Reply #13: I just sent part of this article & the link to Mike Malloy with this email [View All]

[LittleClarkie]

"Mike, I take exception to your description of John Kerry as a puppet. He's been working his ass off these last few months to oppose the Bush Administration. He's been pushing for children's health care, aid for military families, truth in the media, election reform and now ANWR, speaking out over and over against the Bush Administration, voting against Condi, Gonzalez, that horrendous bankruptcy bill and other good votes.

Not all of us out here in liberal land were ABB in the last election. Some of us were honest to God Kerry supporters, and that support continues. And no, we're not puppets either. If you have access to the message boards at www.democraticunderground.com, there's a John Kerry supporter group that's quite active. Come up and see us sometime.

Aside from being somewhat hawkish (something I attribute in part to his background in the Iran/Contra and BCCI investigations), he has a quite progressive record. Try looking up his record on www.vote-smart.com and you'll see what I mean.

Here's an example of what I'm saying from a recent article of the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-kerry18mar18,1,5081061.story?ctrack=3&cset=true

Kerry Intensifies Attack on Bush
# The senator continues to criticize the president's choices by disparaging World Bank and U.N. nominations and the proposed budget.

By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), continuing his sharp attacks on the man who beat him in last year's White House race, on Thursday denounced President Bush's budget and his recent nominations of leading conservatives to two high-profile foreign policy posts.

The budget Bush submitted to Congress failed to uphold basic values of "honesty, opportunity and responsibility," Kerry told the Center on National Policy, a Democratic think tank.

In response to a question, Kerry charged that Bush's nomination of Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank would undermine the administration's efforts to rebuild ties with allies frayed by strains over the war in Iraq.

"Here are two people who come to the jobs quite dismissive of the very fundamental purposes and engagements that those entities have been involved in, and it will be felt in the rest of the diplomacy of this administration," Kerry said.

(more)

Mike, you are a good and strong voice against the current administration. But what you said about John Kerry was both unfair and showed a certain lack of information on your part. I rather like to think of you, and we on the left, as being better than that. I hope you can recognize that Sen. Kerry is also trying to be a good and strong voice against Bush Co. as well, one that didn't deserve your comment.

Thanks for your time"

What do you guys think? I titled it "John Kerry is not a puppet."