There is one Kerry "flip-flop" I may need help debunking....

[expatriot]

Okay, 99% of all the supposed Kerry flip-flops are quickly and easily debunked with a little critical thinking and analysis.

This is one that I may need help on... its from flipflopper.com

Fact:

Kerry Took BOTH Sides In First Gulf War In Separate Letters To Same Constituent.
1/22/91

‘Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition ... to the early use of military force by the US against Iraq. I share your concerns. On January 11, I voted in favor of a resolution that would have insisted that economic sanctions be given more time to work and against a resolution giving the president the immediate authority to go to war.’ --letter from Senator John Kerry to Wallace Carter of Newton Centre, Massachusetts, dated January 22 <1991>
1/31/91

Thank you very much for contacting me to express your support for the actions of President Bush in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. From the outset of the invasion, I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush’s response to the crisis and the policy goals he has established with our military deployment in the Persian Gulf.’ --Senator Kerry to Wallace Carter, January 31 <1991>”

Here is what I think: In the first letter he said he voted FOR a resolution to insist MORE time was given to allow economic sanctions to work and AGAINST a resolution giving the Bush I the IMMEDIATE authority to go to war... now you can hold those two positions while still supporting the President's overall policy goals of militaty deployment in the Gulf to contain Saddam.

Did I just answer my own question or is there more to debunk it?

[DenverDem]

1. Nuance, the art of which is lost.

No issue is black and white, contrary to the beliefs of fundigelical publicans.

Kerry is capable of seeing the complexities of every situation and seeks to find the real world solution, without using the crutch of ideological fundamentalism.

[LTR]

2. Is there a source for this?

I mean, besides http://www.flipflopper.com

[expatriot]

5. It's on the georgebush.com website and they source it to...

(Noam Scheiber, “Noam Scheiber’s Daily Journal of Politics, The New Republic Online, 1/28/04)

[truhavoc]

3. I still have no idea why "flip flopping" is such a big deal to people.

I have very little trust for people who are unwilling to question their own beliefs critically. Maybe its the philosophy major in me talking, but I feel it is always important to basically question everything. I would prefer the "flip-flopper" to anyone who merely holds an opinion no matter how wrong it is.

[LTR]

4. Hell, Dumbya does it all the time

http://www.flipfloppingbush.com/

[expatriot]

8. Is that your website?

Awesome. Can I help out a little bit?

[LTR]

10. Not mine

But there is some DU involvement somewhere.

Lots of it came from Josh Marshall, I believe.

[expatriot]

11. Sources are need on that website....

... they are easy to find. I am doing it now.

Bush Opposed the Creation of a Homeland Security Department
In Spite of 9-11, Bush was Slow to See the Need for a Department of Homeland Security. Bush opposed the creation of a cabinet agency for homeland security until Congress passed legislation creating it in November 2002, thus delaying its launch until February 2003. Former press secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush told Congress "there does not need to be a Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security," and Tom Ridge, then director of the non-agency White House Office of Homeland Security, said "I'd probably recommend that he veto" any bill creating a new agency.

-DNC website

[LTR]

14. Try this one

Lots of sources:

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=42263

[truhavoc]

13. I think analysis needs to be read into every case

A change in opinion due solely to public opinion is not very upstanding. However a deep philosophical inquiry which causes you to change you mind is perfectly legit.

[wtmusic]

6. Invasion was 1/16/1991

and as of 1/11 diplomatic efforts were still underway. Kerry was working under the premise that war should be a last resort, which the UN charter mandates.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/2/newsid_2526000/2526937.stm

[Feanorcurufinwe]

7. A casual reader

might conclude that these two letters, dated nine days apart, exhibit a true flip-flop on the first Gulf War. Read them more closely. In the first letter, Kerry states that he wanted to give sanctions more time to work, and that he voted against giving Pappa Bush immediate authority to go to war. All perfectly true. The second letter doesn't contradict either of these facts. Instead, he says that he supports the goals of the invasion rather than the invasion itself, and that he supported Bush's response to the crisis 'from the outset of the invasion'. The day before the war started, Kerry pledged that he would back the president 'the moment (the war) begins', and this letter simply confirms his statement.

(ps, not my words, but I agree)

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. Playing on people's ignorance

Very rarely do Senators or Congressmen ever give "I believe this, so fuck off" type of letters to constituents. Instead, they write such that it looks like they at least considered their POV.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

15. You should see the letters I get from Baucus.

I usually feel like I've been told to fuck off. :puke:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Some are less diplomatic than others I suppose

[Fridays Child]

12. My response: show me the full text of both letters to Sen. Kerry and...

...the full text of both of his responses. Then we can discuss them.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

16. Good point.

The full context may indeed give a quite different impression than these selected excerpts.