There are no exaggerations in that ad! It is a lesser known fact that John Kerry’s first foray as an activist was not to protest the Vietnam War. It was when he participated in the very first Earth Day in 1970, in Massachusetts, which he talked about to ABC last year:
In 1970, when I was first involved in Earth Day, something some people scoff at today, but 20 million Americans came out on one single day and said, we’re tired of living next to toxic waste sites. We’re tired of seeing the Cuyahoga River burn. And that movement then targeted 12 congressmen — they were labeled the Dirty Dozen — some of them were beaten. And the result was, we passed the Clean Air Act, we passed the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act. We created an Environmental Protection Agency, which a president, Nixon, was forced to sign into law.
But that was only the beginning. The League of Conservation Voters gave him a 92% lifetime voting record back in 2004, which is probably why they endorsed him unusually early for President: January 1, 2003. And it is why, they quickly endorsed him again for his Senate race this year:
Kerry’s stellar pro-environment record demands that LCV do all we can to make sure he stays where he belongs, fighting for Massachusetts interests on Capitol Hill, said Deb Callahan, LCV President. The people of Massachusetts can count on John Kerry to lead the fight to keep their air clean, their water safe, and their open spaces protected.
An original organizer of Massachusetts’ first Earth Day after his return from Vietnam, John Kerry has consistently championed commonsense environmental measures that protect the health and quality of life of the people of Massachusetts. From his commitment to filibuster drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge … John Kerry has proven his clear commitment to protecting America’s environment through bipartisan action, not mere rhetoric. Kerry is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Four Pollutant Bill, which would limit mercury, sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. A delegate to Earth Summits in Rio, Kyoto, and The Hague, Kerry has continued to be an outspoken proponent for addressing the threat of global warming through national and international efforts.
Last month, Kerry and Gore teamed up at a fundraiser for Obama in Nantucket
Former vice president Al Gore and U.S. Sen. John Kerry held court on Washing Pond Road Tuesday before a rapt audience as they stumped for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, railed against his Republican opponent John McCain, and warned of the dangers of global warming.
I think we can be proud of our former nominees for never giving up, and continuing to fight the good fight.
Whatever. Talk is cheap. Action is what counts. While Gore and Kerry are lecturing the rest of us on how to live, what are they doing? For Kerry, it’s been hopping out of his SUV to talk at an Earth Day concert on the esplanade even though he lives a few blocks from the esplanade. For Gore, it is flying in his private jet all over the world to lecture the leaders of the world to cut down on the carbon footprint. Sigh.
So…are people 5 feet to over 6 feet suppose to sit in a little escort so that people like you don’t stick the word “suv” in the post?
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p>The fact is that driving an SUV when you’re the only person in the car speaks a lot. But a car full of grown men and women needs more room. The SUV seats around 8 people. So Kerry could divide the people into 3 different smaller cars and burn more fuel and create more emissions; however, that would do little to help the environment. Or he can seat all the people in one car.
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p>Now, on the other hand, I’m not much into digging into peoples’ private lives; however, I’ve heard from somewhere that he has a Prius that he drives for personal use–and the Pruis is suppose to have some sort of special batteries in it that is suppose to conserve energy.
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p>Clearly, the decision of the Big Three American made cars to avoid making more environmentally safe cars was a poor decision on their part. But if you have a lot of people then the SUV is the way to go. And if you can find an environmentally safe car or SUV then you should go with it.
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p>Given the imperfect world we live in, it looks to me like Kerry has adapted to the situation in the only environmentally friendly way. Maybe when the automakers create more environmentally sound SUV’s then Kerry will be able to use those.
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p>So yeh. Kerry does walk the talk on the environment.
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p>
He drives a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, which won the 2008 Green Car of the Year award.
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p>And in defense of Al Gore, he has gone all out to make his Nashville home green.
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p>
though both Cougar and Beachmom gave explations of the SUVs and cars. In addition, I would use the word “educate” rather than lecture – and Gore has been instrumental in getting a large part of the population to understand a highly technical issue – not an easy thing to do. (The Kerrys’ book on many environmental problems was also an important thing to do.)
