was still saying three or four months later: your brother took it hard.

I'm very cool with being viewed as an overly loyal JK supporter---there is a difference between being a supporter and a fool, like many who voted for Bush.

One thing that I believe that has been reinforced is that people rarely pay attention and when they do decide to it's hard to shake them of their first impressions, which really sucks and is the reason why being a politician is such a difficult thing. From the nuances in a piece of legislation to statements on the big picture, anything can be taken out of context.

That's why I like JK. I'm looking into his actions from the minutia on up and I'm :loveya:

[ginnyinWI]

27. yeah, my husband, too

He's absorbed a lot just by osmosis, by being around when I've got certain programs on tv, or whatever. And my random comments that tend to burst out from time to time about what's happening in the news!

Correction to my post: I should have said it was 1992 when I first voted Dem--for Clinton. What's interesting about it is that it was a gut-level emotional vote, because I knew next to nothing about the issues. I disliked Poppy Bush instinctively, and had a good reaction to Bill. So I can understand this kind of voter.

[ray of light]

26. Fredda, welcome to the jk forum! We're so happy to have you here.

I'd like a nice Irish coffee today. And I have no idea what that godiva thing is.

I really don't know what to add to these statements. I'm hoping that 04 wasn't John Kerry's only chance at the white house because I sincerely believe he won it. However, I guess a small part of me wonders if it was stolen as a way to protect us from the Republican controlled congress obstructing his efforts and then being able to cast the blame to democrats. I think as it stands right now, many people are getting the picture of what these Repbulicans are about. I personally think in 06 and 08 there will be lots of failures for us to point to and we need to add a picture of our 'rays of light' reaching out to help people.

[Fredda Weinberg]

28. One Irish coffee just for you

From what I've observed, Kerry is learning and he's got plenty of time to polish his presentation.