Kerry will be no better than Baucus.

[girl gone mad]

This was Kerry on this week's Meet The Press:

"The United States must show the markets that it is “deadly serious about dealing with its long-term structural debt,” he said, and the way to do that is by “putting a plan on the table, $4 trillion plus, if necessary.”

Get it? Multi-millionaire Kerry believes that there is too much money floating around in the private sector and the government urgently needs to remove this excess money.

A person who engages in this type of illogical thinking is not going to make smart decisions when it comes to protecting SS and vital social programs.

[Zen Democrat]

1. There's a perfectly logical way to do what Kerry wants. Make the rich PAY!

[MBS]

4. Kerry has pushed for end to tax cuts for the wealthy since at LEAST 2004.

He talks about doing this in almost every speech and every interview.

[blm]

7. He's pushed to end the tax breaks for wealthy since 2002.

.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

10. Has he tried parking his damned yacht in his own damned state?

"He talks" is a very apt description. Meanwhile he cheats the state he's elected to represent.

[blm]

12. That was a bullshit story from RWers. Why repeat it here?

.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

19. Calling it a BS story implies the story is untrue or inaccurate

Yet, the senator would pay $500,000 to the state-- http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/28/kerry_will_pay_mass_tax_on_ri_yacht/

That's a lot of money for an untrue story. If the BS was fodder for the RW then double shame on him.

[blm]

20. The bullshit part was that he was avoiding taxes when there were other reasons

for the boat being in Rhode Island. So, why are YOU still focused on the RW smear?

[MBS]

22. " " " "" n/t

[MBS]

21. +1 n/t

[ixion]

2. They can count on good'ol take-a-dive to tow the status quo line

as they can with everyone else on this bogus committee.

[Unvanguard]

3. Kerry was probably overreacting to the S&P downgrade, but he's somewhat right.

The key words there are "long-term structural debt"--not "short-term debt acquired in the process of trying to recover from recession." Note also that he doesn't say that the way to do this is by cutting social spending.

[girl gone mad]

8. Text from the letter he signed in March (emphasis mine):

Dear President Obama:

As the Administration continues to work with Congressional leadership regarding our current budget situation, we write to inform you that we believe comprehensive deficit reduction measures are imperative and to ask you to support a broad approach to solving the problem.

As you know, a bipartisan group of Senators has been working to craft a comprehensive deficit reduction package based upon the recommendations of the Fiscal Commission. While we may not agree with every aspect of the Commission’s recommendations, we believe that its work represents an important foundation to achieve meaningful progress on our debt. The Commission’s work also underscored the scope and breadth of our nation’s long-term fiscal challenges.

Beyond FY2011 funding decisions, we urge you to engage in a broader discussion about a comprehensive deficit reduction package. Specifically, we hope that the discussion will include discretionary spending cuts, entitlement changes and tax reform.

By approaching these negotiations comprehensively, with a strong signal of support from you, we believe that we can achieve consensus on these important fiscal issues. This would send a powerful message to Americans that Washington can work together to tackle this critical issue.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[ProSense]

14. Many Democrats

signed that letter:

Mark Begich (D-AK), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Tom Harkin (D-IA), John Kerry (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Mark Pryor (D-AR ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Udall (D- CO), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

[MBS]

28. thanks. n/t

[Unvanguard]

17. That's more specific, but still rather vague. n/t

[villager]

5. the apparatchiks are already here unreccing, letting us know "the fix" is, well, "good for us"

n/t

[blm]

6. Why don't you try watching debt deal debate and get the wide shot? Guess you missed this...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=603711&mesg_id=603711

[girl gone mad]

9. Why don't you try reading the letter he signed?

He's got a bad case of deficit hysteria.

[blm]

15. So you weren't paying attention to the debt deal debate...admit it and move on...

you don't WANT to accept that Kerry actually has a strong position that you'd agree with if you bothered to gather information responsibly before you post smears.

[girl gone mad]

18. Do you really believe this comment adds anything to the discussion?

[blm]

23. You don't seem to be interested in the FULL picture of Kerry's position and are trying to smear him

based on YOUR interpretation of two sentences. If you bothered to hear out his full position you wouldn't be adding smears to the discussion would you?

How does YOUR amateur analysis of two sentences a valuable addition to the discussion?

Try again and use some of your time and energy to access the fuller picture...if you refuse to do that, then that proves YOU are not interested in the full truth of his position and intend only to use your time attacking him with your own uninformed analysis.

[girl gone mad]

25. You haven't presented anything which would change my opinion.

John Kerry believes, wrongly, that we need to focus on cutting deficits right now. Kerry believes, wrongly, that deficits and debt pose a serious threat to our economy.

A person who holds these foolish beliefs is unlikely to make wise choices while serving on the Super Committee.

[blm]

30. A person who bases their analysis on two sentences is incapable of judging or making wise choices

and is especially harmful to any discussion where there are so many layers to the debate.

BTW, he believes we need to tax the wealthiest...he states it regularly and has been since 2002. He also believes all tax loopholes should be closed for outsourcing companies.

Your hyperbolic declarations are NOT going to be bought by anyone with an attention span.

[Pisces]

11. We are truly in the twilight zone on DU. A past Democratic nominee is no longer qualified as a good

Democrat?????? Some of you who want to find fault with everything need to figure out what you are really trying to accomplish with all of your negativity.

[girl gone mad]

16. What does this have to do with being a "good Democrat"..

and what does that even mean?

This is about making choices that will either harm or benefit the economy as a whole. Kerry has clearly demonstrated a lack of common sense on macroeconomic issues.

We need people on this committee who understand the role of deficits, not people who believe in fairy tales and voodoo.

[blm]

24. WE could use discussions based on his full position, not based on YOUR analysis of two sentences.

Why do you resist informing yourself with the full position, anyway?

[girl gone mad]

26. Kerry's position rests on the false belief that we need to reduce our government deficit.

It's impossible to build a reasonable plan when you start from such a fundamentally flawed premise.

[blm]

27. Try accessing the full position....your analysis isn't as reliable as you'd like to believe.

Snagging two sentences and spinning it into your own frothy mix, is the sop of the RW media machine....that tactic has no business in this discussion.

If this matter was truly important to you, you'd have no qualms about arming yourself with all the information you can before you attempt to draw conclusions.

[Bluebear]

13. Doesn't matter - with Baucus the votes will all be 4-2

[boston bean]

29. He is a member of the establishment. I like him, but not a huge fan.

You can't trust him to really stick to his guns.

[woo me with science]

31. K&R nt