Kerry accuses Bush of stifling dissent

Boston.com ^ | 04/22/2006 | Mark Pratt

[Panerai]

Those who disagree with the Bush administration's policies in Iraq face the same scornful charges that they are unpatriotic as Sen. John Kerry did 35 years ago when he spoke out against the Vietnam War, the Massachusetts Democrat said Saturday.

"I have come here today to reaffirm that it was right to dissent in 1971 from a war that was wrong. And to affirm that it is both a right and an obligation for Americans today to disagree with a President who is wrong, a policy that is wrong, and a war in Iraq that weakens the nation," Kerry said to a standing ovation Saturday at Boston's historic Faneuil Hall.

Kerry's speech came 35 years to the day after he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to call for an end to the Vietnam war.

"How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" Kerry said in 1971, a line that helped propel the decorated Navy combat veteran and Yale graduate onto the national stage.

The same question applies today as Americans wrestle with the mounting death toll in Iraq, Kerry said, speaking before about 500 supporters who punctuated his speech at least 20 times with ovations.

"Lives have been lost to bad decisions," Kerry said. "Not decisions that could have gone either way, but decisions that constitute basic negligence and incompetence. And lives continue to be lost because of stubbornness and pride."

[JoanneSD]

Did Kerry serve in viet nam?

[saganite]

The left is getting ever more shrill as it looks like a government may form in Iraq. They are desperately afraid peace may finally break out there.

[Gordongekko909]

Didn't Kerry serve in Vietnam? I remember hearing something about that... it used to be seared, seared into my memory, but I kind of forgot exactly what happened...

[Paladin2]

I don't know about anyone else, but I've had quite enough of the "dissent" of certain 'Rats, amplified by the MSM.

I'd suggest that they stop their descent from the gutter to the sewer.

[Lakeshark]

boo hoo....*sob, sob*...."How dare you question my patriotism"...blah, blah,blah....

What a sick man. Rich, arrogant, dumb and just plain disgusting.

[jocon307]

"...it used to be seared, seared into my memory, but I kind of forgot exactly what happened..."

LOL!

[Paladin2]

Doesn't JF'n Kerry go to Cambodia to celebrate Christmas every year?

[acapesket]

My Mother (God rest her soul) was right. She always said that John Kerry was not only a traitor but that "He's a Boob!"
He just feels compelled to keep proving it to us!

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Yeah, whatever.

[pcottraux]

ARRGHHH!!!

The mental condition of LNM (Liberal Narcisstic Martyrdom) has now spread to the Democrat politicians!

[Ludicrous]

So the only thing left for him to do is call the troops fighting in Iraq rapists and baby killers?

[carlr]

And so speaks the bast##d that helped to cause the scorn that our brave young men faced when they returned from Vietnam.

May his soul never have a moments peace.

[Panerai]

"Rich, arrogant, dumb and just plain disgusting" - But enough about his wife

[Txsleuth]

He STILL thinks he was a hero for what he did...what a LOSER!!!

[street_lawyer]

Those who disagree with the Bush administration's policies in Iraq scornfully charge the chief executive of manufacturing evidence, even though the same evidence was available to them. They suggest that the President is unpatriotic, and even worse, conducted a war for political gain

it is both a right and an obligation for Americans today to disagree with a [Democrat] who is wrong, and to call that democrat unpatriotic for the statements he made before congress in 1971.

"Lives have been lost to bad decisions," Kerry said. But stopped short of criticizing his own party for their bad decisions, which not only resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent Americans on 911, but will result in more deaths to terrorist activity if they are in control of US Foreign policy.

 

[Gordongekko909]

A-yup. That's what happens to a political party that invests itself in defeat.

No mention, I see, of Kerry's vote for the "mistake" in Iraq, no mention of his '04 campaign promise to run the mistake "smarter," no mention of the "not necessarily" answer he gave when he was asked if he were elected president in 2000, would Saddam still be in office by the end of '04...

This is why I love the internet and the left fears it. It's actually possible for disingenuous fools like Kerry to paint themselves into corners now.

[stm]

Someone needs to unscrew that idiot's head and **** down his neck. Talk about worthless as tits on a bull

[Proud_USA_Republican]

Kerry is like Tom Cruise or Michael Jackson.

Someone whose only reason they get any attention is that they are rich.
Without money, they would be used car salesman.

[muawiyah]

Kerry's statement was meant to coincide with the publication of a book by Tyler Drumheller, the former CIA analyst who says the Administration ignored agency warnings on WMD.

He's part of the Wilson/Plame/McCarthy cabal.

[Republican Wildcat]

Someone who falsely calls U.S. Troops terrorists IS unpatriotic, Mr. Kerry. Yes, I DID question your patriotism, Mr. Kerry.

