20 Questions For John F. Kerry
Published August 27, 2004
From here:
1. The Bush campaign maintains that you spent 20 years in the Senate with no signature legislative achievements. What do you consider to be the five most important pieces of legislation that you've authored?a. What's the most important piece of legislation regarding intelligence you've authored?
b. What's the most important piece of antiterrorism legislation you've authored?
c. What's the most important piece of health-care legislation you've authored?
d. What's the most important piece of education legislation you've authored?
2. You'd agree that on paper, Dick Cheney's experience and qualifications dwarf those of your running mate. Why would John Edwards make a better president during the war on terror than Dick Cheney?
a. It's been widely reported that John McCain was your first choice as running mate. If true, why did you prefer Senator McCain to Senator Edwards?
3. Earlier this year you told Tim Russert that you'd release all of your military records, yet you've failed to do so and you refuse to release your Vietnam journal. Why shouldn't the public infer that the contents of these documents would undermine your credibility or otherwise damage your candidacy?
a. When will you release the documents?
4. You've stated that you believe that life begins at conception yet you voted against the ban on partial-birth abortions. At precisely what point is a life worth protecting?
a. Is there any limitation on abortion (waiting periods, parental notification) for which you'd vote? If so, what?
5. You've promised to repeal much of the Bush tax cut and while in the Senate you voted to raise taxes an average of five times per year. If current economic trends remain largely unchanged during a Kerry presidency, would you seek additional tax increases?
a. How would you raise taxes and what are the highest marginal tax rates that you'd support?
6. You opposed the 1991 Gulf War even though Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, had invaded another country, and France and Germany had supported the war. In the current conflict no WMDs have been found, France and Germany oppose the action, and Saddam hadn't invaded another country. Yet you recently stated that knowing what you know now, you'd nonetheless authorize the use of force — even though you voted against funding it. Could you please reconcile these positions?
RJ Elliott is a graduate student studying Criminal Justice at the University Of Central Florida. His likes include nature, sports, and pierced blondes. He dislikes daytime television, left-wing dictators, and lead-tainted Chinese imports. He is ambivalent about Angelina Jolie.
- 20 Questions For John F. Kerry
- Published: August 27, 2004
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- Section: Politics
- Filed Under: Culture: Media
- Writer: RJ Elliott
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Comments on this articleComments
bhw
With moderator Jim Lehrer on hand (30 Sept) you can't expect too much. Lehrer is a fair reporter but hardly "hard hitting."
For the Oct 8 debate they have named Charlie Gibson who is an absolute joke.
The Oct 13th debate has CBS's "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer as moderator. It has been so long since I have seen Schieffer I couldn't make a fair judgement.
Here is my bet: Zero questions on the Swift boats. Zero questions on Vietnam medals. Zero questions on "Winter Soldier."
Zero questions on any thing that requires more than a 5 word answer.
Are you now -- or have you ever been -- a member of the Communist Party?
Do you have any children or pets? --because know where you live...
When you became a liberal, did you know that they were associated with Satan?
When we cancel the upcoming election, declare martial law, bring out our October Surprise, and stage a 'terrorist attack' on our own nation, will you be surprised?
Will you agree to attend a debate with Bush by arriving via a slow-moving convertible driving through Dealy Plaza in Dallas?
If you owned as much stock in Halliburton as Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, would you have supported the war in Iraq?
If your daughter were gay, would you have enough personal integrity to admit that she probably deserves some form of civil protection for a deep personal relationship with her chosen mate?
-- And if so, would you openly oppose your reactionary boss -- or would you be an opportunistic pig playing to the Christian Far Right Nut Bars?
Will you do anything to further America's Empire Expansion and "Humble" Nation Building -- including lying about Weapons of Mass Destruction -- or are you just another liberal wimp who values honesty over efficiency?
If you win the election -- and Iraq continues to be a gigantic resource/treasury-draining quagmire/death trap for years to come, will you please not mention how we got into it?
Please?
Marc, maybe the moderators will skip the swiftie questions and ask Kerry about subjects the voters actually care about, like how he will help improve the economy and how he will fight terrorism.
Then again, maybe they'll ask these swiftie questions of Bush:
--Why won't you renounce the swiftie ads questioning Kerry's military service, when you yourself avoided going to Vietnam and have faced accusations that you went AWOL, which you haven't been able to successfully dispel
--Why was an attorney affiliated with you campaign giving pro bono advice to a 527 group, a clear violation of the law?
--Why did you wait for the attorney to quit, rather than fire him yourself?
I mean, if anyone should answer swiftie quests ions, it should be Bush.
I have said before that I don't care about Bush's Guard service because he did at least serve in the military [and I don't think military service or the lack thereof is an automatic qualifier or disqualifier for a presidential candidate]. But if he won't speak out against the b.s. tactics against Kerry, then his military record is fair game for comparison.
Ya know, I'm so tired of hearing/reading that Bush won't renounce the swiftboat ads.
He DID. I heard it with my own ears. He did so at a recent press conference... denounced it specifically along with ALL the 527 ads.
Vic
Disassociating himself from the ads and denouncing the ads are different things. Did he denounce the Band-Aid-sporting buffoons at his party's convention?
He *did* denounce the ads. And is the President of the United States supposed to monitor every damned thing going on at the convention?
Yeesh.
Vic
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I expect that Kerry will be asked difficult questions in the debates.