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p>There is what Kerry did at Bali, where he was the entire Congressional delegation. He left DC when the Senate adjourned at the end of a week and returned when the Senate h reconvened. This meant 40 hours round trip on commercial flights to spend 36 hours in Bali. (Note – he didn’t waste fuel and use his wife’s plane.)
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p>In Bali, he was praised in many international articles for the speech he gave and for the work he did there. Even the Bush people who went to the conference ended up praising Kerry for the work he did before, during and after the conference — though only in two Senate Foreign Relations meetings.
The Boston media gave little attention to this. The President’s chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton, spoke before the SFRC hearing chaired by Senator Menendez. Mr. Connaughton was part of the President’s delegation who attended the second week of the Bali Conference. Mr. Connaughton, who represented President Bush said:
“I would particularly also want to call out thanks to Senator Kerry for coming to Bali. I would note that the remarks he gave in Bali were very constructive in helping to educate the international community on the needs, what it would take for America to move forward together in a bi-partisan way. I thought those remarks were very well received. Senator Kerry, thank you for that.”
Listening to the hearing, the Senator is praised for his leadership on this issue by both Republicans and Democrats.
http://www.senate.gov/~foreign…
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p>Here was even stronger praise from an earth day SFRC hearing: Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat (around 4 minutes in) said:
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p>”The fact that we had a treaty was significantly due to the fact that Senator Kerry was there. He was a virtual part of our negotiating team, without his day and night support and lobbying of the EU. we would not have gotten a treaty.
http://www.kerryvision.net/200…
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p>Joe Biden, at a hearing on the national security problems that global warming creates said after Kerry took his turn that Kerry had been speaking of these dangers for 15 years and they should have listened to him.http://www.senate.gov/~foreign/hearings/2007/hrg070509a.html
Obviously, in the dictatorship you come from, the leaders can simply act without bothering to convince voters, legislators, stockholders, or the like. All this pesky “talking” and “discoursing” stuff must really bother you a lot.
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p>So sad.
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p>Send my greetings to the Tsar.
Can’t keep eyes open….must fight tedious, painful, boredom. Funny – I had the same problem when Al was the keynote speaker at my graduation in ’94.
We Democrats just love it (love it!) when we hear re-runs of Republican narratives designed to besmirch the characters of our nominees.
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p>Can I please see the Republican ad of Kerry windsurfing again? It’s so poetic.
Ed sponsoring a windsurfing float was the nail in the coffin for me. The man could promise to finance my wedding and I wouldn’t vote for him. Utterly classless.
Doesn’t make me a republican. I am a Democrat of 30 years; I registered to vote at the Stop and Shop in Arlington at the League of Women Voters table.
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p>Al Gore is charismatically challenged. He’s not a gifted speaker. Lock box, anyone? I heard the guy speak at my graduation and let me tell you, he could have knocked Sominex off the market.
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p>BTW, the zeros are cute…but pigpiling on the rabbit doesn’t change anything.
I didn’t give you a zero!
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p>Speaking of Adlai Stevenson and possibly being boring:
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p>(h/t Open Left/Chris Bowers -> TPM/Greg Sargent)
(note the proper spelling) and thank you for that.
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p>Adlai wasn’t boring, though. He could turn a quip with the best of them…and a thinking person’s candidate. This unfortunately didn’t necessarily translate into being a winning presidential candidate. Sound bites are where’s it’s at now, especially in these short attention span times. đŸ™‚
Every time we see him, he is looking more and more like a circus act.
Hasnt he heard that all that crony-environmentalism is causing food price spikes around the globe that is starving out entire nations?
Why don’t you talk about the issues, instead of someone’s personal appearance? Oh, that’s right – you lose any discussion of the issues because you’ve got nothing but a pack of lies to support your positions. The GOP – party of ignorance, and proud of it…
It is so much easier to remember the lean, fit Algore; the way he was before he set out to achieve that size 54 girth.
