Defending Kerry

Hopefully, this will help persuade my fellow Deanies to stop throwing fits about Kerry. I'd rather spend my time promoting Dr. Dean than defending Senator Kerry's reputation.

Nevertheless, as long as our front-runner is being attacked by our own -- and let's be honest, he is under attack -- I am going to defend him. Let's start with the basics: Kerry is a moderate liberal (yes, Virginia, there is such a thing) with a firm grounding in social justice and the importance of civil rights, as well as a stellar record on abortion, the environment, and education.

Unlike Bush, he's actually capable of admitting his mistakes:

Kerry has walked away from some of his 1984 campaign proposals to cancel weapons systems that have become central to the U.S. military arsenal unleashed on Afghanistan and Iraq while defending his overall record as a senator. Kerry told the Boston Globe earlier this year some of the proposed cancellations were "ill-advised" and "stupid," blaming his inexperience as a candidate and a campaign that drove him to the left politically.

Will the GOP try to use these votes against him in the general campaign? Obviously. Should we let them? You tell me.

Yes, he voted to give Bush his authority in the Iraq war. Yes, he shouldn't have done it. But do you really think that a President Kerry would do anything so dangerous, stupid, and immoral? Do you truthfully suspect that our freedoms, our environment, our justice system, and our alliances will be in nearly as much danger with President Kerry as they are now? Do you really believe that gigantic companies will be able to rape our land, endanger our armed forces, and run roughshod over our lives the way they do under this administration? Are you convinced that it's even plausible that a Kerry administration would appoint wild extremists like John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, Daniel Pipes, David Hager, or pretty much anyone Bush would send to the Supreme Court given half a chance?

If so, then I guess you're not going to be voting for Senator Kerry no matter what I write. Personally, I'm with Dean for as long as he's in this thing. I hope he wins Wisconsin, and if he does, I truly believe that he can turn this thing around on Super Tuesday. But he's said that if he doesn't win Wisconsin, he's withdrawing from the race. If he drops out, I'll have to take a long second look at all the candidates, and from what I've seen of him, Kerry just might get my vote.

(/) Roland X
ABBA, dammit!