My support for Kerry: huge

[Mass]

I want to make clear something because I am afraid that some people may have thought that I was supporting Kerry less strongly because I had a few criticisms earlier concerning his PR.

First, I am a strong, strong supporter of him. I :heart: the man. He is not going to lose my support and my enthusiasm because I may disagree with him once in a while. O8)O8)

This said, it is not in my nature to applaud to everything he does. I don't think it is in the nature of any Kerry's supporters anyway. So, instinctively, if I think something could be better, I say it, and I have never hidden that sometimes, I think his PR could sometimes be better (thanks KG for the releases that you post long before they are on his website).

This said, the man is great. I agree with him on issues more than anybody else (that has any chance of being elected, at least). He is a champion on the issues I care more than all: environment/energy and foreign affairs, and he is a realist that knows what does have a chance to be voted or not in the Senate.

So, may be I should not post here my eventual frustration at little details here. Sorry for that. I will try not to do it anymore.

Peace
:pals::hug:

[ray of light]

1. Mass...

I think all of us come here with different ideas of his strengths and weeknesses.

He is a great Senator and has wanted and worked for great things in our country.

I personally think that in some of our more honest moments we may feel disappointment about the how 04 campaign was handled. But that doesn't extend to the point of complete disatisfaction with him. I have no prolem understanding that little frustrations exsist. They do for all of us.

He's human. He genuinely comes across as a rare politician who actually cares. He seems to be trustworthy too.

[wisteria]

2. We should be able to come here and vent, even if it is against

something Kerry has done that we're not happy with. The man is wonderful, but he is only human. We all understand why you would criticize him -constructively of course. You try posting on GD a Kerry criticism and you'll get everyone chiming in for all the wrong reasons.

[politicasista]

3. It's all good Mass

I am glad we can come here too and express our differences and disagreements. I agree that no one politician is perfect, but it's nice to come here and show Kerry and Momma T some love. It's all good

pol.

:grouphug: :hi:

[fedupinBushcountry]

4. Hey

We all have opinions, I always tell my kids that. One day my daughter came home from school and she failed a test, and one of the questions was ("what is your opinion on the story?). Well she wrote her opinion, but the teacher did not like it I guess, and poof 20 points came off her grade.

I of course was livid, and told my daughter to me she passed, for she was asked to give her opinion and that is what she did. I said everyone has his or her opinion and some may agree and some may disagree but in the end you always have a right to your opinion. I also told the teacher how I felt and she ended up giving her a passing grade all because she listened to someone elses opinion.

I don't know if that made since or not, but to me no explanation is needed, we all know where your heart is on this forum. :grouphug:

One more thing, thought this would make you feel good, to bad I am a computer dummy and don't know how to post pictures.

http://www.cafepress.com/lavenderliberal.16945695

[Mass]

6. Thanks - great image

I have to buy the bumpersticker.

[TayTay]

5. Oh my dear, this is so sweet!

It is not possible to agree with someone 100% of the time. (That's just too robotic and would cause aneurysms in Democrats anyway.) I have had a few (very few) big differences with Sen. Kerry and a host of small ones. It's not disloyalty or overtly negative to bring this out. It's you being you. It's you using your brains to arrive at a well-thought out position. It's you asking questions, the one thing that is mandatory for citizens in a democracy. (I mean isn't that what we dislike about the Rethugs, they all march in lockstep?)

I read where Sen. Kerry arrives at decision by asking staff to throw every negative possible at him so he is prepared to both make and defend a position. Well, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. Please do question things. It is both interesting and gives us something to chew on. (I agree with Sen. Kerry about 90-95% of the time. I find that remarkable. Just remarkable.)

[blm]

7. Kerry's BIGGEST mistake - not knowing that I should be in charge of

schooling all Dem spokespeople so they GET it in SIMPLE TERMS.

