I believe

[TayTay]

It's not about whether or not we had a good week or a bad week. Those will come and go.

It's not about what a group of pundits say, because they are wrong more times than not anyway.

It's not about me at all. I have been kicked in the stomach enough times by politics and by backstabbers before to know that I am strong, that I get back up and do it again. That is a given.

It's about 'our kids' over there in Iraq. It's about the immorality of letting 'our kids' fight, bleed, get blown up, deal with shoddy supplies and bad commanders. It's about a girl that I saw this summer who smiled when a Marine recruiter handed her a letter at graduation that said that she would be reporting to basic training in July. That girl is now probably in Iraq. It's about trying to get her away from IED's and away from a civil war that she can't do anything about.

It's about having a real debate over what kind of country we want to have and about what kind of leaders we want to have in charge. It's about people with the courage to stand up and take some unbelievable abuse because they believe in what they are doing and that what they are doing is saving lives, saving the Constitution and because it is right.

I believe that we stand up for a cleaner environment and stop letting corporations dictate how clean our air, water and landscape will be. It's about standing up for clean elections and the rights of all Americans to vote and have that vote be counted. It's about demanding that our Government be accountable to it's people and that the Congress do it's job and investigate problems when they come up. It's about having a Supreme Court that understands the separation of powers and that isn't trying to make the President a king.

It's about standing up and saying that America has values and that we don't torture and we don't hold people without access to a court of law. It's about building America's image in the world and restoring the sense that this nation stands for something beyond the raw accumulation of power and other people's resources.

I am not here just because I happen to like Sen. Kerry. I am here because Sen. Kerry believes in the things that I believe in and has proven himself as a fighter for these things. He has taken an unbelievable amount of abuse in the last two years, a lot of it from other so-called Democrats who are afraid to stand up for anything because it might be controversial.

I don't care who the pundits say is up or down this week. I don't care who the liberal web says if up or down this week. I don't care how much Faux News or the other media outlets tell me Sen. Kerry is done.

I care about someone coming back to the Senate after the election and telling the truth. I care about that powerful voice that will continue to speak out for what is right. Bad weeks and smear jobs come and go. What I believe in and who I believe in is rock-solid. I will be there for the Senator because he has been there for me these last two years and I believe that will continue.

So yeah, I believe. See yuhz in Boston. And the rest of the world, if they don't like it, can bite me.

[ProSense]

1. Excellent!

This is what it's all about. If someone else was standing in Senator Kerry's shoes, I'd have his/her back too!

Senator Kerry could do a lot to help the Democratic Party counter voter apathy, increase the ranks of Democratic voters. I believe this in my heart. He's a fighter. He has the ability to get people to respond to the need for change!

[TayTay]

2. Anybody remember this post?

Cuz I sure do!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2677533

Tell me that has changed and maybe I'll stop believing.

[ProSense]

3. Yes, that was awesome! Thanks for the reminder. n/t

[karynnj]

10. True - that's the Kerry we all support

everything else is peripheral. (including the usually endearly lame jokes) What's unique is that he still has the moral clarity of youth, combined with the wisdom of years.

[StoryTeller]

4. YES!

I believe, too!

Thanks, Tay, for this shout-out. You are exactly correct!

[fedupinBushcountry]

5. You bet your bottom dollar I believe

it was John Kerry who inspired me to believe again, and no one will ever take that away from me.

NO SURRENDER !!!

[beachmom]

6. I'm going to have to rely on your spirit for the time being

I haven't recovered it yet, but somehow I found myself saying yes to the Democrat who asked me if I would go to a precinct at 5 AM Tuesday to make sure the machines are secure. Fedup is doing one, too. When I think about things, I get so sad, so I've decided it's just best to DO things, and hope it all turns out alright.

That's what I'm able to do now, and I hope that that is enough for the time being.

[TayTay]

9. I understand.

That's why we're here. Because sometimes you need to lean on others. It's okay, someday, I will need you to lean on. And I know you will be there for me.

Cuz, if not you, then who?

[karynnj]

7. Thank you, Tay

This says it all - This week has been very tough. I can't even imagine how this feels to Senator Kerry. He has to know that he did nothing wrong - he has been amazing for the last 2 years working towards the point where we are at. In reality, on Tuesday we will be better off than any one could have hoped for 6 months ago.

He will have a Democratic Governor. There is almost certainly a Democratic House and there is a possibility that we will have a Democratic Senate. Kerry may get little credit for it but in reality without his early work (and that of Dean who is being disparged by some of the same people going after Kerry) many of that last tier of candidates might not have been there or would not have been as strong. Who gets credit aside, the end result by be a more functional Congress, especially as the Republican are moving away from Bush on Iraq.

So, i may have to gag when pundits credt the Clintons with this comeback - because Bill Clinton taught Democrats to fight back (which is good, except when Hillary doesn't want them too). In reality the biggest contribution Senator Kerry made was in April, 2006 when he started to significantly change the countries mind on staying in Iraq, as he did on the soldiers appropriate functions in 2005. Imagine if Kerry had backed down and not submitted his resolution. There would be no Levin amendment. The number one issue now is Iraq - and that work is the counter to the Republican lie that the Democrats have no alternative plan. Taking that stand for politics, but it turns out to be both the morally correct and politically correct thing to do.

What hurts most of this was not the random RW attack, but the second wave Democratic one. My guess is they knew if they closed ranks around Kerry with his excellent record on veterans - this would have gone away faster. This could have been the first time the Democrats successfully confronted a RW smear and made it backfire on the smearers. This has major party importance - and it was beginning to work. This, NOT BC standing up to that HUGE bully Chris Wallace was fighting back. This is the victory that some Democrats threw away because they didn't like the idea that Kery's work on 2006 and Iraq coupled with demonstrating he could fight back would position Kerry better than they would like.

The fact though is after the election, we move back to real life. Who will lead the effort to fix Iraq?

[YvonneCa]

8. Beautiful...and true...

...it's what I believe, too, Tay Tay. It's been a tough week. I was in Pasadena on Monday. I wish I could come to Boston in December. Please let him know we support him in this fight...and that the country (whether they know it or not) still needs him as President.:patriot: