WP,pg1: GOP Distorts Some Kerry Positions (fact check)

[DeepModem Mom]

For the Record
GOP Prism Distorts Some Kerry Positions

By Glenn Kessler and Dan Morgan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 3, 2004; Page A01

Speakers at this week's Republican convention have relentlessly attacked John F. Kerry for statements he has made and votes he has taken in his long political career, but a number of their specific claims -- such as his votes on military programs -- are at best selective and in many cases stripped of their context, according to a review of the documentation provided by the Bush campaign.

As a senator, Kerry has long been skeptical of big-ticket weapons systems, especially when measured against rising budget deficits, and to some extent he opened himself to this line of attack when he chose to largely skip over his Senate career during his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention last month. But the barrage by Republicans at their own convention has often misportrayed statements or votes that are years, if not decades, old.

For instance:

• Kerry did not cast a series of votes against individual weapons systems, as Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) suggested in a slashing convention speech in New York late Wednesday, but instead Kerry voted against a Pentagon spending package in 1990 as part of deliberations over restructuring and downsizing the military in the post-Cold War era.

• Both Vice President Cheney and Miller have said that Kerry would like to see U.S. troops deployed only at the direction of the United Nations, with Cheney noting that the remark had been made at the start of Kerry's political career. This refers to a statement made nearly 35 years ago, when Kerry gave an interview to the Harvard Crimson, 10 months after he had returned from the Vietnam War angry and disillusioned by his experiences there. (President Bush at the time was in the Air National Guard, about to earn his wings.)...

(The third example given is the charge that Kerry voted against body armor for troops. The article states: "....much of the funding for body armor was added to the bill by House Democrats, not the administration, and Kerry's vote against the entire bill was rooted in a dispute with the administration over how to pay for $20 billion earmarked for reconstruction of Iraq.")

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57627-2004Sep2.html

[yardwork]

1. Thanks for posting this - it's good

but Kerry needs to start saying this himself - loudly!

It's time for Kerry to come out fighting. He needs to start making hard-hitting speeches with short sentences.

Off with the New England gloves, John.

[Skinner]

2. Good article.

I already added it to our homepage. :thumbsup:

[DeepModem Mom]

3. And kudos to the two reporters, and to WP for front-paging!

[sofa king]

4. Don't forget that Zell cribbed his speech from an Internet chain letter.

Go ahead and compare it for yourself.

Zell's speech:

http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/m-wfsection+article+articleid-1439.html

The offending glurge and why it's bullshit:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/weapons.asp

One sucker among many who bought it:

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_5175.shtml

And if someone would do me the favor of posting the relevant DU threads, I'd appreciate it.

(Edit: here it is: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=729535&mesg_id=729535 )

Once upon a time, speech-stealing alone was enough to wreck a candidate's Presidential aspirations--see Joe Biden. Today, this dirty election has gone so far beyond the pale that we are in danger of ignoring this bit of absurdity as just one more droopy piece of slime from the Republican Party (and it's associated Zell-ots). It should be shouted from every rooftop.