I can say that I have never really been affiliated with one party or another. I can also say that my default would be leaning toward a Republican platform, but this doesn't mean that I will always side with Republicans. I believe that Democrats can have some conservative roots as well. What John Kerry said, though, yesterday has caused me to side with the Republicans. What a massive blunder on his part leading up to mid-term elections. Aren't politicians supposed to be a little more polished than this. Heck, even if I thought it, I wouldn't ever voice it.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
John Kerry, What Were You Thinking?
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3 comments:
That's what happens when inherently unfunny people try to make jokes in public.
Now I'm no fan of John Kerry, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't mean to slight the armed forces. Then again, it sure is taking him a long time to buck up and give a formal apology to the men and women serving in Iraq.
Perhaps Karl Rove has some sort of mind control device implanted in key Democrats. I think everyone was just waiting for some sort of snafu by the Dems for the Republicans to seize upon. I'm still waiting for him to pull some last minute rabbit out of his hat to save the GOP before next week's elections.
The only thing that disappoints me about Kerry's statement is his obvious bullshit excuse of "what I meant to say was..." He said what he meant.
Well, it was also a tad insensitive to those who join the military for solely economic reasons. But if what he is basically saying - and I believe he is - is "Iraq is a bad place to be right now," then who can argue against him?
Obviously he is drawing comparisons to Vietnam. It's not the same pickle now though, as there is no draft. All our forces are volunteers. So if his retraction had been, "I made an inaccurate comparison of the war in Iraq with the Vietnam war, which was a war where many Americans were drafted into service. All of our forces deployed today have bravely volunteered to serve in our Armed Forces." and then went on to stand his ground and assert what a mess Iraq is, I'd have more respect for him.
As it stands now, he's knuckling under to this administration’s baloney machine, where if anyone speaks against the Big American Bully (all actions post Afghanistan), then they are synonymous with the hippies who spat on returning soldiers from Vietnam. It's crap.
Our fellow citizens in the armed forces joined of their own free will. They agreed that they may have to kill other human beings, or die themselves, to fulfill their pledge. Our soldiers don't get to decide whether or not they go to war. If they join, they go if called - that in my opinion is not only brave, but unbelievably dedicated and selfless. This is a serious commitment - too serious - to abuse on an unnecessary war. Shame on George W. Bush for avoiding his own service in Vietnam, and then sending so many others to die, become maimed, or emotionally scarred. Double shame on him and his administration for cutting veterans benefits the day after they send them to war! What contempt! What a stab in the back! What hypocrisy to accuse others of not supporting the troops.
As for Republicans jumping on a Democratic mistake, yeah that happens all around. Democrats have their Ted Kennedy's and Condits'. Republican's have their bad apples. The bullshit game is trying to convince voters that one bad Republican/Democrat means that they're all bad. It's garbage and I hate it. Both sides do it (although I think the conservative propaganda network (Fox News) and kennel of badges on talk radio are the elite crap flingers), and I wish that more Americans would wake up to this and ignore it.
Perhaps the saddest part about this whole thing is how EVERY news outlet has grabbed onto Kerry's little comment. This isn't solely the Fox News channel berating the issue, it's EVERYONE.
To comment on Wander's thoughts, I don't think anyone is saying this is worse than an alleged child molester. But I also don't think either story, Foley's or Kerry's, should be used to sway the vote in the upcoming elections. These are actions or comments from isolated representatives which may have absolutely no bearing on the local issues for which House Representatives and Senators are elected to do--they're there to represent your local interests and give you representation on a national level. I think it's gotten ridiculous that people vote strictly by their party ticket, rather than really scrutinizing each candidate or issue and voting for what really represents their own opinions. Perhaps George Washington was right from the get go in not wanting political parties to take shape.
Anywho, didn't this turn out to be a nice topic of discussion? I just got my voter card in the mail today. Remeber to vote next Tuesday, otherwise I won't listen to any comments you guys have. ;-)
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