Here is one of my favorite Algore moments, when he attempted to convince us what a boom NAFTA would be for American workers.
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p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
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p>Luckily he has hung up his hat as a brilliant economist and instead has chosen to wow us with his firm grasp of physics. lol
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p>It was just so much easier to focus on the pure bullshit coming out of his mouth when I was not distracted by the understanding that the only thing he can effectivly endorse these days would be the Jenny Craig diet.
Trashing him on a blog may give you some kind of feeling of superiority, but Al will still have his Nobel Peace prize and the ear of the next President and United States Congress on how to deal with the climate crisis.
People “respect” Whitey Bulger also.
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p>http://abcnews.go.com/Politics…
good thing you are solid talking about the issues … oh, wait.
It was all about lack of credibility, I no longer could believe a word that he said.
It was worse than the fact that he has been proven wrong so many times, but than I caught him in a direct lie.
There is a certain trust one needs to have in their relationship with their auto mechanic.
I guess the same can be said about politicians.
Which brings me back to Algore …
Same conclusions actualy … and for the same reasons.
..but please, enough of the name-calling and broad-brush labeling. Your posts are filled with it.
First it’s “Typical Republican idiocy and ignorance”
then,
“Why don’t you talk about the issues, instead of someone’s personal appearance?”
Loose the insults, then take your own advise.
…and I’ll be happy to discuss the issues.
when certain people were dissecting Hillary Clinton for her clothes, makeup, hair, demeanor, etc. etc. etc…instead of the issues?
A lot of us, even those of us who didn’t vote for or otherwise support Hillary Clinton, condemned her treatment in the press.
who didn’t condemn her treatment on BMG, in fact, I recall someone even suggesting that “she deserved it.” And the silence from Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, et al was noticeable. I know politics ain’t beanbag, but I’m not forgetting this for a very long time.
You have quite the track record of adulation of John Kerry on BMG. Is there any conflict or relationship with his campaign that you have not disclosed?
if they are connected to his campaign? Isn’t it likely that a person running for his 5th term as Senator, who narrowly lost the Presidency would have people who respect him enough to support him?
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p>She has answered this question previously and this is harassment.
press releases.
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p>You’re right, it isn’t out of the ordinary for a 5th term senator- even an unpopular one- to have a few people shilling for him. And nostalgia carries more weight for some than for others.
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p>The zeros are uncalled for and your (and JohnT’s) attempts to censor comments do not reflect well on your campaign.
it’s usually a duck. This does have the look and feel of a press release.
D’oh. It’s a blog post.
Ad hominem attacks of that nature deserve a zero – I’d have done the same whether I supported O’Reilly, Kerry, or anyone else. I rarely give zeroes – I do hand out lots of threes, but only because there’s so many worthless comments on this blog.
My point still stands – attacking him for being boring or being fat adds nothing to the discussion and it should be deleted.
and saying that Al Gore’s speech was boring in 1994 is not a personal attack- it is an opinion (probably accurate too).
From the “Rules of the Road”:
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p>
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p>Show me where that limits me to zeroing only obscene remarks or spam – ad hominems have no place in rational argumentation, and I’ll zero them if I want to…
I have removed the zero, but there is a pattern here. The odd thing is that it was an O’Reilly person, not a Kerry person, who did not declare his affiliation.
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p>Polls do not indicate that Kerry is “unpopular” and the only poll I saw with O’Reilly suggests that he is the one without substantial support.
I saw lots of people come out to meet John Kerry. I didn’t see a single O’Reilly supporter come out to challenge him or hold up a sign, though I had heard that the events were mentioned on BMG with a call to O’Reilly supporters to attend.
I’ve argued at length that O’Reilly is unworthy of the Senate and that Kerry’s voting has improved drastically as have his extra-curricular political activities. Further, as a resource question for progressives, replacing Kerry is unimportant. Help Sciortino or help McCabe. Or help Jim Himes or Tom Allen. This is a year with tremendous opportunity where even Senator Dole (R-NC) just polled behind her Democratic opponent.