And I suppose there are one or two other mistakes. ;)

[WildEyedLiberal]

8. Hey no apologies necessary

Sometimes I think some of us get so beaten down by the constant parade of idiocy and bashing on DU that we tend to get very easily defensive about any criticism - even constructive and useful - of Kerry. That's not really realistic, and doesn't actually do Kerry any favors. I think he knows as much as anyone that he could have benefited from doing some things differently in 2004. I too wish Kerry had a more media-savvy PR team to get his (wonderful) message out to more Americans. One thing that simultaneously frustrates and endears me to Kerry is his lack of "political" prowess - that is to say, he is not someone good at spin, or BS, or soundbites, or any of the typical oily sleazy politician tricks that makes one a "good" campaigner. He is genuine and true to a fault. People who seem him in person understand this, because they can see how real he is, and support him stronger as a result. What makes him a "average" campaigner makes him a terrific public servant and a fine man.

Besides, we all know how much you support Kerry, because in every knock down drag out in GD, you're always on the front lines for our guy. :pals:

[JI7]

9. you support Kerry where it counts

and in a way that helps. you don't have to apologize for anything. i agree with you in not needing to applaud all.

it's one reason i post a lot of the stuff in this forum. it's not really meant to be a part of political discussion or debate.

[jillan]

10. Mass - I was right there with you.

I had many of the same frustrations as you.

And I was so relieved that you were having the same concerns that I was.
So I am thankful for your honesty.

I personally think it is okay to discuss these feelings HERE. We can discuss our disappointments in an adult manner, and not have to deal with all of the lefty-freeps that we get in GD.

When I get frustrated with Kerry, it is usually because he is the man I voted for, and I despise * soooo much, that maybe my expectations for Kerry are a little too high. But I have to say that Kerry always comes through. You and I were discussing his silence on Iraq. Well look at him now. I can't wait to hear him tomorrow.

Don't feel bad. If we can't air our feelings here, then where?
We are the Kerrycrats, and hopefully we have enough respect for one another that we can all feel this is a safe place to vent.

This ones for you

[sandnsea]

11. You're an awesome supporter

I think it just takes a little time to get to know each other, everybody has their little issues that are more important to them, for whatever reasons. I still say the hunting camo was a top 5 booboo. Imus said this morning he should have stopped at the ranch on the train tour. (Lewis Black was on). That recent press release on Miller was horrible. But for chrissake, everybody makes mistakes. Look at that guy who is now portraying Kerry's ME plan as "stability". What the hell is that? But that's the guy's view, whadderya gonna do.

[kerrygoddess]

12. PR is PR

It's seems to me that pretty much all of them use the same PR style in their press releases. I get quite a few (from others besides Kerry) and they all come across about the same, even stuff from PAC's.

I know we would all like to see a different sort of relationship with JK and the blogs, hopefully in time that will happen. I hate to see this stuff get grabbed by the MSM and the Blogs sometimes and get twisted, but they twist regardless, because it is the nature of some just to do that.

There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with things sometimes - what's most important is that the right people see it and the wrong people don't take it out of context. That said I'm happy to pass things along when I can.

:grouphug:

[jenndar]

13. I see what you're saying

and totally understand your frustrations. Whether we think Senator Kerry lost the election, or that it was stolen, we can probably all agree that he didn't get the landslide he deserved, and it's important to consider why that happened. And so I think it would be a huge mistake not to troubleshoot. There are all kinds of ways to be supportive, even if it *feels* like we're being unsupportive. The important thing is yo avoid negativity (and despair!) and to be constructive - which I think you are.

[k j]

14. Chiming in...

Mass, it scares me to no end to when I come across hive mind. There is no way anyone agrees with anyone else 100% of the time. That would be a denial of your own intellect, and we all know your intellect is considerable. :-)

Hang in there. I've been reading your posts for years now and as far as I'm concerned, you're a mainstay.

