John Kerry's visit in MA.

[Mass]

Some poorly informed fellows would want us to believe that Kerry is disliked in Massachusetts and barely sets foot there (They may be getting confused with Mitt :shrug: ).

Well, yesterday, the Senator was visiting his state. Some media coverage of the event.

First his website for the itinerary

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/home.cfm
Today I’m visiting North Shore communities in Massachusetts to talk about creating jobs and building an economy that works for everyone. This morning I met with members of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in Massachusetts and it’s imperative that we work hard to encourage success for our small business owners and their employees. Congressman Tierney and I sat down with students and faculty North Shore Community College to explore ways to keep college costs down and make higher education accessible for all our students. It’s not easy with this Congress bent on cutting student loans. Tonight I’ll be talking to Massachusetts firefighters -- some of the best and bravest people I know. Our first responders put themselves on the line for our security and they deserve the very best policies from their leaders in Washington, and I’ll fight to make sure they have the tools they need to keep us safe --- and keep them safe on the job.

First the event in Salem.

Salem News reports:

http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/05/snstory.pl?-sec-morning+1k589g0+skerry

n visit to Salem, Kerry sounds like a candidate

(page 1 of 5)
(view as single page)
By Ben Casselman
Staff writer

SALEM — Truth be told, John Kerry didn't want to be at the Hawthorne Hotel yesterday, talking to a group of North Shore business and political leaders.

Or at least if he was going to be there, he wanted the Secret Service to have to be there, too.

...

Robert Lutts, president of Cabot Money Management, said he was impressed by Kerry's candor.

"He knew the audience he was talking to, but he's a pretty straight shooter," Lutts said. "I think he calls them the way he sees them, more or less."

With the unavoidable questions about 08:

It was Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll who asked the question on everyone's mind: Will you run again in 2008?

For that matter, Driscoll said, would you consider New York senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton as a running mate?

And a series of positions

JOHN KERRY ON ...

Running for president in 2008: "I'm thinking very seriously about it. ... I know what it takes. I know how to do it. I know the mistakes we made."

Iraq: "I think we have to get out of Iraq as fast as we can. ... Our guys are in the middle of a civil war. Who's kidding who?"

Immigration: "You have to have comprehensive reform. ... To just do enforcement is to invite a continued problem. ... We're going to have to have some people come in to do the jobs nobody wants to do."

The role of government: "'It's not the government's money, it's your money' ... (is) a very difficult proposition to defend against. The problem is, it's also your pothole and somebody's got to fill it. It's your school and somebody's got to manage it. It's your bridge and somebody's got to fix it."

Partisanship: "I have never seen the United States Senate and House as partisan as they are today. ... You don't have the kind of compromise that we used to have, where we used to look for 80 votes, 90 votes, instead of 51 votes."

And now in Lynn with students

http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/news/view.bg?articleid=11681
Senator Kerry in Lynn, urges students to volunteer
By Thor Jourgensen
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

LYNN -- Former presidential candidate John Kerry urged North Shore Community College students Monday to draw inspiration for their careers from time spent serving the less fortunate.
Kerry spoke during a morning visit to Lynn about the value of public service through volunteering and about the national issues he built his 2004 campaign on.
He stopped short of saying he will seek the Democratic nomination again in 2008, leaving that speculation to NSCC President Wayne Burton who predicted "an all Massachusetts" slate of presidential candidates in two years with Kerry and Gov. Mitt Romney in contention.
Kerry told students involved in an NSCC program that combines their studies with volunteer programs how he visited racially segregated southern communities during a college vacation in the 1960s.
...
"The most effective lobbying is to show the power of the ballot box."
In the absence of adequate early childhood education and health care that can help children stay away from drugs, alcohol and lives of crime, Kerry said the nation is "content to run a farm team for prisoners."...

"He's a stand up guy who is still standing up and doing the job," the Lynn resident said.

Even had lunch there :donut: : ziti and meatballs, seems pretty much the regular guy to me.

Add to this the visit to iRobot yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=273x77587

And the announcement that Kerry was going to be involved in the governor's race in MA:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=273x77951

It seems to me that our senator is very much loved and respected in MA:
:loveya:


Only place who does not fall for Kerry: The Boston Herald :

http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=132474

Too busy with the celery story.

[TayTay]

1. Serendipity: The Hawthorne Hotel was just home to a

gathering of Young New England conservatives over the weekend. (Maybe they had the place fumigated in the 'in between' time.) Love that place. I go there for brunch a lot. It's a great old (haunted) hotel in an interesting and old section of town.

Thank you Sentah! Nice to see yuhz in Mass. Even nicer to see yuhz discussing things that really matter. (Cuz the Rethugs in Congress sure as hell aren't.)

[karynnj]

2. Very nice press (except the predictable Boston Herald)

Seeing that Kerry had ziti and meatballs, the no tomato (etc) was obviously for medical reasons after surgery, while he was still being treated for cancer.

I'm impressed how well the local papers covered his comments - the national press could learn a lot from them. (His Iraq comment is very interesting.)

[MH1]

3. Great Kerry quote on the role of government

The role of government: "'It's not the government's money, it's your money' ... (is) a very difficult proposition to defend against. The problem is, it's also your pothole and somebody's got to fill it. It's your school and somebody's got to manage it. It's your bridge and somebody's got to fix it."

Who says Kerry doesn't speak plainly?

[ProSense]

4. Very nice.

Good press coverage of JK's involvement.