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p>Putting those reasons aside, polling fails to confirm Kerry’s popularity — at least not in Massachusetts. That’s why a non-trivial number of people voted for an inexperienced, unknown school committeeman at the convention.
http://vps28478.inmotionhosting.com/~bluema24/s…
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p>She’ll be in Boston on 9/15 for a fundraiser, and I’ve arranged an “activist rate” of $125 if you’d like to attend.
The recent poll from Public Policy Polling:
Conclusion: Hagan’s campaign ads have driven Senator Dole below 40%. If you contribute, we will win. This is one Democrats could win because the Republican Senate Campaign Committee is hard up for cash and has decided it cannot afford to pay for ads in North Carolina.
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p>So, if you’re not doing GOTV on a local race, do join Mr 001 at the fundraiser. Please!
Politico
Rasmussen gives him a 59% approval rating:
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p>http://www.rasmussenreports.co…
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p>The last SurveyUSA poll I could find from May 2008, gives Kerry a 52% approval rating:
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p>http://www.surveyusa.com/clien…
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p>These are decent numbers. In my view, anything above 50 means you’re pretty popular.
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p>There was a Suffolk poll which O’Reilly, Beatty, and media outlets looking for a story cite which said Mass. wants “somebody else”.
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p>http://www.suffolk.edu/29407.html
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p>But I find it to be a leading question:
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p>http://www.suffolk.edu/files/S…
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p>”Should John Kerry be re-elected or is it time to give someone else a chance?”
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p>I just find that a troubling question that does not capture whether they like Kerry or want to re-elect him. I mean, don’t we always want to give someone a chance, no ill will toward Kerry who has been in the Senate 4 terms? And honestly, that above question is a lot to pin “unpopularity” on when he has decent approval ratings.
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p>And for comparison, go check out other Senators:
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p>http://www.surveyusa.com/50Sta…
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p>A lot of the ones I like hover at the 50 or so approval rating just like Kerry.
mad that Kerry had endorsed Obama, and also a tradition that Mass. has never denied someone be put on the ballot at the convention who got the required signatures. I just don’t read into that “unpopularity” statewide. And Kerry did get 78% of the vote there.
If you look at the tracking poll, you’ll see that Kerry has had huge ups and downs. In December 2006, his approve/disapprove was 43%/53%, i.e., -10%. In January 2008, it also got into negative territory. During the same period, Kennedy’s approval never went negative. The worst it ever gets is +18%. Kerry’s best approval barely surpasses Kennedy’s worst.
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p>Maybe that still counts as “popular”. Kerry’s certainly doing better than Patrick.
The Botched Joke. I think even he said he would have disapproved of himself at that moment in time. And January 2008 was when he endorsed Obama in a state that went heavily for Clinton.
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p>Honestly, KBusch, I think folks in Mass. were wondering what he was going to do, especially before he announced in 2007 that he would not run for president. Now people are focusing on him, and it seems like as soon as we got closer to the campaign, his approval ratings did shoot up and have stayed there for several months. I think people did go through an ambivalent stage, especially with the backlash on his losing the presidency, the GOP’s sustained smear attacks on him (after all, those were seen in Mass. as well as everywhere else), the attacks on him afterwards including The Joke, from other Democrats, and during the primary endorsements. But I think those rough times are behind us. I think he will stay in that 50 or so range from now on.
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p>In short, I think he has become more popular as the aftermath of the brutal 2004 campaign has faded and I think that popularity is sustainable.
in massachusetts?! for a democrat ?!
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p>if kerry is the mighty champion of everything that his constituents hold dear, shouldn’t his approval ratings in overweeeellllmmingly democratic massachusets be closer to around 80%?
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p>or have so many mass democrats been gulled by the national republican propaganda machine?
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p>
Kennedy’s don’t go that high, but yes just above 50% is hardly high.
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p>I’m willing to concede that Kerry is popular and that it might not be fair to compare him with the significantly more popular Kennedy who is a truly extraordinary Senator.
