Who's Kerry

Mobile (Alabama) Register / Frontpagemag ^ | March 10, 2004 | Admiral Jeremiah Denton

[Main Street]

Knowing that I served in the U.S. Senate with John Kerry and that, like him, I am a veteran of the Vietnam War, many people have asked me what I think of him, particularly now that he's the apparent presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

When Kerry joined me in the Senate, I already knew about his record of defamatory remarks and behavior criticizing U.S. policy in Vietnam and the conduct of our military personnel there. I had learned in North Vietnamese prisons how much harm such statements caused.

To me, his remarks and behavior amounted to giving aid and comfort to our Vietnamese and Soviet enemies. So I was not surprised when his subsequent overall voting pattern in the Senate was consistently detrimental to our national security.

Considering his demonstrated popularity during the Democratic primaries, I earnestly hope the American people will soberly consider Kerry's qualifications for the pres idency in light of his position and record on both our cultural war at home and on national security issues.

To put it bluntly, John Kerry exemplifies the very reasons that I switched to the Republican Party. Like the majority in his political party, he has proven by his words and actions that his list of priorities -- his ideas on what most needs to be done to improve this country -- are almost opposite to my own.

Here are two issue areas that I consider top priorities: the war over the soul of America, and national security.

Top priority should be placed on an effort to recover our most fundamental founding belief that our national objectives, policies and laws should reflect obedience to the will of Almighty God. Our Declaration of Independence, our national Constitution and each of the states' constitutions stress that basic American national principle.

For about 200 years, the entire country, both parties and all branches of government understood that principle and tried to follow it, if imperfectly.

For some 50 years, our nation's opinion-makers, our courts and, gradually, our politicians have been abandoning our historical effort to be "one nation under God" in favor of becoming "one nation without God," with glaringly unfavorable results.

I believe our political leaders, educational system, parents and opinion-makers must all return to teaching the truth most emphasized by our Founding Fathers.

George Washington called religious belief indispensable to the prosperity of our democracy. William Penn said, "Men must choose to be governed by God or condemn themselves to be ruled by tyrants." And when asked what caused the Civil War, President Lincoln said, "We have forgotten God."

In these days we have not only forgotten God, we are by our new standards of government and culture rejecting him as the acknowledged creator and as the endower of our rights.

As a result, we are suffering cultural decay and human unhappiness. The decline of the institution of the family is the most obvious result.

Perhaps the current movie, "The Passion of the Christ," will help many to come to realize the cost of the redemption of our sins, and the destructiveness of sin.

Let's remember that over 95 percent of Americans during our founding days were Christians, and though our Founding Fathers stipulated that no one was to be compelled to believe in any religion, and also stipulated that there would be no single Christian denomination installed as a national religion, there was no question that our laws were to be firmly based on the Judean Ten Commandments and on Christ's mandate to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

That setup brought us amazing success as a nation, lifting us from our humble beginnings, through crisis after crisis, to become the leading nation of the world.

Now, though, we are throwing away the very source of our strength and greatness. Yet I am not giving up on our country. I am encouraged at the stand and the attitude of our president, and inspired by his courage. There are many more of his stripe in Washington now.

Though Rome and other empires have decayed and fallen, the cultural war in the United States can and should be won by the majority of Americans -- a majority to whom Kerry and the Democrats disdainfully refer to as the "far right." They are people who believe in God and in the original concept of "one nation under God."

As a nation, we are now at the point of no return. The good guys are finally angry enough to join the fray, and I pray we are not too late.

John Kerry is not among the good guys. The Democratic Party isn't, either.

Indeed, on the subject of national security, John Kerry epitomizes a fatal weakness in the Democratic Party.

During the decisive days of the Cold War, after the Democratic Party changed during the mid-1960s, the party was on the wrong side of every strategic debate on policy regarding Vietnam and the USSR, and is now generally on the wrong side in the war on terrorism.

The truth is that the Cold War was barely won by a narrow margin -- a victory and a margin determined by the political choices made by our government regarding suitable steps to deter Soviet attack and finally win the Cold War.

If the U.S. had followed the Democratic Party line, the Cold War would have concluded with the U.S. having to surrender without a fight, or the U.S. would have been defeated in a nuclear war with acceptable losses to the USSR.

It was not Johnson and Carter and the Democrats; it was Nixon, Reagan, George Bush and the Republicans who led us to victory in the Cold War.

And George W. Bush and the Republican majority -- not John Kerry and the Democrats -- can lead us to victory in the war on terrorism.

----------------------------

Jeremiah Denton is a retired Navy admiral who served in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1987. Readers can phone him at 473-1010, send e-mail to transff1@aol.com, or log on to his Web site at www.nff.org.

[Main Street]

"I served in the Senate with John Kerry, and he embodies the reasons I switched to the Republican Party."

[Sapper26]

Considering his demonstrated popularity during the Democratic primaries, I earnestly hope the American people will soberly consider Kerry's qualifications for the pres idency in light of his position and record on both our cultural war at home and on national security issues.


I have yet to anyone who actually WANTS JFHeinz to be president. The only qualification that they are concerned about is: His last name ain't Bush.

[RandallFlagg]

When Kerry joined me in the Senate, I already knew about his record of defamatory remarks and behavior criticizing U.S. policy in Vietnam and the conduct of our military personnel there. I had learned in North Vietnamese prisons how much harm such statements caused.

