Posted on 09/28/2004 7:15:28 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
SPRING GREEN - Invoking images he hoped would resonate with local voters, presidential candidate John Kerry talked Monday of America's love for the Green Bay Packers, his memories of working on his uncle's dairy farm and fishing trips as a child during a 90- minute town-hall style meeting at River Valley Middle School.
Kerry even held up a copy of the Wisconsin State Journal and answered three questions posed by readers. And he tried out his humor on the local crowd with a jab at President Bush's leadership - and the fact that he's 5 inches taller than Bush.
Kerry said a supporter in Madison asked him whether America should "change horses in midstream" while in Iraq. "I said to him, 'You know, when your horse is heading down toward the waterfall and when your horse is drowning, it's a good time to change horses.
"May I also suggest that we need a taller horse?" Kerry asked to hearty laughter. "You can get through deeper water that way."
The Massachusetts senator told the 250 invited guests, including 50 River Valley middle and high school students, that he welcomed the chance to talk directly to voters rather than hearing his message distorted through "phony" and "trumped up" 30- and 60- second "special interest" ads that turn off voters
Kerry, who's in Wisconsin to prepare for Thursday's debate with Bush, used the forum to criticize the current administration's handling of everything from the war in Iraq to subsidies for dairy farmers. Citing comments by U.S. agriculture officials earlier this year, Kerry charged that the Bush administration was trying to "maximize votes" in dairy states like Wisconsin by hiding a plan to kill payments to dairy farmers when milk prices drop.
On Monday, the Bush campaign labeled that charge "false."
Kerry also blamed Bush's policies, including tax breaks for U.S. companies that operate overseas, for the loss of 67,000 manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin that he said have been replaced by jobs with lower pay and benefits.
"(Bush) said he would create 135,000 jobs right here in Wisconsin," Kerry said. "Well, he's created 200 and he lost 67,000 jobs."
Kerry asserted that under Bush, "You pay less tax for going to Shanghai than you do for staying in America. Not when I'm president."
That message hit home with Liz Jones of Hollandale, who said the manufacturer her husband works for has cut jobs at home while adding them abroad. And after she lost her state-funded job, Jones said, the only work she could find even with a college degree paid just $8 to $10 an hour.
Kerry repeatedly criticized the Bush tax cuts and touted his plan to reinstate higher taxes for those earning $200,000, saying the money should be used to fund improvements in health care and education.
"He insisted on a great big tax cut for the wealthiest Americans," Kerry said. "We went racing into deficit. We've got deficits as far as we can see, and they're piling up on our children. The good, common sense, fiscally conservative citizens of Wisconsin know that it's our responsibility to pay our bills and not dump them on our kids and our future generations."
He said health-care reform would be the first thing he would do if elected, including universal insurance coverage for children and financial incentives to help businesses and individuals lower the cost of health insurance.
"All children in America will be covered automatically, day one, no questions asked," Kerry said, adding. "I want universal health-care coverage for all Americans."
Responding to criticism that the proposal constitutes government-run health care, the Democratic senator said, "My health-care plan is not a government plan. It's an incentive, market-based plan."
Kerry worked hard to appeal to Wisconsin voters, whose support is seen as crucial by both major parties.
But it was not his references to hunting, clean water for fishing or "common sense" Midwestern values that seemed to strike the strongest chord. The biggest ovations were prompted by Kerry's promises to win back the world's respect.
He criticized Bush for "slapping 160 countries in the face" by abandoning the international global-warming treaty and for alienating potential allies in the war in Iraq.
"I'm going to restore our reputation and credibility in the world by bringing truth and vision and American values back to the foreign policy of our country. And I will recognize that even the United States of America needs friends. The fact is, working with other nations is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength."
Contact Dee J. Hall at dhall@madison.com or 252-6132.
Oops, should have read the entire thread....and yes it was 95-0....can anyone confirm that gigolo voted with the majority.
The entire treaty is basically designed to punish America for being economically successful and that's why America refuses to sign it.