[Gordongekko909]

Yes. And Nixon was actually sitting in the Oval office in 1968. Yessir. 1968 wasn't like other elections, you see. Nixon got sworn in as soon as he won the election. Didn't have to wait until January of 1969 like other Presidents did.

[Siena Dreaming]

I'm glad I don't find myself living among the citizens of Massachussetts. They must be the lamest in the nation.

They just keep electing Kerry and Kennedy over and over and over and over.....

When will it stop?

[SteveMcKing]

Yes- by the power of reasoned argument, debate is largely stifled by overwhelming consensus of opinion.

When parties disagree on core values and central tenets -- there is nothing left to debate. Clear differences will not be resolved through dialogue. Nor should they, if we really believe in our different philosophies.

[Siena Dreaming]

At least Cruise and Jackson earned their $.

Kerry needs to sponge off rich women. He could never earn $ himself.

[Frwy]

Did Kerry serve in viet nam?

To answer your rhetorical question, ; ) Let me assure you that there is NO record of Kerry ever having "served" in Viet Nam. As a matter of fact, there is no record of his ever having served anywhere in any capacity. He is a non-issue.

[Paladin2]

Jackson may even have had some talent at one point.

[Gordongekko909]

Well, he's already accused them of terrorizing civilians, but didn't explicitly mention rape. Although I suppose that's the next logical step.

[saganite]

Talk about worthless as tits on a bull


Well he certainly doesn't posses those "traits" that define a bull's purpose.

[Lakeshark]

But enough about his wife

:-)

A match made in heaven...ummm, no.... methinks the other place.....

[inquest]

"I have come here today to reaffirm that it was right to dissent in 1971 from a war that was wrong."

Right to make heinous false accusations about your fellow soldiers? Well at least you didn't "question their motives".

"And to affirm that it is both a right and an obligation for Americans today to disagree with a President who is wrong, a policy that is wrong, and a war in Iraq that weakens the nation"

You mean that weakens the Democrats' chances of coming back to power. Sure, everyone has a right to speak his mind on the issue, paranoid visions of "stifling dissent" notwithstanding.

[Echo Talon]

Awww Jeezz... not this s**t again.

[USNBandit]

"I have come here today to reaffirm that it was right to dissent..."

Dissent is one thing. Meeting with the enemy, to coordinate anti-war efforts inside the U.S., is something completely different.

[Txsleuth]

If Kerry or ANY wealthy "veteran" really wanted to show they care about the troops....

They would have already done something to help keep that restaurant open in Washington that feeds the injured troops for free on Friday night...

All Kerry and his cohorts want to do is make our military out to be terrorists, baby-killers, and cut and run cowards...

[DCPatriot]

And I accuse John Kerry of being a stupid a$$hole....so...we're even.

[SuzyQue]

Kerry's an idiot.

[Pittsburg Phil]

"My Mother (God rest her soul) was right. She always said that John Kerry was not only a traitor but that "He's a Boob!"

You dear Mom was 100% correct.

And on top of being a boob, Kerry is a snob.

[Fruitbat]

This coming from someone that was PO'd at the Swiftboat vets for daring to speak the truth counter to his self-aggrandized political resume.

[AmishDude]

Don't these people see the irony of crying about the "stifling" of dissent in the highest-circulation newspaper in New England.

[SandRat]

[Frwy]

Sadly, when there are new boobs to fry.

[yankeedame]

Yes- by the power of reasoned argument, debate is largely stifled by overwhelming consensus of opinion.

Like in North Korea, or, say, Harvard University.

[softwarecreator]

Lives have been lost to bad decisions

And as you can vouch for ... so have elections.

[Doctor Raoul]

Dissent Is Patriotic
Hating America Is Not

[bad company]

Yeah. Dissent is being stiffled in this country right now. Hardly anyone speaking out against the Bush administration. retard.

[pcottraux]

Kerry accuses Bush of stifling dissent

Does Kerry have one example of someone whose dissent was stifled by George W. Bush or anyone else?

[LucyJo]

"Stifling dissent"??? PUH-LEEZE!!! What IS he complaining about? Kerry's whole life has been about dissent and obstructionism! It's what he is KNOWN for, for Pete's sake! If anybody has been trying to stifle him, it surely hasn't worked. It is just that what he says doesn't hold up under the scrutiny of truth.

[b4its2late]

Plus, I never knew he was a Vietnam Veteran!

[mak5]

He says he did, but he never released his records, so we can't say for sure.

[USS Alaska]

Someone needs to unscrew that idiot's head and **** down his neck. Talk about worthless as tits on a bull

It's called a transcattlite.