To me, his remarks and behavior amounted to giving aid and comfort to our Vietnamese and Soviet enemies. So I was not surprised when his subsequent overall voting pattern in the Senate was consistently detrimental to our national security.

And so it begins....

[Ed_in_NJ]

definitelyworthabump

[MEG33]

I hope this is published in more places.

[W04Man]

bump!

http://W-04.com

[jrlc]

1971 -- "How do you think we can BRIDGE to make them forget the past?" says one Liberal Massachusetts Senator to another about to be an even farther to the left Massachusets Liberal Senator.

[jrlc]

[Ronin]

It needs to be shouted from the rooftops.

Thank you Admiral Denton.

[Dahoser]

It's up to the Bush re-election committee to get Admiral Denton, former Vietnam POW-Admiral Denton, former Senator- Vietnam POW-Admiral Denton in front of the public. Doesn't have to be now, but it has to be at some point. They cannot act like his father's re-election committee and ossify into spectators while the opposition plays the game.

[Use It Or Lose It]

It's up to the Bush re-election committee to get Admiral Denton, former Vietnam POW-Admiral Denton, former Senator- Vietnam POW-Admiral Denton in front of the public.

Republican Convention?

[tkathy]

"consistently detrimental", "he embodies", this kind of esoteric language does not speak to people's guts. Instead, he could say "undermines" etc. The current republican spokesmen need writers who use gut language rather than cerebral language.

[GailA]

My friend a former Navy Master Chief (20 years) says hanoi john belongs in a TIGER CAGE.

[StACase]

I stopped reading when he started blabbing about all the God stuff.

[OldFriend]

BTTT

[Use It Or Lose It]

I stopped reading when he started blabbing about all the God stuff.

Then here's the essence of the article:

John Kerry is not among the good guys. The Democratic Party isn't, either. Indeed, on the subject of national security, John Kerry epitomizes a fatal weakness in the Democratic Party.

[Jaxter]

I have a little rule of thumb that I go by:

If Kim Jong Il is for him, I'm against him.

[RottiBiz]

Thank you, Main Street, for posting.

God bless Admiral Jeremiah Denton. Thank you, Sir, for your sacrifice and service and the courage to tell the truth about Senator Kerry and the Democrat party.

[NYCop]

Admiral Denton is a true American Hero. God Bless him for telling his story.

[Samwise]

As my father always said, "Democrats start wars. Republicans finish them."

[Ragirl]

John F. Kerry is a traitor who gave aid and comfort to our Vietnamese and Soviet enemies.

BUMP THIS GREAT STORY!

[G.Mason]

"I stopped reading when he started blabbing about all the God stuff."

Though not a religious man, I had no problem with the referral to God. It is, afterall, how this nation was founded.

As you do have a problem with it, speaks volumes.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Denton is a Great Alabamian and a Great American. He decided not to continue in the Senate and could be elected tomorrow if he so desired.

CG

[HostileTerritory]

I thought Richard Shelby defeated him in '86.

[CurlyBill]

BUMP!!!!

[ConservativeMan55]

bump!

[Conspiracy Guy]

I could be wrong but I think Denton didn't run.

CG

[em2vn]

At what point before that did you stop thinking?

[Thebaddog]

The way he wears those medals makes me think they were store bought. I think that I read somewhere that Kerry wrote his own medal commendations. Has there been any digging done on that subject?

And I remember an admiral who took himself out when it was found out that he was wearing medals he hadn't been awarded.

[uncbob]

Lets see the liberals try and dump on Denton's credentials as a Vietnam veteran

If the GOP doesn't use him against Kerry then they are the STUPID PARTY

[johniegrad]

When I was an intern at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, I had the privilege of hearing the admiral address our group of 100 interns in the hospital auditorium. He was a moving speaker at that time. He advised us to make sure that we did everything we could to provide excellence in our part of the military. He suggested that we needed to do this in order to not disappoint President Ronald Reagan who, the admiral said, had an almost "childlike" faith in the military to be able to accomplish whatever task we faced. There was a certain admiration that the admiral had for the president's faith in the military. It was a good time to be on active duty in the service. We had a president that we thought really cared about his servicemen.

[MattMa]

If the author of this article is correct in the charge of giving aid and comfort to our enemies.

Why wasn't Naval Reserve Capt. John F. Kerry charged under Article 104 of the UCMJ? Kerry was not discharged from the Naval Reserve until 1978.

[HostileTerritory]

This site confirms that he was defeated for reelection in '86. He overlapped with Kerry for two years.

http://www.ourcampaigns.com/cgi-bin/r.cgi/CandidateDetail.html?&CandidateID=4699

[The Mayor]

I have seen 3 threads this morning that have ripped him, way to go!

[ZULU]

God Bless You Admiral.

[uncbob]

I stopped reading when he started blabbing about all the God stuff.

And it was Denton's faith that got him through his ordeal as a POW

I find NOTHING wrong with his belief or statement and I am an AGNOSTIC

wonder how your faith and or belief system would have served you in similar circumstances

[Conspiracy Guy]

Spank my butt and call me Charlie. I know Shelby on a personal level. But I plain forgot that Denton ran against him. Because I forgot that Shelby was a Democrat til Clinton was elected.

CG