Posted on 07/14/2005 2:21:33 AM PDT by kcvl
Sen. Kerry is wielding a double-edged sword
By Alexander Bolton
Sen. John Kerry is facing a dilemma.
With an eye towards running for president again in 2008, the Massachusetts Democrat has positioned himself as one of the most pugnacious critics of the Bush administration, often aligning himself with liberal activists. But at times, his aggressive anti-Bush rhetoric risks alienating other parts of his own party.
Kerry’s predicament was apparent this week as he took the lead among Democrats by calling for President Bush to fire his deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove, for Rove’s alleged role in revealing the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
At a press conference Tuesday on homeland security, as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) nodded in agreement, Kerry said: “Karl Rove ought to be fired.” Kerry also circulated a “fire Rove” petition yesterday through his leadership political action committee to nearly 3 million Democratic activists.
“We need you to recruit your friends and neighbors to sign our Fire Rove petition today to show that Americans will not tolerate White House dirty tricks that compromise our national security,” Kerry wrote in an e-mail.
“What we have seen from Kerry since the election is that he’s more aggressive and more pugnacious,” said Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Darrell West, a professor of political science at Brown University, said “Kerry has been among the most vociferous critics of the Bush administration since the election.
West noted that Kerry grilled Condoleezza Rice during her Senate confirmation and “voted against several Bush administration initiatives.”
But while Kerry has had the support of Clinton and many other Democrats on the Rove issue, his colleagues have left him out on a limb as he has championed other causes of the liberal wing of the party.
Shortly before the recess, Kerry wrote to Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, urging the committee to complete its investigation related to the infamous Downing Street memo, which liberal critics claim as proof that Bush had predetermined his decision to invade Iraq.
But Kerry could only garner signatures from nine colleagues, despite circulating the letter to the entire Democratic caucus.
Kerry urged Roberts and Rockefeller to complete “phase two” of the committee’s probe on prewar intelligence. Roberts and Rockefeller had agreed to break the investigation into two parts: phase one, which focused on the intelligence community’s information gathering, and phase two, which is to target the Bush administration’s use of intelligence and the pressure the administration may have exerted on analysts.
As a concession to Republicans, Rockefeller agreed to conduct the more politically sensitive second phase after last year’s election.
Citing the Downing Street memo, Kerry exhorted his colleagues not to let the second half of the probe languish.
“The committee’s efforts have taken on renewed urgency, given recent revelations in the United Kingdom regarding the apparent minutes of a July 23, 2002, meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and his senior national security advisors,” Kerry wrote. “These minutes — known as the ‘Downing Street Memo’ — raise troubling questions about the use of intelligence by American policy makers.”
Only one member of the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Jon Corzine (D), who is running for governor in blue-state New Jersey, signed on to the letter. It received no mainstream-media attention, but several liberal blogs, such as Talking Points Memo and Rawstory.com, wrote about Kerry’s effort.
Senate observers such as West said that Kerry is catering to liberal activists who view the Downing Street memo as a “smoking gun” showing that Bush was so determined to invade Iraq that he and his advisers believed faulty intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s weapons capabilities.
“I think Kerry is playing to the base,” West said. “He understands that liberals are just absolutely furious with Bush over the war. And they see the Downing Street memo as prima facie evidence of deceit within the administration and he hasn’t ruled out running for president in 2008.” By criticizing Bush and championing issues popular with members of liberal organizations such as MoveOn.org, Kerry seems to be taking a path similar to one trod by former Vice President Al Gore after he lost the 2000 election to Bush.
But while liberal activists have been energized over the Downing Street memo, other Democratic senators and major newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post have not.
For example, last month, MoveOn.org gathered more than 500,000 signatures on a petition “demanding that President Bush provide a detailed response to the smoking-gun evidence in the Downing Street memos of deceptions about the war in Iraq,” according to a MoveOn.org press release.
The Downing Street issue has drawn more support from House Democrats. House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) delivered the petition to the White House and held a mock hearing on the memo.
But Senate Democrats have kept their distance, despite Kerry’s work.
“I suspect it is a strategic decision on the part of Democrats that there are a certain core set of issues they want to put their capital into and this is not one of them,” Ornstein said. “Part of it is it’s rehashing history.”
A Democratic Senate aide said, “Either they sold it very poorly, or the caucus isn’t interested. My guess they just sold it poorly.”
Now thats funny right there!
Which means the THE DORK will wind up cutting himself on both edges...
"Did'nt mommy tell you not to play with sharp objects till you grow up?"
yup!
Is that why he was so edgy when he lost.