[MH1]

5. I liked it so much I posted it in GD-P

Just that quote, for short attention spans.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2538755&mesg_id=2538755

[ProSense]

6. Cool! n/t

[Mass]

8. That was a great post, but some DUers are just idiots.

[MH1]

11. Yes, they are.

They can't stand to see Kerry get an accolade for anything, no matter how clearly his action represents and promotes key Democratic principles.

These people are not Democrats. I'll allow that some think they are, but I'm betting some don't even think it themselves.

[JohnKleeb]

10. I thought it was well said

and people wonder why Ive become more practical politically because people are too in love with the sound of their own voice and hating.

[_dynamicdems]

7. Great info on what JK's been up to in his home state.

Thanks for posting! I guess he's able to eat tomatos again! (Ziti and meatballs)

This quote about says it all: "He's a stand up guy who is still standing up and doing the job," the Lynn resident said.

[TayTay]

9. Being a 'stand up guy' is why he is the Senator from Mass

There you go, New England values in a nut shell. Ask the folks from Gloucester or New Bedford. These are working class fishing towns in MA. Kerry, over the years, has had to go to these places and tell the fishermen that their very livelihood was in danger due to over-fishing. He had to go and explain votes to close down parts of the outer banks and such. Yet, I don't believe John Kerry ever lost a vote in either town. Being a 'stand-up guy' means that people know you've been straight with them all along and that if you come and tell them bad news, they know it's not smoke and mirrors. You have to do it, cuz it's true.

[rox63]

12. Wow, he was everywhere yesterday

He's the Energizer Senator! (tm)

[TayTay]

13. Well, it is a relatively small state (LOL!)

He started in Salem, then went up the road to Lynn, then up 128 to Burlington, then probably hopped the plane at Hanscom (a little further up 128) and went to DC for the vote. Tight scheduling. Kudo's for pulling it off. One good traffic jam and, ahm, geez.

Of course, I don't *know* the Hanscom part. It's a guess.

[Mass]

14. He was still in Boston last night for an event with the firefighters.

I could not find an article about that, but he missed the vote.

[TayTay]

15. I think you're right

the last vote recorded on the Senate site was for March 16th. It wa also a confirmation vote. The one for the 27th is not up. It was also a unanimous vote, so it's not like it was critical for him to be there.

[kerrygoddess]

19. Missed what vote? N/T

[TayTay]

20. The one the Senate won't put up

IT was a judicial confirmation vote that happened last night. The Senate site doesn't have it up. The last vote they show took place on 3/16. Sigh!

[kerrygoddess]

22. The immigration reform vote in Judicial?

That was not a full floor vote, it was only the committee. I don't think they post committee votes do they?

JK didn't miss the vote for anything in Judiciary, he's not on the committee. Am I missing something else that happened while I was out yesterday?

[Mass]

23. There was a vote to confirm a judge yesterday afternoon that Kerry missed

no big deal as it was not a contested vote and nothing to do with the Immigration Bill.

[kerrygoddess]

24. Thanks - I missed it too

I had no idea what vote. Now I know.

[wisteria]

16. Could the Boston Herald be any more obvious? Their piece is so

stupid it's funny. Three pages dripping with partisan attacks and child like jealous remarks. Looks to me like this paper has a real bad case of Kerry envy.

[TayTay]

17. Yup. They will never give up their meme that

'he's an out-of-touch elitist.' Even in the face of evidence that shows exactly the opposite. Plus, they can't read. This was an advance sheet for staff, not an ultimatum to the hotel. Sigh!

[karynnj]

21. Not only that - he and Teresa are eating what every

nutritionist recommends and for Kerry, exercise too. Drinks water. This sounds altogether too wholesome.

[rox63]

18. Boston Herald = Right-Wing Rag

:puke:

[rox63]

25. Here's the press release on his iRobot visit

March 28, 2006 06:52 PM US Eastern Timezone

Sen. John Kerry Visits iRobot to Congratulate Company on $26 Million U.S. Navy Contract

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2006--Sen. John Kerry visited iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ:IRBT) to congratulate employees on receiving the $26 million order from the U.S. Navy. This is the third round of funding by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), bringing the total value of the orders placed to date to more than $43 million. Under the terms, iRobot will deliver an additional 213 iRobot PackBot(R) Man Transportable Robotic Systems (MTRS), plus spare parts to repair robots in the field.

"Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are the single greatest threat to our troops in Iraq. Patrols who are sent to find these devices -- most of which are concealed -- are doing life-saving work, often at a tragic cost," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). "The ability to send a robot, like the iRobot PackBot, to disable explosives in place of one of our sons or daughters means a life saved."

Kerry's tour included a look at iRobot's latest innovations in robot technology including military robots such as the iRobot PackBot Tactical Mobile Robot, along with iRobot's award-winning home products, the Roomba(R) Vacuuming Robot and Scooba(TM) Floor Washing Robot. In addition, he spoke to the group about iRobot's status as a leader in robot technology and its impact on the local economy.

"Senator Kerry demonstrated his commitment to the Massachusetts economy and innovation by taking time from his pressing schedule to visit iRobot, see our products and meet our team," said Helen Greiner, chairman and co-founder, iRobot. "iRobot is dedicated to developing robots that will help keep U.S. forces out of harm's way, and we are thrilled that Senator Kerry could join us to celebrate the significant order from the U.S. Navy."

A bit more here: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060328006096&newsLang=en