Kudos to Kerry Staff for Today's Kerry Response to Swift Liars

[DeminDC]

That statement about the issue not being 527's but lies was right on point, concise, and worthy of applause.

I think Kerry should make a campaign issue out of this and should come out tomorrow with something along the lines of the following statement:

"Their is no politics in truth and no truth to politics. What the President did yesterday is try to make a political issue out of an attack on the truth. We can discuss the issues and let others vocalize their positions on the issues without attacks that are false, morally wrong, and contemptuous.

Several of my fellow veterans have attacked my decency, honesty, and service. I respect their right to hold this opinion, and thank them for their service to this country. What I don't respect is attacks on others' service when these attacks, by their own admission, lack documentation. Senator Warner has told them to back off and recognize that the awarding of my medals was right and based on fact. Senator McCain has told them to back off and has told them that they are shameful.

I don't respect attacks on others' service for a more simple reason: it is morally wrong. When others questioned President Bush's service, I told them to take down the ads, and they did. President Bush has an opportunity here to do the same thing. He has told them to take down the ads. Will he persist until they end?

If the ads persist, we know a fundamental truth about the President. He is unwilling to show some leadership and take control of his own camp. If that occurs, he will have demonstrated his incapacity to lead and the depths of his shame.

He says that he opposes all 527's. Funny position for someone who held the opposite position in 2000... I never thought Bush was a man of nuance, but I say, "Welcome to the club!" Say we just take him at his word... It would mean that several organizations would lose their voice in this election, the National Rifle Association, the Sierra Club, and NARAL included. Eliminating 527's is a phony position for another reason: it is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has constantly upheld the right of people to use money as an expression of their views.

We can clean up our campaigns without stepping on the Constitution. We proved that when we passed McCain-Feingold as the President campaigned against it and sheepishly sought to defeat it. Despite being told that it wouldn't hold water in the Supreme Court, they upheld it. As a result, we reformed our campaigns. More needs to be done...

At the heart of this issue is something that is also at stake in this election, which is national service. Service is something that I encourage and would encourage as your Commander-in-Chief. Give two years to your country, and your country will give you four years of college education and opportunities of a lifetime. Give two years to your country, and you earn the respect and admiration of America."

Anyway, I am guilty of being an armchair strategist, but I hope Kerry stays on it.

[faithnotgreed]

1. hi dem. do you have alink or source for jk saying that?

ive seen that one other place today on du that jk said that lies are what are the problem... but i havent seen the source

thanks

[Catch22Dem]

2. Wow, that's pretty incredible

Ok Kerry bashers. Tell me all the reasons this statement is wrong. :eyes:

[Bluzmann57]

3. Wow. Are you a speechwriter?

That sounds highly literate and polished. And a pretty good idea. Welcome to DU and thanks for the good read.

[DeminDC]

7. Haha! Far from it!

I am a college student.

[kentuck]

4. Good job DeminDC !

:)

[Bandit]

5. Are these your words or Kerry's?

If they are Kerry's words I think it is cool. If they are your words I wish they were Kerry's. They say what needs to be said.

[DeminDC]

6. They are my words...

It needs to be said.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. Good writing, DeminDC

[snippy]

9. Excellent job. I think you should send it to the Kerry campaign.

In fact, maybe we all should send it to the Kerry campaign.

[DeminDC]

11. Anyone have an e-mail address?

I have sent stuff to different Kerry offices to no avail, but I did not have anything but a generic e-mail address. If someone had an e-mail address to someone directly, by all means post it and send the text.

[DeminDC]

10. Supplement

I had to grab dinner, but here is the rest of the text that I would suggest...

"At stake, more importantly, in this election is the truth. I made some statements over thirty years ago in front of Congress. Submitting false testimony under oath is illegal, so I took great pains to ensure that what I said was the truth. I told the story of a war fought with unfortunate tactics for faulty aims. Did I tell the truth?

