Kerry and His Ilk Hurt the Democratic Party -- UPDATED
There is no conceivable political advantage to insulting the intelligence of the men and women serving in our armed forces, but that is exactly what John Kerry did in a speech in California. His exact words:
Kerry is claiming the remark was a botched joke and that his intention was to insult George Bush … I guess the joke being that Bush’s C average in college led to him being too stupid to keep us out of Iraq – never mind that Kerry’s grades were just as bad. Kerry’s speeches are often obtuse and ridden with weak attempts at partisan humor, but even when you factor that in, it’s difficult to believe that quote was meant as anything but a condescending comment about American service members.
Kerry should apologize. He should have apologized the moment it came out of his mouth. But even if he does admit he crossed the line, it’s hard not to see this as an unfettered glance into the mind of John Kerry. There’s a good reason why Republicans were able to paint the senator as aloof and not “one of us.” It’s kinda true. He comes from the brand of liberalism that believes in its superior intelligence to the point of automatically assuming anyone who thinks differently must be ignorant (or crooked).
Kerry is a walking, talking symbol of what’s wrong with the Democrats and his wing of modern liberalism. He’s spiteful, condescending and politically clumsy. He defines himself in opposition to what he loathes rather than defining himself by what he hopes America can become.
If the Democrats want to reclaim their position as America’s dominant party, they need to quietly (or even noisily) push aside Kerry and his ilk. I hope to hear more than a few Democrats condemn his remark and prove, should America give them the keys to Congress, they won’t be advancing the bitter and tired philosophies of John Kerry.
Update: The Russell Record has some good thoughts on this.
Update #2: Kerry has apologized for flubbing a joke and inadvertantly insulting the troops. Meanwhile, a number of Democrats have criticized Kerry as I hoped they would. I still don't know if this was a flubbed joke or not. It's possible. Kerry has a history of bashing the President with really stupid cliches, particularly regarding Bush's intelligence. But it's certainly not out of Kerry's character to be condescending towards those he disagrees with. I guess I'll take him at his word because, really, this isn't a big deal as he's not running for office and his words shouldn't reflect on the whole party.
You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.
Kerry is claiming the remark was a botched joke and that his intention was to insult George Bush … I guess the joke being that Bush’s C average in college led to him being too stupid to keep us out of Iraq – never mind that Kerry’s grades were just as bad. Kerry’s speeches are often obtuse and ridden with weak attempts at partisan humor, but even when you factor that in, it’s difficult to believe that quote was meant as anything but a condescending comment about American service members.
Kerry should apologize. He should have apologized the moment it came out of his mouth. But even if he does admit he crossed the line, it’s hard not to see this as an unfettered glance into the mind of John Kerry. There’s a good reason why Republicans were able to paint the senator as aloof and not “one of us.” It’s kinda true. He comes from the brand of liberalism that believes in its superior intelligence to the point of automatically assuming anyone who thinks differently must be ignorant (or crooked).
Kerry is a walking, talking symbol of what’s wrong with the Democrats and his wing of modern liberalism. He’s spiteful, condescending and politically clumsy. He defines himself in opposition to what he loathes rather than defining himself by what he hopes America can become.
If the Democrats want to reclaim their position as America’s dominant party, they need to quietly (or even noisily) push aside Kerry and his ilk. I hope to hear more than a few Democrats condemn his remark and prove, should America give them the keys to Congress, they won’t be advancing the bitter and tired philosophies of John Kerry.
Update: The Russell Record has some good thoughts on this.
Update #2: Kerry has apologized for flubbing a joke and inadvertantly insulting the troops. Meanwhile, a number of Democrats have criticized Kerry as I hoped they would. I still don't know if this was a flubbed joke or not. It's possible. Kerry has a history of bashing the President with really stupid cliches, particularly regarding Bush's intelligence. But it's certainly not out of Kerry's character to be condescending towards those he disagrees with. I guess I'll take him at his word because, really, this isn't a big deal as he's not running for office and his words shouldn't reflect on the whole party.
posted by Alan Stewart Carl at 9:33 PM
3 Comments:
Too, Too, true! If the GOP somehow pulles a miracle comeback, I can't help but think that these remarks will have had something to do with it. If it doesn't spell the end of Kerry's presidential bid, it should spell the end of the Democrats as a viable party. (and I am an indepent leaning Republican who somewhat thinks that the Republicans shouldn't hold on to control of Congress this year.)
You know I'm really disappointed. I read you semi-regularily and I have seen some really thoughtful blogging from you. I thought you were brighter than this.
I agree with much of what you have said about Kerry, (condesending, politically clumsy) and some things you didn't (elitist, etc,). If you had seen the whole speech I think it was obvious that he was referring to Bush. In fact, it's what I thought when I saw the news report, not just the sound bite. I am disappointed because you seem to be supporting the distortion that is being put forth by most rank and file Republicans and even some of the more cowardly Democrats. This same distortion is just more of the divisive politics I thought you disliked. Yes, Kerry was an idiot and the joke was not only botched but in bad taste. But to push the idea that a veteran was being insulting to existing troops currently in a very difficult conflict is not only divisive, but hurtful to them. What this country needs is to stop promoting the hurtful, divisive things that continue to happen in politics and come back together. My greatest hope for this election isn't for who takes either house of Congress but that it is a referendum on stopping the reality TV atmosphere that currently defines politics and gets us back on track.
Cathy,
I'm sorry to disappoint you. I hope you read the second update I tacked on this post yesterday which said I'll take Kerry at his word that it was a joke. I've also posted a separate post criticizing Bush for being the attak dog on this rahter minor issue.
Kerry does have a history of looking down on people with whom he disagrees -- I never thought his intention was to specifically call the troops themselves stupid so much as it was to call supporters of the war stupid (which nevertheless insulted the troops). But if he says it was a botched joke about Bush, that's fine with me. It's just not that big of an issue.
Hope you keep reading. I'm not immune from overreacting to news events, but I do try to catch myself.
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