Dissent is patriot. :patriot: :grouphug:

[karynnj]

15. I think that it's a sign of maturity that we have value systems

and positions that we believe in, independent of any politician. When we say we disagree on some issue with Kerry, I don't think it indicates that we no longer support him. An interpretation that way would imply we're part of the xxxx voted "no" on xxxxxx, he's out of the party crowd.

The comments - from MA people - that impressed me last year were that even when they disagreed with a vote, they trusted that he was voting his conscience and that he had thought about it. Since the election, some of you have stated that in terms I rarely have heard when people speak of politicians.

Your view that you can trust him and the values he holds, agree with him on most issues, and believe that he has the intelligence and dilligence to carefully consider issues is what is more important - when you vote, you never can know what issues he will face in the next 4 (President) or 6 (Senate) years, you are selecting him as your representative. (How anyone felt all these things about Bush is beyond me.)

[k j]

16. Agreed, Karynnj

The mark of a Kerry supporter, in my opinion, is maturity. I'm not saying other candidate's supporters don't also have that quality, but my experience with Kerry supporters is that they not only have that quality, they exercise it. We're able to disagree, not only with Kerry, but with each other, without resorting to psycho-babble namecalling.

We are what we support, you know? Kerry is chock full of integrity, courage, thoughtfulness, soul and intelligence. Is it any surprise that his supporters are too? ;-) I don't think so.

[k j]

17. Also...

Trust. That's a quality I see in Kerry and in Kerry supporters. As karynnj said above, even when I disgree with Kerry, and I have, I trust that he made his decision after careful thought with his own conscience. That trust extends to supporters of Kerry. I've seen with my own eyes, since the election, the people who still support him and the people who don't. While there has been some surprises, in the end, the people who still have his back, even after Election 2004, are the people I feel the most comfortable being around. The people I trust the most... even if we disagree over certain issues.

[beachmom]

18. I think this will make you feel better, Mass

I received this e-mail from JK yesterday, and I think it's a better presentation of how he looks at it and his PAC's role better than the PR statement. The subject line of the e-mail said "Thank You -- You Did It!". I felt great after reading it. And it emphasized the voters, the volunteers, the candidates, and then finally, what the PAC did.

Dear xxxxx,

Tim Kaine, Virginia, and Democrats all across America owe you a debt of gratitude. That was a great win last night, and Tim Kaine is going to make one outstanding Governor.

Thanks to the hard work of so many volunteers in Virginia - knocking on doors, working phone banks, doing whatever it took to get out the vote - you elected a good man as your next Governor. You also beat the Republicans at a critical moment in history.

By electing Tim Kaine, you made an affirmative statement that Virginia wants leaders who solve problems, not create them. And you weren't alone.

Our friend Creigh Deeds, who ran a great campaign for Attorney General, is currently locked in a race that is too close to call. We stand ready to help him as he weighs his options. Leslie Byrne came very close to winning the Lieutenant Governor's race, and we extend our congratulations to everyone who worked so hard on her campaign.

Yesterday Democrats defeated Republicans in key races around the country, and Keeping America's Promise was involved in many of these important elections. We were proud to do our part, mobilizing our grassroots network, recruiting volunteers, and providing financial support to help elect Tim Kaine as well as Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey; Chris Coleman, Mayor of Saint Paul; and Tom Menino, Mayor of Boston, to name just a few.

All of these wins are so important. Republicans have been exposed for their corruption, incompetence, and misplaced priorities. What happened yesterday, when we made real gains at the ballot box, is so critical because it sets the tone for the elections in 2006.

At Keeping America's Promise, the work is just beginning. We're going to continue building on the grassroots energy you created in 2004 and working with you to elect Democratic candidates up and down the ticket in all fifty states. With momentum from these victories in 2005, we have a legitimate chance to win back majorities in Congress and in state legislatures all across America next year. Learn more about Keeping America's Promise.

Thank you again for your continued support and for a job well done yesterday - and congratulations on your outstanding new Governor, Tim Kaine.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

[Mass]

19. I love this letter - This is exactly what was needed, IMHO.