John Kerry In Quotes — Version 3.0

by John Hawkins | May 14, 2004 1:22 am

John Kerry — or as I think of him, Senator Flip-Flop — is still largely getting a free pass from the media on most of the ridiculous things he has said. But, I don’t give Massachusetts liberals who are running for President free passes. That’s why I’ve put out the third version of John Kerry in quotes. If you think there are any key quotes missing, add ’em in the comments section and if they’re good enough, I’ll make sure they’re added in to the list or Version 4.0 of these quotes which should be out in another couple of months.

Let’s get to the quotes…

Flip-Flopping

“Mr. Kerry voted for the USA Patriot Act, Mr. Bush’s No Child Left Behind education bill and the Congressional resolution authorizing the president to use force in Iraq, only to sharply criticize all three once he became a presidential candidate. Mr. Kerry counters that his quarrel is with Mr. Bush’s execution of the policies, but he struggled for months to explain his shifting stance on the Iraq war.” — Todd S. Purdum, Jan 25, 2004 in the New York Times

“For those of us who are fortunate to share an Irish ancestry, we take great pride in the contributions that Irish-Americans” — Senate floor statement by John Kerry, 3/18/86

“(John Kerry) has never indicated to anyone that he was Irish and corrected people over the years who assumed he was” — Kerry spokeswoman Kelly Benander said in Feb, 2003

“I don’t believe in litmus tests, but I believe very strongly that the right to choose and the right to privacy are fundamental constitutional rights and I can’t imagine supporting a Supreme Court nominee who doesn’t share my view of the Constitution.” — John Kerry explains his Roe Vs. Wade litmus test after explaining that he doesn’t believe in litmus tests

“When it was popular to be a Massachusetts liberal, his voting record was that. When it was popular to be for the Iraq war, he was for it. Now it’s popular to be against it, and he’s against it.” — Jay Carson, a Dean campaign spokesman

“I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” — John Kerry

Massachusetts Liberal

“John Kerry. In his 20 years in the Senate, he’s been a standard-issue Massachusetts liberal, with a lifetime rating from Americans for Democratic Action of 93 on their 0-100 scale. By contrast, the other Senator from the Bay State, Teddy Kennedy, has a lifetime rating of 88. “That makes Kennedy the conservative of the two,” chortled Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie as he visited New Hampshire last week on an anti-Democratic strafing run.” — James Pinkerton, 1/26/04

“I’m an internationalist. I’d like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations.” — John Kerry, 1970

“On Key Votes, Kerry Voted 100% Of The Time With Senator Kennedy In 2001, 1999, 1998, 1993, 1992, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, and 1985. Over the course of his Senate career, Kerry has sided with Senator Kennedy 94% of the time for key votes.” — The Republican National Committee

“Kerry And Kennedy Had Exactly The Same Low Rating From The American Conservative Union In Both 2001 (4%) And 2000 (12%). Kerry’s lifetime rating from the ACU is 5.” — The Republican National Committee

“While Kerry Earns A 0% Rating From The National Right To Life Committee, His National Abortion And Reproductive Rights League Rating Is Consistently 100%.” — The Republican National Committee

“I’m opposed to the death penalty in the criminal justice system because I think it’s applied unfairly…” John Kerry on “Meet The Press,” December 1, 2002

Misc

“I can’t believe I married a second politician. I can’t believe I married the first politician. He wasn’t one when we met. I can’t believe my family left Africa and came to this country. I can’t believe I live in America, I can’t believe I ever even married an American. And I can’t believe we’re embarked on this journey.” — Teresa Heinz-Kerry to gossip columnist Cindy Adams

“I’m Fascinated By Rap And By Hip-Hop. I Think There’s A Lot Of Poetry In It. There’s A Lot Of Anger, A Lot Of Social Energy In It. And I Think You’d Better Listen To It Pretty Carefully, ‘Cause It’s Important” — John Kerry, 3/29/04

“President Clinton was often known as the first black president. I wouldn’t be upset if I could earn the right to be the second.” — John Kerry, 2004

“Sen. John F. Kerry has said he was ‘very proud’ of his vote to increase the (gas) tax by 4.3 cents per gallon…” — Michael Kranish, The Boston Globe, 5/4/96

“Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts said during last night’s Democratic presidential debate that the threat of terrorism has been exaggerated. “I think there has been an exaggeration,” Mr. Kerry said when asked whether President Bush has overstated the threat of terrorism. “They are misleading all Americans in a profound way.” — Washington Times on Jan 30, 2004

“John Kerry said yesterday that he will treat the war on terror “primarily” as law-enforcement action…” — Washington Times, April 19

“Everybody always makes the mistake of looking South. Al Gore proved he could have been president of the United States without winning one Southern state, including his own.” — John Kerry

“I’m a Christian. I’ve read the Bible and I know you can find the clauses that go both ways (on gay marriage). I’m not here to argue that with you.” — John Kerry in March, 2004

“I don’t own an SUV,” said Kerry, who supports increasing existing fuel economy standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2015 in order to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil supplies….Kerry thought for a second when asked whether his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, had a Suburban at their Ketchum, Idaho, home. Kerry said he owns and drives a Dodge 600 and recently bought a Chrysler 300M. He said his wife owns the Chevrolet SUV. “The family has it. I don’t have it,” he said.” — The Guardian[1], April 23, 2004