Geez...first I heard Gore was considering 08....now Kerry. Do the dems think either of these losers would have a chance in 08? No matter, whomever they run is going to lose. And then we will have to listen to another 4 or possibly 8 years of whining about voter fraud. The sustained whine of so many can be annoying as hell after a while. But as winners,we are used to it. That is our load to bear. Bwaaaahhaaaaaahaaaa!!!
If I didn't despise Kerry so much, I'd be tempted to pity this pathetic man's efforts to be relevant. I put that temptation behind me, however, and despising him is still operative. LOL
[A Democratic Senate aide said, “Either they sold it very poorly, or the caucus isn’t interested. My guess they just sold it poorly.”]
LOL, a liberal cannot admit you heard him and simply don't agree. It's always a problem "getting the message out". Apparently this is true even when the preachee is another liberal. They live their lives wrapped in a cloak of denial.
Gigilo you ought to be tried for treason, but we can't always get what we want eh gigilo?
Kerry just wants to keep his name in the news. He has nothing to offer other than his same tired old criticisms. What a loser. Just seems to me the people of Mass. aren't very bright.
Can't wait for Carter and McGovern to make announcements.
Fire Kerry, as a salute to the Military!
Which means he'll put himself up for two more Purple Hearts ;-)
Sword. Snort. That's not even a letter opener.
Is it not ironic that JF'enKerry thinks he is smart enough to tell Bush what to do----Even though he had worse grades at Yale then Bush
Maybe the reason is that there is still just enough sense left in some dems to realize chasing dubious,quite likely fabricated,documents is a dead end road.
For the Dems in Mass. to keep electing losers like Kerry and Kennedy doesn't just tell us they are not very bright, it says they are the dimmest in the country by far.
There has to be someone in the Republican Party in Mass who could run a good campaign against Kerry. He/she should run on this point: In all the years that Kerry has represented Mass, what has he done? Kerry needs to be backed against the wall on this. It's a matter of public record that he hasn't done anything. That should be hammered home over and over and over until the good folks of Mass realize that they have been duped.
My guess is that the Downing street memo continues where Clinton's "let's overthrow Iraq" policy leaves off.
Clinton's policy was published, was current at the time, and had the support of his party. It was the official policy of this nation since the time the democrats advanced it.
With an eye towards running for president again in 2008, the Massachusetts Democrat has positioned himself as one of the most pugnacious critics of the Bush administration, often aligning himself with liberal activists. But at times, his aggressive anti-Bush rhetoric risks alienating other parts of his own party.
That's the situation all Dem candidates will find themselves in. The Dem coalition forces them to alienate conservatives and moderates but is not strong enough to give a victory by itself. The GOP candidate can win and stay fairly conservative. If Mr. read my lips new world order hadn't alienated his base, there wouldn't have been a Dem president for decades. (I'm not sure if Carter counts as an actual President.)
In 2 words: Sandy Berger.
And I want to put together a petition that demands that George Soros and Al Franken provide a detailed response to the "smoking dope gun" evidence that they both participate in molesting goats!
Just prove that the allegations that I've heard are false!
Mark
Just remember that politics is his second career. His first and main career is finding rich women to marry and then keeping them happy, at least until a richer woman comes along.
How sad it must make him to know that to help him during the campaign, his wife took out a mortgage on one of the family's homes, and she also took his name. As soon as he lost the election, I don't think anyone knows what happened to the mortgage, but she dropped his name like a bad habit!
To have your wife refer to herself by the name of her dead husband. How can he compete with a dead man? Especially when the dead man has more charisma, even NOW?!?!?! How pathetic is that?
Mark
Ya know? I heard that he fought in Viet Nam! Wow!
Mark
Kerry gets the vapors, but successful results are still quite lacking! All show, no go.
I hope the medical team is on the ready - Kerry couldn't handle a butter knife properly, much less a sword...
Let's not forget his PLAN
Oh yea... The PLAN...
LT ping!
By the wrong end too.
I would really show Kerry's "double-edged sword" but it wouldnt be appropriate for this forum....
HEE HEE I LOVE YOUR COMMENT~
He also speaked with a double-edged FORKED tongue!
You would THINK that the Liberals would be dancing in the streets and celebrating the LIBERATION of the Iraqi women and their new RIGHT to vote! IF they were TRUE to their word.
the Boston Glob's poll today
http://www.boston.com
Wilson calls on Bush to fire Rove
Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson called on President Bush today to fire deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, saying Rove engaged in an "abuse of power" by discussing Wilson's wife's CIA job with a reporter.
Should President Bush fire deputy chief of staff Karl Rove?
Yes. It’s obvious that Rove leaked the name to the press and this is not only an “abuse of power” but a crime.
84.0%
No. An investigation into this matter is still ongoing and it’s too early to know the extent of Rove’s involvement in this case.
