Will "I voted for the 87 billion..." come back to haunt Bush in debates?

[Quixote1818]

Will Kerry be able to turn this around durring the debates and if so how?

[tritsofme]

1. It was a faux pas

And there's not too much he can do about that particular gaffe.

Does it end his campaign? No. Its just annoyance we have to live with.

[phish420]

6. Bullshit

It WILL come back...Kerry has every right to say what he said, and in the debates, the American people will hear the WHOLE answer - he voted for the first bill that paid for the aid in full and did not provide a blank check to companies like Haliburton. After the Repukes voted AGAINST OUR TROOPS and defeated this bill, they then introduced the SAME bill, with a blank check for contractors, and instead of paying for it up front, it took out a loan on te World Bank, tacking on an additional $10 billion in interest for you, I and our children to pay. THIS is the bill voted against AFTER voting for the bill that TRULY supported our troops, without pork, and without interest.
Very simple.

[Quixote1818]

8. I absolutly agree, then Kerry can ask Bush why he has been playing

politics with it and rip him a new ass in the process!

[tritsofme]

9. Devil's advocate:

Yes, John Kerry did vote for the seperate amendment that Senator John Biden sponsored. But when push came to shove Mr Biden decided to put our troops above partisian politics and voted yea for the $87 billion. Mr Kerry also said it would be "irresponsible and reckless" to vote against the supplemental funding, after he said he "voted for it before he voted against it."

<end of bs rw answer>

That's what will get thrown at the Kerry camp whenever this vote is brought up. IMHO it is in our best interest to keep this out of the spotlight and out of the debate.

[sandnsea]

13. oh horseshit

Bush threatened to veto the money for our troops. Why the hell isn't he called on it? He sent our troops into battle without the body armor in the first place, a war of choice and he doesn't bother to make sure our troops have full protection. Kerry calls it a fuck up and refuses to fund it and WE have the problem? Bullshit bullshit bullshit. Kerry will take care of this in the debates, once and for all, with the whole country watching.

[tritsofme]

16. I really just want this $87 billion mess to go away.

All * has to say is that he didn't veto and that he supports the troops every time.

Then Kerry will give his long answer that is very valid and the media whores will comment that the response was "nuanced" and that shrubbery won the debate.

Why confront a weakness when we don't have to?

[sandnsea]

19. Why be a chicken little???

I don't trust people that turn every little thing against Kerry. Why be hard on him instead of Bush?

Bush didn't veto it because Congress chickened out and gave him another blank check. Because Bush is a bully. We'll be destitute if we keep letting Bush bully the Congress this way. Bush needs to be held accountable for his mistakes and the costs of this war and lack of a plan to pay for it is one of them.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. Bottom Line: Bush played politics with the 87 billion then and now.

The bottom line is that this was money for the troops and Bush played politics with it. The rest is a smokescreen to hide that fact.

For all these issues, find the ArBusto problem at the core of it and focus on that. Don't even mention Bush's issues with Kerry and if they are raised, dispose of them quickly and get back to Bush's lies, broken promises, and mistakes.

[Sleepless In NY]

2. Kerry should ask Bush why he sent them into combat illequipped

in the 1st place. Understaffed (Bush fired the General who said we needed more troops) & with no post war plans too.

[Stephanie]

7. The reason for no post-war plans

Is that there is no post war. We are not leaving. We are building bases, and we are staying put.

[NYC Liberal]

3. Yep.

Just ask him why HE threatened to veto the bill.

That should shut him up.

[chascarrillo]

10. Exactly. Bush voted against it before voting for it. - nt

[proud patriot]

4. Oh Yeah

Man I'm smiling from ear tonight ..

KERRY IN A LANDSLIDE OH YEAH :D

[iconoclastic cat]

5. NO it won't!

I learned this from Rahm Emmanuel tonight on PBS: Kerry voted against it because Bush didn't want to include funds for the Kevlar vests OR new Humvees!

[DrFunkenstein]

11. AP: White House threatens veto of $87 billion over loans

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration threatened for the first time Tuesday to veto an $87 billion package for Iraq and Afghanistan if Congress converts any Iraqi rebuilding money into loans.

Bush and a host of administration officials had repeatedly expressed their opposition to loans in recent weeks, but had not issued a veto threat before. A letter written Tuesday reiterated White House arguments, but contained the first such veto warning.

"Including a loan mechanism slows efforts to stabilize the region and to relieve pressure on our troops, raises questions about our commitment to building a democratic and self-governing Iraq, and impairs our ability to encourage other nations to provide badly needed assistance without saddling Iraq with additional debt," the letter said.

Loan supporters say that with some of the world's richest oil reserves, Iraq should be required to eventually repay some U.S. aid. That is especially true with the United States facing record federal deficits, and many members of Congress hearing requests from their home districts for more funds for other projects.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/21/sprj.irq.congress.iraq.ap/

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DrFunkenstein]

Cause I'm Not On The Staff

n/t

[DrFunkenstein]

17. duplicate

[DrFunkenstein]

12. Kerry To Present Bill To Reimburse Families Buying Body Armor For Soldiers

Democratic candidate for President John Kerry today stood up to the Bush Administration for their response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th and for failing to provide U.S. soldiers in Iraq with the proper protective body armor.

In San Diego today, John Kerry and two of his swift boat crewmates commemorated the sacrifice of those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor by placing a wreath at the swift boat memorial at the Coronado Naval Amphibious Base where Kerry trained for his service in Vietnam. John Kerry also unveiled details of his plan to improve intelligence gathering, protect U.S. ports, and reimburse military families for body armor purchases.

One-fourth of the 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are still waiting for the latest body armor. In the meantime, family members and friends are paying hundreds of dollars for the updated armor themselves and shipping it to Iraq. On Tuesday Kerry will introduce legislation to reimburse family members who paid money out of their own pockets to provide the personal body armor that the government failed to deliver.

"In the rush to war, this administration failed to adequately outfit military personnel shipping off to Iraq. As a result, many of our fighting men and women do not have the latest technology for body armor. It's a disgrace that their families had to use their own funds to buy the body armor and ship it to Iraq. My legislation will reimburse those families," said John Kerry.

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2003_120...

Link may be faulty by now. I got it from a DU bookmark.

[Julien Sorel]

14. I hope so.

Because there's a crushing soundbite waiting for it.

[LynnTheDem]

18. All Kerry needs to do...

is show all the polls...ALL the polls...that showed AMERICANS AGREED with Kerry's stance; YES to the first bill, NO to the second bill. The same YES and NO Congress voted for...until BUSH USED OUR TROOPS AS RANSOME..

You know, bush's own bill that BUSH THREATENED TO VETO.