Sadly, we see a lot of “opinion” regarding the support for EOR and we see next to nothing about the plans EOR has–his vision of what he’ll do as a Senator. We see next to nothing on his step by step plans to deal with partisan obstruction and getting the job done in Washington. We see next to nothing about how he intends to get troops out of Iraq. We see next to nothing from EOR on how he will promote better environmental policies and healthcare.
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p>What we do see from him can be found at his website. And those plans are so basic it looks like a junior high school student wrote them–keeping in mind that the teacher asked for 200 words or less. I bet he counted ever and, or, and but too!
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p>The fact is that posts by those Kerry supporters BECAUSE they included links, facts, and historical perspectives is what convinced me that EOR has no vision and no clear understanding of how the Senate works.
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p>It’s a game to him. He thinks he can win via innuendo and snide comments.
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p>Hell…if EOR can figure out how to write a press release and how to use the phone to set up debates, then he might have a chance of running for Junior High Class President.
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p>But right now, there are no plans, no visions, no press releases, and no good meaningful reason to vote for EOR over Kerry.
I don’t agree with your comment about press releases, but I do have to agree with you that the zeros went over the top.
“shilling for him”
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p>As if support equals “shilling for” – in my book, it doesn’t. Shilling for someone implies a quid pro quo. Support comes from admiration and respect.
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p>As much as a certain group of posters here refuses to believe anyone could possibly honor and respect Kerry for the work he does for this state – and for the country – the fact remains that Kerry has his fair share of informed and enthusiastic supporters. And last time I looked those people have every right to post about their support in BMG.
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p>Unless it’s become illegal to voice support for Kerry while I wasn’t paying attention.
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p>This post was well-researched and clearly not a press release. I don’t know what your angle is, nor do I care, but from appearances you’re just here to spew venom and attack Kerry supporters. That’s pretty useless. Got anything constructive to say?
It just seems that “beachmom” is extra over-the-top sometimes. BTW, save your zeroes for something offensive; I just asked a simple question!
Interesting that every single one of beachmom’s posts contain links and the facts but because she clearly does her research and does it well, all these people demand that she disclose something.
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p>Here’s something for her to disclose: “Thinking People Vote, period!” Or how about this, “When all the facts and positions are lined up and tallied, it’s only logical to vote for Kerry.”
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p>Maybe EOR needs to remember that because he seems to think that people in MA don’t think. That’s why he’s barely put his views on the web and he doesn’t even disclose his own resume.
The circle-the-wagons attitude is amazing though. I’m sorry you find asking questions “worthless”. This diary was positive support for Kerry, which is fine. EOR has nothing to do with this one.
in which you accepted her disclosure (again) and said you hadn’t seen it before.
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p>I have seen it three or four times already. So I’m echoing everyone’s frustration that strong, link-filled, investigative posts shouldn’t cause people to think that someone is “over the top” or that they are “insiders”.
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p>My apologies to you. Sometimes I wish I could edit after I post.
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p>But I sincerely wish that people would accept that Paul, z, and a few others are just as strongly motivated to their people or causes as is Beachmom to hers. And there should be nothing wrong with it–particularly when it’s backed by facts and not opinion.
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p>I sincerely intend no harm to you or no hard feelings to you. At this point, I’m expressing my thoughts in general.
Maybe I should put up a disclosure that says I have nothing to disclose. Would that satisfy everyone?
Don’t have to get snippy about it.
all the time. So therefore, the “snippiness”. I guess this is the only blog I have ever posted on where people ask this sort of question. I think it would be unethical to have a conflict and not disclose it up front.
I honestly did not remember this coming up before.