16.0%
Total votes: 1946
Kerry demanding that the President make a pre-emptive strike to topple Karl Rove from power before there is conclusive ruling of evidence against him??? What if there were no WMD (wrongful messages delivered)? Kerry is surely dealing with a two-edged sword risking decisions like that...why, his powers of judgement and his very credibility could be at stake!
"Karl rove should be fired!"
Oh brother!! This from the guy with Sandy Burglar AND Joe Wilson as his advisers!!
No wonder he's being snubbed. He's such a dufus!!
Spineless US Senate would rather protect Hanoi Kerry
than deal with the anti war crowd.
Anyone who thinks Hanoi Kerry isn't behind the anti war crowd needs to get a clue.
It's time to support our troops and ignore the jelly fish in the US Senate!
There is no need to impeach Hanoi Kerry from the US Senate
He is there illegally!
WAKEUP AMERICA!
For those who "forgot" what Hanoi Kerry
did in the past read on and learn the truth.
Hanoi Kerry was still a USNR officer while he:
gave false hearsay testimony to Congress
negotiated with the enemy
helped the US lose a war
abetted in the deaths of millions
created a hostile environment for all servicemen
Why is Kerry still in the US Senate?
This is in violation of
U.S. Constitution Amendment 14 Sec 3
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html
And the FBI has proof of his treason.
Hanoi Kerry Timeline of a traitor
includes FBI files
May 1970
Kerry and Julia traveled to Paris, France and met with Madame Nguyen Thi Binh, the Foreign Minister of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Vietnam (PRG), the political wing of the Vietcong, and other Viet Cong and Communist Vietnamese representatives to the Paris peace talks, a trip he now calls a "fact-finding" mission.
(U.S. code 18 U.S.C. 953, declares it illegal for a U.S. citizen to go abroad and negotiate with a foreign power.)
http://www.archive-news.net/Kerry/JK_timeline.html
a) A person charged with absence without leave or missing movement in time of war,
or with any offense punishable by death,
may be tried at any time without limitation.
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm#*%20843.%20ART.%2043.%20STATUTE%20OF%20LIMITATIONS
Distribute these url's!
Links to Anti Kerry sites
212 LINKS
News reports,
Viper's Vietnam Veterans Page
http://members.aol.com/ga1449ga/links/links.html
EXPOSE HANOI KERRY!
MUST SEE WEBSITE!!!!
http://www.kerrystreason.com/index.html
Full details on these url's!
http://stophanoikerry.150m.com
There is a backup site
if the 1st url is unavailable.
http://tonkin.spymac.net/hanoikerry1.html
Did you see this...?
(The 'Kerry's Promise Counter')
http://polipundit.com/index.php?p=6628
Polipundit even tells you how to install it on your own page!
Swift Boat Veteran For Truth John O'Neill Comments on Kerry's 180 'Release'
6/7/05
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1418592/posts
John Kerry was dishonorably dismissed from the Navy:
(statement from lawyers there at the time)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1406760/posts
Why does Hanoi Kerry continue to refuse to sign
form SF 180 and release his military records to the public?
Sam Sewell 09 June 2005
http://www.intellectualconservative.com/article4388.html
He's just upset because Karl Rove, in a perfect Rovian Storm, has already determined that Hitlery should be the DIM's candidate in '08. Kerry may as well just put his butter knife....er sword....away!
bump
BTT!!!!!!
Thank you for the ping!
Kerry is running the risk of amputating his forked tongue with that double edged sword , considering the inept way he wields it.
while looking for a clip on that, I found this:
Dan Gross | As time goes by, a kiss is just a kiss
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/12110951.htm
Dan Gross
THE MYSTERY woman smooching Bill Clinton in a photo in Edward Klein's book "The Truth About Hilary," is local gal Dawn Dugan, says the July/August issue of Real Philly magazine.
The picture, taken in October when Clinton was here stumping for John Kerry, surfaced recently in Klein's 336-page slam piece on Sen. Hilary Clinton.
Dugan, 39, a Hallahan High grad, and Clinton are not strangers. She's a party planner who worked on events for the President during his 1996 reelection campaign. Real Philly calls Dugan an "inveterate Clinton groupie."
Dugan and Clinton were introduced by then mayor Ed Rendell. Real Philly editor/publisher Ted Beitchman, then an aide to Rendell, hired Dugan to throw a party launching his former magazine The Player.
Despite what anti-Clintonites would have you believe, the kiss does not seem to be a lip-lock, but rather a kiss on the cheek. It isn't her first photographed smooch.
The People Paper ran a photo in 2002 of her kissing a NYC cop.
Real Philly could not reach Dugan before publication. We could not reach her yesterday.
must remember to see if the video is on tomorrow; today they only have Tuesday night's...
http://www.nbc.com/nbc/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/monologues/
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