...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Wednesday, February 04, 2004
      ( 9:46 AM )
 
I Might Like John Kerry as Nominee More If...

-- He hadn't been absent from 72% of the votes in the Senate in the last year
-- He didn't exploit his Vietnam service as a campaign tool
-- He hadn't thrown his medals in the trash as part of his protest against Vietnam
-- He hadn't raised more money from lobbyists than any other senator over the last 15 years
-- He hadn't voted for the Patriot Act, the Bush Tax Cuts, No Child Left Behind, and the blank check for Bush to go to war in Iraq - and then claimed he was against all those things or that he was "tricked."
-- He hadn't, while in Congress, questioned the need for raising the minimum wage and sponsored legislation to take tenure away from public school teachers
-- He hadn't voted to confirm most of Bush's right-wing judicial nominees
-- The bulk of his campaign money didn't come from his and his wife's pockets
-- He had actually sponsored or pushed through ANY legislation that made ANY difference for Americans instead of ride the tails of other legislators for 20 years
-- He had more to offer us than aping other candidates' themes, plans, policies and records
-- He had an actual base of true believing supporters instead of votes from people who are too scared to commit to real change for this country and the party.

I'm looking for someone who can actually LEAD, who can offer more than words but an actual record of accomplishments for people he represented, someone who has made tough decisions and stood up for the right thing even when it wasn't popular, and someone who can challenge George Bush on substantive issues. So far I don't see that in John Kerry. But I'm willing to listen if someone has something else about him to offer the people of the Democratic party like me and the rest of the country come November. Just my opinion, though.

UPDATE: I posted this on my diary over at Kos and there are some spirited comments. Well, I'm glad people are at least talking about things, and I'm always wanting to learn more.


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