If Kerry were to become President, Kyoto would be at the top of his list to destroy America.
Check out the John F. Kerry Timeline. Email it to your friends.
.
Not logially possible. If it's an incentive-based system, it will never be universal. If it's universal, then it has to be government mandated. Never the twain shall meet.
Kerry's lying again.
"All children in America will be covered automatically, day one, no questions asked," Kerry said, adding. "I want universal health-care coverage for all Americans." ***
Kerry's lying again.
BUMP!
The first Earth Day was held on Lenin's 100th birthday. Was that a coincidence?
Many countries have signed Kyoto. The US signed Kyoto. That is far different than ratifying the treaty and making it law. That only a handful of countries have done.
If Rush's point is that there is only one country affected by Kyoto that actually ratified it, then he's dead on.
The US actually signed Kyoto - President Clinton did it to kiss environmentalist ass, knowing full well that the Senate would never ratify it.
As of February 2002 104 countries had signed it and 85 had ratified it.
Versus Kerry's Naomi Wolf-man.
Thanks for the info.
When Kerry was in Wisconsin and he referred to Bush's "Secret Plan against milk producers" was he talking about lactating mothers, too?
Robert Novak: Kyoto: Still Signed
........President Bush's conviction that the one-sided Kyoto pact threatens prosperity here is not in doubt. While Kyoto will not be ratified while he is in the White House, there is no statute of limitations for diplomatic treaties. Accordingly, a future Democratic president—elected in 2004 or later—could push it through the Senate.
To prevent that, the U.S. would disavow Kyoto—unsign the treaty—prior to the United Nations global warming conference in Johannesburg beginning August 26. The plan, under Cheney's patronage, was to unsign Kyoto before the Johannesburg meeting and then submit it to the U.N. (as was done with the ICC). Bush disconnected from the Rome treaty establishing the ICC just before it went into effect.
Now that Rice has scuttled Kyoto unsigning plans, the global warming treaty at long last may go into effect at Johannesburg without U.S. approval. If Secretary of State Colin Powell insists on attending the conference, however, that could be interpreted as tacit American support. ..... http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/07/25/column.novak/
Kerry has made multiple items "the first thing I will do as President." Bush should have the list at the debate and say "When you spoke to X you told them Y would be your first act as President. And when you spoke to A you told them B would be your first act. You have told no less than a dozen groups what your first act would be, but all of them are different. What exactly will be your first act as President?"
Kerry voted for it before voting against it.
sheesh
He is running for president not king. No first day mandates on health care or any other topic.
If the man does not even understand the constitution he needs to go back to MA and stay under his rock.
Day One? Twenty years in the Senate and he's already forgotten how laws are passed.
_____________________________________
Adviser rejects Kyoto Protocol for Russia
Moscow, Russia, Sep. 28, 2004 (UPI) -- Signing the Kyoto Protocol on global warming would prevent Russia doubling its gross domestic product, a top Kremlin adviser said Monday. Russia plans to double its GDP in the next decade, but the goal could not be achieved if the nation signed and implemented the Kyoto Protocol, Andrei Illarionov, an economic adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told a Moscow investment conference, the Interfax news agency said.
"The scenario for doubling GDP implies an annual increase of 7.2 percent over 10 years. At that rate of growth the increase in carbon dioxode emissions could be significant," Illarionov told the conference, entitled "Russia; Investment in an Economy of Growth."
Economy Minister German Gref, however, signed a letter to the government voicing his approval of the treaty, the Moscow News reported Monday.
The Kyoto Protocol, calling for a cap on greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the effects of global warming, can only be ratified if signed by the developed nations that produce half of the world's emissions.....
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040927-050027-3463r.htm
January 30, 2004
***.....In 1997, he voted against the Kyoto Protocol on global warming but now criticizes the Bush administration for not pursuing the treaty, which is designed to cut down on global toxic emissions. Kerry said he would return to the negotiating table to fix the treaty because "it didn't have the participation of rapidly emerging countries."....***
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/election2004/7837934.htm
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