Can someone give me good background on Kerry?

[absyntheNsugar]

Specifically someone who was around during the 60's. My knowlege is shaky - but wasn't Kerry the leader for Vetrans against the War (referring to Vietnam)? Was he seen as an up-and-coming politico even back when he was a student at Yale? (the only reason I think this was the Doonesbury cartoon.)

I know I can go read his *official* history off his site, but can someone give me a little more background? Perhaps someone who met him while was at Yale, or worked on one of his campaigns in Mass...etc...

I'm looking for more personal observations rather than "the facts."

ON EDIT: anyone here work on any of his campaigns?

[seventhson]

1. Here's a good start

http://www.utoronto.ca/csus/pm/kerry.htm

he's also a member of Skull and Bones with the Bushes: a secret "order" which self-promotes its members and has for two centuries (Google that)

I aklso recommend a 1996 Boston Globe article on Kerry and Politics which I lost the link for but you can find by googling 1996 Globe and Kerry

[DrFunkenstein]

3. Posting The E-Mails Of The Deranged

Great title for a book!

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

7. If that is accurate about Kerry's support for the Contras

It would confirm my suspicions that Kerry's much heralded investigation into Iran-Contra and BCCI were in fact a whitewash.

"In the wee hours of the morning, you made two comments that troubled me: (1) you stressed your initials as "JFK" that would help you one day in your quest for the White House, and (2) that after War Department briefings (and perhaps CIA as well) about the need for funding and training contra terrorists in Afghanistan and Nicaragua you had a new appreciation for their importance in furthering U.S. policies. That did not mean that you necesaarily voted for Contra aid but that once in power, information becomes part of an elite circle preempting genuine democracy. "

[DrFunkenstein]

2. The Globe Profile Is Chock Full Of Interviews And Anecdotes

The main link to the 7 part series (great pictures!). You probably would want to look at parts 2 and 3. Personally, I found part 6 the most impressive - the Democrats pull him off the Iran-Contra investigation because they are actually afraid he'll impeach Reagan!

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/

Just read this passage:

"Suddenly, Kerry's theories didn't seem so far-fetched. He hoped this would be his moment to help lead the investigation into this extraordinary episode. The Iran-contra scandal was the top story in town, and there was worried talk in the halls of Congress that the United States might suffer another failed presidency.

But when congressional leaders chose the members of the elite Iran-contra committee, Kerry was left off. Those selected were consensus-politicians, not bomb-throwers.

The feeling among a disappointed Kerry and his staff was that the committee members were chosen to put a lid on things. "He was told early on they were not going to put him on it," Winer recalls. "He was too junior and too controversial . . .. They were concerned about the survival of the republic."

Even some Democrats "thought John was a little hotter than they would like," says Rosenblith.

As a consolation prize, the Democratic leadership gave Kerry chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations and a charter to dig into the contra-drug connection. While disappointed, Kerry stuck with his investigation and the subcommittee published a report in 1989 that concluded the CIA and other US agencies had turned a blind eye to drug trafficking occurring on the fringes of the contra network. In many cases, traffickers were using the same airplanes, airfields, and other resources that the contras were using."

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/062003.shtml

[chiburb]

4. Just curious...

Why the "personal" interest in Kerry if you're for Dean or Clark?

[absyntheNsugar]

5. Because he's doing well

And if he wins the nominiation, I want to have an idea of the guy, beyond the official story. I want to hear if someone on one of his campaigns felt he was a genuine stand-up kinda guy, or if they felt he was disingenuine.

And more than a Dean or Clark guy, I'm an ABB (Anyone but Bush) guy. So if Kerry gets the nomination, I'll replace the Dean or Clark (depending how i feel) lawn banner with a Kerry one.

ON EDIT: and one more thing. I don't know alot about Kerry, but I do know alot about Dean and Clark.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

6. Kerry is lightyears ahead of all the other candidates

in terms of experience and depth and understanding of the issues.
But that's just MHO.

[absyntheNsugar]

8. How was he as a Sentator?

Did you get a good feeling from him? Did you ever meet him in person?

Also - did you know of him back before he was Lt. Governor?

Sorry for all the questions - out here in California Kerry is 'known of' rather than known if you know what I mean.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. Here's a good article

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061903.shtml

[blm]

10. Joe Klein did a great piece in the New Yorker last Dec.

It really spoke to that time in great detail. Get hold of it.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

11. The Kerry file

Born: December 11, 1943

Parents: Rosemary Forbes Kerry, of the Forbes family that launched the Boston-China trade, and the Winthrop family, descendants of the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and Richard Kerry, Army test pilot. lawyer, and diplomat.

Religion: Roman Catholic.

Family: Wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry (widow of Sen. John Heinz (R), ketchup-fortune heir); daughters Alexandra and Vanessa; stepsons John, Andre, and Christopher.

Diversions: Owns a Harley Davidson, plays ice hockey, windsurfs; plays acoustic guitar.

Education: Swiss boarding school (his father was stationed in Berlin); enrolled in St. Paul's School in New Hampshire at age 13; BA in political science, Yale, 1966; JD, Boston College Law School, 1976.

Teenage band: "The Electras" (Kerry played bass guitar).

Favorite books: James Bradley's "Flags of Our Fathers" and Stephen Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage." On the trail, he's read Clyde Prestowitz's "Rogue Nation," and Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed."

Favorite films: "Giant" and "Casablanca."

Early adventures in politics: He worked on Edward M. Kennedy's 1962 Senate campaign and gave a graduation speech at Yale in 1966: On his way to Vietnam, he spoke on "an excess of interventionism."

Work rêsumê: Assistant District Attorney, Middlesex County, Mass.; private lawyer; lieutenant governor to Michael Dukakis; Massachusetts senator.

Net worth: At $600 million (est.), he's the richest member of Congress. (Most of the money is from his wife's fortune.)

Military service: Lieutenant, US Navy; was awarded the Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, and the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam; Naval Reserves.

Political highlights:

• National coordinator of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, 1969-'71.

• Introduced one of the Senate's first bills forbidding job discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1985.

• Worked with Sen. John McCain (R) in 1992 on finding out whether there were still American POWS in Vietnam.

• Worked on a Russian nuclear-arms reduction policy.

• Headed investigations into Iran-Contra affair and the BCCI banking scandal.

Campaign touchstones: • Wants to allow all Americans to buy into the healthcare plan used by members of Congress.

• Would repeal some Bush tax cuts, but keep those for the working poor and middle class.

• Proposes "Service for College" program, granting the equivalent of four years' tuition in exchange for two years of community service.

• Vows to block the nomination of any Supreme Court justice who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

• Wants to make the US independent from foreign oil within 10 years.

Key legislative positions:

• Voted to give President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq, but voted against Mr. Bush's request for $87 billion to help fund reconstruction, and has criticized the administration for a lack of "diplomacy" and called for a gradual withdrawal of US troops.

• Supports affirmative action.

• Supports civil unions but opposes gay marriage.

Source: Compiled from wire services, MSNBC, ABC, Hotline, Roll Call, The Providence Journal, and other published accounts.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=77309