In a posting this past week http://www.bluemassg… calling Senator Kerry a “pollitician”, I stated Mr. Kerry’s vote to invade Iraq “was a well thought out, deliberate vote based upon the results of polls at that time”. I stressed his vote was not simply a “mistake” as Mr. Kerry would have the public believe. My statement was based upon the review of many inconsistent interviews and statements given by Mr. Kerry explaining his vote.
In this earlier posting and in a letter sent to Senator Kerry http://www.edoreilly… , I called upon him to take his own advice and “stand with the troops, not just in words, but in action”. I insisted that Mr. Kerry donate the entire $15m left over from his 2004 Presidential Campaign Fund to charitable Veterans’ Groups rather than spend the money to promote his own political future.
An article posted on today’s Boston Globe website confirms my long held belief that Mr. Kerry was motivated by his own political ambitions rather than conscience when he supported President Bush and the military action in Iraq http://www.boston.co…
The widespread, personal suffering and the intense damage Senator Kerry has caused, based upon his own political ambitions, is unconscionable. In addition to donating money to the Charitable Veterans’ Groups, Mr. Kerry should immediately resign from office.
Ed O’Reilly
Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate from, and for, Massachusetts
If you’re going to logically and objectively call for someone’s resignation due to “unconscionable” actions, Kerry isn’t even in the top 50 in the list of people who should resign.
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Give me a break–everyone who voted to give Bushie a blank check did it for “political” reasons. Why, all of a sudden, are people denying that there are politics in politics??
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I’m not defending mistakes Kerry made, I’m just saying that concentrating any effort into this particular cause is like fiddling while Rome burns. That article didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t know and/or suspect. I think the only reason you’re doing this now is because you’re running against him.
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The very real “widespread, personal suffering and the intense damage” that has been caused has not been caused by Sen. Kerry, and I think you’re trivializing this tragedy by grandstanding, not to mention taking the focus away from the people who actually have caused this horrific period in U.S. history.
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I was thinking of voting for you in the primaries, because I believe Kerry needs to be challenged, but if you’re going to spend all your time attacking Kerry instead of describing your vision and your goals, I’m not going to. I don’t want to vote for someone who doesn’t have anything interesting to say or propose.
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If you want to make people accountable, run on a pro-impeachment platform that includes not only Bush, but Cheney–and every single Supreme Court Justice who “selected” them. Run on a platform of making sure that this coup is not forgotten in history books (Smedley Butler, anyone?).
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Run on a platform of real change.
I agree with much of what you are saying and the fact that I have called for Mr. Kerry to resign does not mean that others should not be held accountable. Additionally, it would not be in my political interest if Senator Kerry should resign.
Finally, at my announcement last week at the Democratic Convention, I did talk about proposals that people seemed to find interesting. I hope we have a chance to meet as I travel across the Commonwealth in the months ahead. This is not a one issue campaign.
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Ed O’Reilly
Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate from, and for, Massachusetts
And I know that the person posting it is someone who wants Senator Kerry’s seat… but the guts this person has displayed to risk pissing of the “the establishment” that wants to lick the boots of anyone who happens to be in a seat and want to scare of anyone who doesn’t even get a chance to prove that they could do a better job makes that OK.
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“The establishment” mentality prevailing is much of the reason we have Joe Lieberman south of the state border.
I may be a bit too old to talk about being anti-establishment, but my candidacy speaks for itself in many ways.
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Ed O’Reilly
Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate from, and for, Massachusetts
What do you tell a citizen like Ben LaGuer, who claims to be a victim of a self-checking system gone wrong? He has been denied numerous appeals for a new trial, yet every day that passes there seems to be new clues to his innocence. Do you say to him like Governor Patrick did when he claimed, “Justice has been served.”?
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Whether or not LaGuer is innocent, shouldn’t we make sure? He is, after all, sentenced to life in prison. He’s been a model inmate all these years, and the only thing that has kept him in jail is his refusal to admit to the crime during his parole hearings.
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What’s your opinion? Does a guilty man deliberately keep himself in jail for more than 23 years protesting his innocence?
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http://bluemassgroup…
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Our penal system is only as good as our effort is to keep it fair, don’t you agree?
As a criminal defense attorney for 25 years, I have a good understanding of the potential failures in the judicial system.
As a former corrections officer, I supervised a unit where one third of the population were “lifers”. I have never met so many people proclaim their innocence as I did in State Prison.
The bottom line is that I have compassion, but I am not naive. Although I have followed this case, I never base an opinion on media reports.
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Ed O’Reilly
Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate from, and for, Massachusetts
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you should talk to randall forsberg to perhaps compare notes.
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good luck!
Was what would you say to Citizens like Ben LaGuer, but I don’t see the answer to that question.
The answer is that I don’t comment or have an opinion on a case that I am not personally or professionally involved in and yes; there are people who protest their innocence for 23 plus years.
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Ed O’Reilly
What does that mean?
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That kind of an answer is just as convoluted as John Kerry’s explanation of how he voted for the funding before he voted against it.
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I sense hypocrisy.
people in prison claim they are innocent. You can be a compassionate person but you can’t just take these people for face value and give anyone who wants one a new trial.
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At least, that’s what I took from his comment.
He made a mistake, as did almost every single politician in Washington D.C.
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However, unlike the majority of politicians in D.C., he’s currently making sense on Iraq and actually pushing for the country to do the right thing there and pull out.
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So, now, I’m supposed to ask for his resignation? I think not.
if he had won the election, the craven and machiavellian vote he cast (against the wishes of an overwhelming majority of massachusetts voters) would be cited and lauded today as a brilliant move.
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and that’s what is so sad.
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if you want to see a vigorous debate about democratic party values and the direction of our state in next senatorial election, don’t start nit-picking this guy to death before he even gets going.
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i’m sure that the issue of funding smokefree dogparks for transgendered youth is hot and heavy on someones mind. and will come up in due course. but maybe we should keep big picture priorities in mind first when peppering the candidates.
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just a suggestion.
on his post, or just not posted on a blog in the first place. blogs are not the best place to control the content of questions. đŸ˜‰
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i would like to say that while i don’t support his self-serving and suspiciously times attack on kerry, i give him great credit for engaging in a conversation here. most candidates just drop their sound bite and never follow up with the responses. it’s nice to see someone who understands the medium that he is using.
ANY attack on Kerry is valid. And deserved. And appropriate. But, as a River Rat and Five-Time VietNam Vet, I digress. So I have a question.
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Can you,or anyone, think of anything about John-boy that is worth defending? (Loaded question, BTW.)
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Best,
Chuck
But you are beginning to annoy me.
Senator Kerry ignored his constituents (and more disgracefully his own conscience) when he voted to grant Bush the ability to wage this obscene war. All the apologies and political grandstanding of late do not change the fact the a Vietnam vet who fought valiantly against that war caved in to political pressure. This is why I will not support any candidate who voted along with the pack. I just cannot bring myself to support such hypocrisy. We need decent candidates who will raise the issue. Thanks for doing that. It takes guts, which seem to be in very short supply.