She’s said plenty of times (once should be enough) that she is an unaffiliated supporter of John Kerry. So am I. So are most people in MA, even if they don’t sit around making blog comments all day. He’s one of the hardest-working and most respected senators in Congress and if you can’t believe or understand that, that’s your loss. Some of us citizens of the Commonwealth know how lucky we are to have him as one of our two amazing senators. And we can’t wait to see him use his seniority in a Democratic majority with a Democratic president next year to do more to heal our nation’s and the world’s wounds.
you might save yourself some time if you did.
has made a substantive comment. No links, no news articles, no issues, no legislative agenda. Absolutely zero. It’s either attack John Kerry or Al Gore, or attack commenters who like JK in mostly insulting and personal ways. What does that tell us about John Kerry’s opponents Ed O’Reilly and Jeff Beatty? It tells me, anyway, that they are unserious, as are their supporters, and clearly in this thing to throw spitballs at John Kerry, not govern. Good to know.
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p>No Bill Weld in this race, that’s for sure.
This is the last of those cats left behind to watch the den while the rest of the pack made for Denver at flank speed.
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p>Honestly if John Kerry got the personal endorsements of Jesus Christ and Moses on the steps of the State House tomorrow the BMG would be bursting with posts before noon accusing Kerry of slighting the Buddha.
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p>time my friends, time is the fire in which we all burn….
A couple reactions. First off, I would submit that the reason a few Kerry supporters are constantly questioned about their affiliations with the campaign is because they post about nothing else here. They don’t come across as engaged Democrats because they come and go based entirely on Kerry’s prominence on this blog. Deval Patrick’s ups and downs? Silence. Obama vs. Hillary? Silence. Casinos, education, marriage equality? Silence.
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p>Justice4All has done enough posting on everything from Hillary Clinton to land usage rights. I’ve written extensively. I’m glad that more and more Kerry supporters who are regulars on this blog are speaking up…people whose opinions on a range of issues have garnered a lot of respect. I sit up and read carefully when I see the names KBusch or Laurel, whether I agree or not.
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p>Regarding Kerry’s events, I can imagine the post about the unremitting negativity of the O’Reilly campaign if someone actually showed up to protest. More muttering about how O’Reilly has nothing to offer except negativity and standing against Kerry.
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p>As for what O’Reilly is for, the list hasn’t changed no matter how many times it’s offered up. A wise and deliberate use of force abroad. Respecting the human dignity of gay and lesbian citizens by recognizing their right to marriage. Local control over clean energy resources. Restoring our education system to constitutionality by returning control to state government. More here.
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p>
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p>I would have a lot more openness to Kerry’s campaign if I didn’t keep reading ridiculous statements along the lines of
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p>
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p>The miserly interpretation of that statement is that it is surreal that people are, as the author continues “quite worried about the economy and fuel prices, and also really happy to see him.”
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p>Rather, I think the author is stating how surreal it is that Kerry would actually have to campaign. To suffer the hoi polloi and answer for his record. Why, Kerry was elected Senator in 1984, and perhaps any subsequent election should be a Soviet-style formality! Fact is, until Ed O’Reilly, Kerry had undergone the same amount of challenge to his time in power as has Robert Mugabe. Why should I even expect to pass judgment on a man elected back when I was six! If a man is elected by others, why, that should be good enough for me.
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p>I want every incumbent challenged. My Congressman is Barney Frank. I would vote for him over 99% of possible challengers, but I want to see democracy in action. I want all my representatives to answer for their decisions, explain why they deserve my support, rather than presume it — or even worse — demand it.
… that on many blogs there are lurkers who lurk until their pet issue comes up.
How is that possible? /snark
In 2004 Kerry was campaigning for President, and lost by 120K votes in Ohio. It was so darn close, and he was ubiquitous on the TV, bested Bush in the debates, etc. Then he lost. And was treated the way most Democrats are treated when they lose the presidency. Well, you know the drill.
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p>Fast forward four years, and he is running for re-election to the Senate, and well, to me it looks surreal. Especially, since based on the video I have seen, he looks to be enjoying himself. That he lost the presidency, and is now campaigning in Mass. for the Senate, with no hint of regret or sadness of what has been lost. He is exactly where he wants to be. And the people in Mass. are beginning to sense this.
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p>You supported Hillary in the primaries, right? I hope some day you will know what I mean. I hope that if she chooses to continue for a long time as Senator from NY, that she gets the same look as Kerry has this past summer in Mass. I think she is on her way, from what I saw of her at the NY State Fair.
