Why do you support Kerry?

[Mr. Goodbytes]

I've been seeing endless Bush-bashing threads for, well 3 years and some change now, but I've never really seen anything posted as to why our techimo liberals, or anyone for that matter, is voting for Kerry, other than to get rid of Bush. From what I've noticed, democrats and the media are behind Kerry because he's their only shot at getting Bush out of the White House. So I want to know what you guys see in Kerry. What about him is pro-Kerry and not simply anti-Bush. The one thing I would like you all to keep in mind is that if you're going to cite Kerry's stance on certain issues, he does change his story a lot. There's a good reason he's been purported to have stood for both sides of every issue. For example, here's Kerry in 2002:

Quote:

I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force – if necessary – to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.

And in January of 2003:

Quote:

Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real.

[ShawnD1]

Everything I know about Kerry is stuff I've learned from pro-Bush commercials. I'm not sure if I decoded the propoganda correctly so correct me if I'm wrong.

1. Kerry wants to weaken the patriot act (the patriot act sucks)
2. Kerry aparently wanted to wait for UN support before attacking Iraq (not exactly sure if this is a good or bad thing)
3. Kerry wants to raise taxes by 900 billion dollars in order to pay for government programs (can anybody clarify on this?)

But like you said, he's basically just there to get Bush out of power.

[f1oored]

removed

do not post irrelevant comments designed to derail and degrade the topic - Fingers

[mpc]

He didn't "flip flop" at all. Senetor Kerry sits on the Senate Finance, Small Business, and Science and Transportation commitees...not the Senate Intelligence commitee. He only had access to the same information (disinformation) that you and I, as well as the most of the legislative branch, and much of the rest of the world did in regards to Iraq and its alleged weapons of mass destuction. He based his opinions regarding the Iraq situation on the same Whitehouse information that you and I and the rest of the world did.

[no1_vern]

He isnt Bush.

Well that and what Shawn said.

BTW the way I understand it his "tax increases" are removal of tax cuts for the people making more than $1 Million a year. That is something I can agree with.

[pickel]

Kerry served in the military. A Navy nan , like myself. He protested the war after realizing how political it was ( just like Iraq ) as I ptotested the war after geting out of the service and seeing the whole neighborhood coming home in body bags , some in shoe boxes. He's a Democrat, not a Repeulican. He's from the North , so am I. A side from this, Bush and Cheney ( a la Haliburton ) have to go. Thoier policies have set this country to a position in the world community that , I believe, is just about irreparable. The " War on Terror " , IMO, is a joke. Those guys could do whatever they, anytime they want, just like in Spain and Iraq. The border situation is the biggest joke of all. What a fool Bush was to announce this " amnesty" thing. Now every low life nad crackheaqd Mexican comes to further dilute our resources, money that should go to education and medicare, and drug beenefits for OUR citizens who pay their hard money into the tax base. Kerry may not be any better than Bush, but I do believe he can't be might worse.

[Theophylact]

Actually, there are two columns on Slate that address your question. Tim Noah nails Bush for his willful suppression of evidence contrary to his beliefs; Will Saletan and Jacob Weisberg nail him for his campaign ads, which gloss over his incompetent performance and lies about Kerry. I suggest you read both, not because they'll convince you, but because they really do represent what those people who want Bush out are thinking.

typos fixed

[Bovon]

I haven't fully decided who will get my vote..or, more importantly perhaps...who will be the better for the peoples of America.

Clinton came close to killing all respect for the Democratic Party with his incessant philandering. I realize there are quite a few other politicians in both parties that have a severe problem keeping their pants zipped up...but aside from that, the Democrats are more for the working class and we generally have more and better incomes and job security than when we are living with a Republican President/Senate/Congress etc.

In every Republican administration I can recall, we have had difficult times, jobs died out, wages went without raises for years, recession was the first thing to hit America after a Republican President was installed.

If we elect Kerry...we will probably begin to recover some jobs and salary increases..but it will take some large tax increases to pull it off...so, if Kerry is elected, get ready to pay for tax increases...gotta happen...the coffers are bare and must be replenished ... GWB cannot lay all of this debt on 9-11 or the war...it is also due to the way the Republican/big business operate.

No matter who is elected, Republican or Democrat... it is my personal belief the average working guy/lady in America has seen the heyday of good wages for the "ditch digger"...the less educated worker who is unionized and works 8 to 5 in non technical jobs. The outsourcing of jobs to Mexico and other countries will not come back to America unless and until the American workers decide to accept the wages they are willing to pay.

The "American" dream of great salaries for uneducated workers have come to an end...those of you who are still in school, I would encourage you to get all you can now..your future depends on it.. right now, it doesn't really look to most people that its as bad as what I believe I see as the future..but, I also have 71+ years of retrospect to review and that is what I see for your future... I hope I am wrong, and something will force or entice businesses to return the jobs to America and the finest workers anywhere in the world...I just don't see it happening anytime soon.

[Mr. Goodbytes]

Ok, so the closest thing to pro-Kerry information I've gotten here so far are pickel's first 5 sentences or so, and no1_vern's agreement with Kerry's desire to raise taxes on the wealthy. Bovon is saying that he believes tax increases will be better for jobs, which I disagree with, but at least he's saying what he feels is good about Kerry's plan. Is there anything else you guys like about him?

[Theophylact]

Well, yes. I'm a liberal, and so is he. His voting record accords pretty much with my positions (I'm a member of the ACLU, Americans for Democratic Action, People for the American Way, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, just for openers). I wish he'd take even more liberal positions on some issues, but he does have to get elected.

I'm pretty much a yellow-dog Democrat. I would even have held my nose and supported Joe Lieberman (an all-but-Republican) had he wound up the nominee. I can't imagine any of the Democrats appointing to the Supreme Court a Justice as scary as Scalia; that's been enough of a reason for me to vote Democratic for a long time.

And yes, you could characterize my position as more anti-Bush than pro-Kerry; I think that's fair. I think Bush is the worst President we've had in my lifetime, and I think you'd have to go back to Warren Harding to find a worse one.