My problem with John Kerry...

[milkyway]

Kerry has been a solid Dem for years, but has he ever taken a courageous stand? I don't mean to start a flame war, I really am trying to find out more about him. He is from Massachusetts, probably the most liberal state in the country. Has he ever taken a stand that might have cost him the job he has or the job he wants in the future? It's easy to be a little bit to the left when you're from Massachusetts. But will he have the political courage to stand up to the right wing if he were to become President? His constituency will no longer be Massachusetts, it will be the entire country. In our Fair and Balanced nation today, there will be tremendous pressure to move rightward. Any Dem that wins will be savaged by the right-wing media unmercifully. Would he stand on principle, even if it may cost him politically and perhaps re-election?

With his eye on the Presidency, Kerry gave in to Bush on the IWR and the Patriot Act. He didn't stand up against Bush until Howard Dean forced him to do so. Is this what we can expect from a President Kerry, appeasing the right wing?

Really, I have an open mind on this, I just want more info on your guy. And in advance, here's what Dean has said just recently that has cost him tremendously, perhaps the Presidency:

"The American people are no safer with the capture of Saddam Hussein."

"One interesting theory is that President Bush was tipped off by the Saudis about 9/11."

"I'll undo the Bush tax cuts on the middle class and go back to Bill Clinton's tax rates."

I don't think too many here at DU would argue the validity of the first two, and probably the third. Howard Dean has said what he believes, without first getting an o.k. from his pollsters. This guy must be crazy!