History has told a sad story about our involvement in Vietnam. Lives were shattered at My Lai. Civilians were killed in areas they thought were safe. I did not want to tell this story, but I had to because at the heart of my being is a commitment to tell the truth no matter the circumstances. I knew in my heart that this war was unwinnable. I saw it in Vietnam, and I saw it at home. The commanders had abandoned the troops in a fierce jungle without a guiding light. The people had abandoned their commander-in-chief due to his politicization of war and campaign against truth.

Some of my comrades resented this testimony because it hurt them. I appreciate and understand that, and this is the heart of Vietnam in America. A country divided and a country at war.

My fellow Americans, I see this same situation evolving here in America today. We have a President who received the authority to use force in Iraq from Congress and me included. He told us that this country would fall to terrorism if we did not intervene and that it had become a terrorist nation connected with the September 11 attacks. We now know this to be incorrect. He told us that there were weapons of mass destruction. He was incorrect.

I rejected the idea of rushing to war without a certain premise. On the day that I gave the President the authority to use force if necessary. I said that we must have a plan to win the peace and exhaust the inspections process before moving forward with war. If this plan was used, we would have learned some essential things, (i) Iraq no longer possessed WMD, and we would not be in the place that we are now without a plan to secure the peace and accomplish the mission.

I say this because I learned one important truth after Vietnam, which is that this country must be united for us to win a war. President Bush has had 3 years since Iraq to unite us. I stand here in a divided nation. Why? America unites behind the truth, and the truth is that they know the truth when they hear it. The American people are still listening.

I see, however, a shining light as I saw in the dark days of Vietnam. This is the light of truth that guides us and the light of America. It is our flag waving against a clear day sky, the sun setting over a grassy hill...

This light is flickering... Millions have taken to the streets to ask for our leadership. Millions have taken to the streets to ask for our help. Millions have taken to the street to ask for our truth.

Our truth is our democracy, which we must re-claim at home. It is not anti-American to speak your mind, hold a demonstration, or support legislation other than the President's. It is the heart of America. So, when the President's men disparaged my friend, John McCain, for his opposition, they hurt our democracy. When they accuse others of wishing ill upon their country because they did not support certain provisions of the Patriot Act, a voice at America's table is lost to the drowning voices.

Our truth is our democracy, which we must spread abroad. One of my proudest accomplishments is my work with Senator McCain to normalize relations with Vietnam and bring a resolution to the ill will between our people and theirs. Millions across the world are now free due to their hunger for democracy's truth and our leadership. We do no one a service by disparaging their culture when they disagree with us. We do not service to democracy...

SO, I stand here today ready to reclaim the truth. The truth is we need the help of every American and every one of our neighbors on this globe. Terrorists threaten the very heart of our governments: their ability to protect our way of life and secure us from harm. It has been seen here in America, in Spain, in the Phillipines, in Indonesia, and on countless television screens throughout the world. The threat is very real.

Terrorists have no guiding light but evil. They lack passion for life and the will to defend it. They despair in the midst of insufferable conditions.

This war against terrorists is tough work. As in Vietnam, it seems that our policies now kill as many terorrists as they create. This must change. My plan is to fight a thoughtful, steady war with our might and ideas. Give someone a choice between truth and despair, and truth will win every time. We have not yet given that choice to the Iraqis and the world. I will. The truth is that no one wins in a protracted struggle where one side is willing to suffer unlimited casualties. We have not shown them the path of truth. I will. Over 75% of Iraqis do not have jobs. This affects everyone. Imagine your own despair when you lost your job. The truth will come when we open the doors of commerce to everyone... people from all countries. The truth will come in when we tell folks here at home what we are fighting for and how much it will cost. When we do, the path to truth will be illuminated. Instead, folks are saying that we're fighting for a bogus purpose, and it is costing us dearly. This is the path of despair. This is the path that will not win on my watch.

So, my plan is to be honest and to lead a fight against despair in the world. We lost the fight once in Vietnam, and I will win the fight in Iraq as your Commander-in-Chief because I have seen it, and I know it. Their is no better weapon against despair than truth and hope and no greater victor than truth and democracy. Please join me in this fight, enlist in our cause, and together we'll unite America, unite the world, and win the war on terrorism.

Thank you and God Bless America."

It is a bit rambling at this point, but I think most of the points are important.