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p>Regarding my posting, I tend to post a lot about Kerry because I think he is an interesting person who does a lot of interesting things. I have commented on other stuff here, but I also post a lot on DailyKos about national things. I have lurked on BMG since 2006, but I felt like some of the stories I wrote on DKos some folks here would like. I am more into the Senate goings on than the state or local level political beat. I think others tell those stories better than I would.
But Ed O’Reilly is not a good candidate by any stretch of the imagination. He has no record, and no message, except trashing Kerry with the same old tired talking points that are superficial. And your comparison of Mugabe is insulting, especially given the voter suppression tactics deployed by the GOP in 2004.
If I understand your clarification, are you saying that it is surreal that Kerry isn’t in the White House? I would love for Kerry to take the route of Ted Kennedy — a good presidential campaigner who became a masterful Senator. As for Hillary, well, I’m holding out hope for the future…
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p>I’m sorry you once again chose to ignore O’Reilly’s platform (which is also that of the Massachusetts Democratic Party) as “no message”. If you would sincerely engage on the questions of education, equality, foreign policy, and energy that O’Reilly presents, I would have much more interest in the argument for Kerry. I don’t think marriage equality, smart renewable energy, and sound education policy are “superficial” things. I would be interested in your explanation why O’Reilly is wrong and Kerry is right on those issues.
of Teddy.
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p>A couple of responses:
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p>I’ll say straight away that on the issue of gay marriage, Kerry is wrong. But he is pretty close — for civil unions nationally (per his ’04 campaign) and he says gay marriage is “settled law” in Mass. I would like to see him go ahead and say he’s for gay marriage. That he hasn’t is a disappointment, but for me it is not a deal breaker due to some other issues more important to me. But, in short, I concede that issue. He could be better. I do think his record overall on GLBT issues is excellent, with his courageous vote against DOMA in the ’90s and recently his getting the congressional HIV travel ban lifted. But I understand that for some single issue voters that may be not good enough. However, I do not see a difference between Kerry or O’Reilly in terms of it affecting gay marriage in Mass., since it is a state issue (given that Kerry voted against DOMA and vehemently opposes a federal amendment banning gay marriage).
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p>On Energy and the Environment, I don’t think anyone else in the Senate is as good as Kerry. KarenC has a great post at the top of the thread with links to hearings Kerry has participated in on global climate change. He is very knowledgeable on that issue, and is the go to guy on several committees as they relate to global climate change: Finance, Commerce, and Foreign Relations. As chairman of the Small Biz committee, he has had hearings on how small businesses can lead the way in alternative energy. He has been a champion for alternative and renewable energy in the Senate. He was part of the effort that got the CAFE standards for all cars (SUVs, too) raised to 35 mpg. I just don’t think O’Reilly can touch Kerry on this issue. I looked at his webpage, and frankly, I am a bit puzzled by his Renew America proposal, and am not sure how such a plan would be implemented.
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p>Have you read the book John wrote with Teresa, “This Moment on Earth”? In it you will find not just great stories of environmental activists across the country, but what Kerry envisions in making our environment safer, healthier, and cleaner as well as dealing with global climate change.
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p>Oh, one last thing: single payer health care system is not going to happen. It is DOA in the Senate. It is a nonstarter, and frankly, if Obama becomes President, he is not running anywhere close on a single payer health plan. I guess I am looking for action in a Senator, not running on “pure ideas” that sound good on paper but will never see the light of day.
Was it not in Nevada in 2008 that the Obama campaign tried to discourage or suppress democrats from voting for Clinton. I hope you moved out of the glass pulpit beachmom. I’m sorry, I have a life, I’m not going to search for a link. But in 2004, JFK skipped a vote to extend unemployment benefits for people because he was too busy promoting himself for president. John Edwards was running, and he made it back to Washington to vote. The measure lost by Kerry’s vote. How anyone affiliated with labor can support Kerry is mind boggling. Yeah he cares, about himself!
They tried to ake it more difficult for casino employees to get to the polls.
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p>Source: http://blogs.abcnews.com/polit…
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p>I have a life too, but finding that link took me all of 6 seconds. Do us all a favor and get your facts straight before you post, ok?
Blaming Senator Kerry for defeat of that bill in 2004 was pure Rovian genius but also bordering on the absurd.
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p>Yes, he was absent that day but only because he was assured by Senate Democratic leaders that the Republicans had at least 41 votes in the bag (one more than they actually got) to block the bill.
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p>The facts: It was Republicans who filibustered, requiring 60 cloture votes. The final vote was 40-59: 60 votes were needed to pass. There were 39 Republicans and only conservative DINO Zell Miller voting against, with the rest of the 47 Democrats and only 12 Republicans voting in favor.
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p>It’s clear from this record, that the vote was orchestrated by the Republican majority mostly to be exploited by the GOP in the 2004 election. Had Kerry showed up, the vote would either have been canceled (the GOP had been blocking any vote for months) or one of those 12 defectors would have been “persuaded at the last minute” to vote No.
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p>Kerry has voted dozens of times to extend unemployment benefits over the course of his Senate career. His leadership on labor issues earned him the early February endorsement of the AFL-CIO over opponent John Edwards. And this was despite Edwards more labor-friendly anti-trade policy positions.
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p>Kerry’s absence at that one vote made no difference.
You have no business judging their virtuosity or their integrity because they opt to post on what interest them.
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p>I find it highly curios that EOR defenders can only hammer at Kerry supporters instead of providing factual data about EOR or even the probable Republican candidate.
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p>One could question your virtue, but they don’t. It’s because you have your pet peeves and pet projects, just as they do, and nobody gives a crap about how many times you post on this or that.
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p>Wow. I just can’t believe the personal attacks. “She doesn’t post about …” “She says this…” “He only posts about that…”
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p>If BMG had specific guidelines about how many posts on what topic…well… you might have a point. If the Rulers of the Universe and the Gods of Cyberspace made us post on a variety of subjects before we could post on the subjects we care most passionately about, then we’d be forced to swallow our vomit and post at Free Republic, and you might have a point.
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p>They don’t. Thus you don’t!!!
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p>So stop the petty b.s. and start presenting actual data about the positives of EOR. You might actually have gotten more supporters had you been able to provide positive reasons to vote for him instead of just attacking Kerry and his supporters. (And his supporters is clearly a lot more than 1/2 of this state!)
A personal attack would use personal information — you know gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, occupation, physical appearance. None of that here.
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p>On a blog, you’ve just got to expect that people will ask whether your point of view is hypocritical, or doesn’t jive with other things that you’ve asserted, or is inconsistent, or reflects an over-emphasis or a misjudged sense of proportion. Everyone gets that and those things are not “personal”. If you’re going to comment, you have to accept that people will comment on your commenting: either on the content or the form, the frame or the substance, the context or the literal text. The fun of reading Sabutai is his history here. Are his recent comments consistent with his interest in Belgium?
The EORites often claim that O’Reilly’s positions are closer to the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s platform. I and others accept that assessment but argue that the differences are not substantial, i.e., would make no demonstrable difference in the Senate. Still others, including the late lolorb, have argued that EOR’s positions are shallow and, possibly, not deeply held, so that it doesn’t matter whether they are better or worse. Masshole has questioned whether EOR has a history of action that proves that he holds those positions.
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p>In any case, examining EOR’s positions up close might be illuminating. Are they well-thought out or loosely thrown together? It’s a reasonable question to take a closer look at them.
In any case, examining EOR’s positions up close might be illuminating. Are they well-thought out or loosely thrown together? It’s a reasonable question to take a closer look at them.
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p>…
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p>My less than tactful post was based upon the fact that the same 5 people continually question if someone is allowed to post on their own interest(s) or if they work for a specific candidate.
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p>IMO, they should comment on the content, like you just did for me.
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p>Thanks.