No Class

“I voted for what I thought was best for the country. Did I expect Howard Dean to go off to the left and say, ‘I’m against everything’? Sure. Did I expect George Bush to f*ck it up as badly as he did? I don’t think anybody did.” — John Kerry in Rolling Stone

“When Teresa Heinz-Kerry arrived, she handed me a pin that read in the center: “Asses of Evil” with “Bush”, “Cheney”, “Rumsfeld” and “Ashcroft” surrounding it. She met, greeted and talked to a jam-packed room of Kerry supporters and others who came for the MoveOn documentary.” — From John Kerry’s Blog[2] on December 11, 2003

“I don’t fall down,” the “son of a b*tch knocked me over.” — John Kerry after falling when a Secret Service Agent accidentally got in his way on March 19, 2004

“Noting my physical discomfort beside him in the backseat, Wade asks Kerry, “Sir, have you ever considered getting a bigger car?” Kerry shoots back, “No, but I have thought about cutting all your f***ing legs off at the knees.” — From the John Kerry For President[3] website

“No one’s talking about how to keep the other side home on Election Day. It’s a lot easier than you think and it doesn’t cost that much. This election can be won by 200,000 votes. You target (Bush’s) natural constituencies. For example, you can go on all the pro-life chat rooms and say you’re an outraged right-wing voter and that you know that George Bush drove an ex-girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her to get an abortion. Then you go to an anti-immigration Web site chat room and ask, ‘What’s all this about George Bush proposing amnesty for illegal aliens?” — From one Kerry’s Celebrity Supporters, Moby, who Kerry has even performed with on stage[4]

“We’re going to keep pounding, let me tell you. We’re just beginning to fight here. These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group I’ve ever seen. It’s scary.” — John Kerry, March 2004

“Somebody told me the other day that the Secret Service has orders that if George Bush is shot, they’re to shoot Quayle. There isn’t any press here, is there?” — Nov. 16, 1988

“Speaking on a live local broadcast at a campaign stop in Toledo, Ohio in front of 300 people, Kerry[5] blasted Bush for being an illegitimately elected president in 2000 when he was “selected” by the U.S. Supreme Court. When an elderly Democratic voter in the audience accused Vice President Dick Cheney of murdering women and children in Iraq for the sake of oil profits, Kerry responded by saying, “I know exactly where you’re coming from.” Kerry added, “I know where that anger comes from, I know where the frustration comes from.” — Talon News, April 30, 2004

Truthful?

“The senator with the most special interest money over the last 15 years is John Kerry who’s just been running around telling all Americans how he’s going to get the special interests and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. That is exactly what’s wrong with American politics and that’s why 50 percent of the people in this country don’t vote.” — Howard Dean on Feb 1, 2004

“I’ve met with more (foreign) leaders who can’t go out and say this publicly. But, boy, they look at you and say: ‘You’ve got to win this. You’ve got to beat this guy. We need a new policy.’ Things like that.” — John Kerry

“I voted for the Helms-Burton legislation to be tough on companies that deal with (Castro)” — John Kerry lies to a group of Cuban voters (he voted against it) who strongly support Helms-Burton on March 14, 2004

The War In Iraq & WMD

“[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.” — From a letter signed by Joe Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Milulski, Tom Daschle, & John Kerry among others on October 9, 1998

“The Iraqi regime’s record over the decade leaves little doubt that Saddam Hussein wants to retain his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and to expand it to include nuclear weapons. We cannot allow him to prevail in that quest. The weapons are an unacceptable threat.” — John Kerry, 10/9/02

“(W)e need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his offenses. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. …And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. That is why the world, through the United Nations Security Council, has spoken with one voice, demanding that Iraq disclose its weapons programs and disarm. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but it is not new. It has been with us since the end of the Persian Gulf War.” — John Kerry, 1/23/03

“If you don’t believe … Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn’t vote for me.” — USA Today[6] on 2/13/03

“Iraq may not be the war on terror itself, but it is critical to the outcome of the war on terror, and therefore any advance in Iraq is an advance forward in that…” — John Kerry 12/15/03

“If you think I would have gone to war the way George Bush did, don’t vote for me.” — John Kerry, Jan 2004

“With respect to getting our troops out, the measure is the stability of Iraq. [Democracy] shouldn’t be the measure of when you leave. I have always said from day one that the goal here . . . is a stable Iraq, not whether or not that’s a full democracy.” — John Kerry waffles on Democracy in Iraq, April 2004

“What has happened (at Abu Ghraib)is not just something that a few a privates or corporals or sergeants engaged in. This is something that comes out of an attitude about the rights of prisoners of war, it’s an attitude that comes out of America’s overall arrogance in its policy that is alienating countries all around the world.” — John Kerry, May 2004

Vietnam

“I am saddened by the fact that Vietnam has yet again been inserted into the campaign, and that it has been inserted in what I feel to be the worst possible way… What saddens me most is that Democrats, above all those who shared the agonies of that generation, should now be re-fighting the many conflicts of Vietnam in order to win the current political conflict of a presidential primary.” — John Kerry back in 1992

“The race for the White House should be about leadership, and leadership requires that one help heal the wounds of Vietnam, not reopen them.” — John Kerry on Feb 27, 1992

“We do not need more division. We certainly do not need something as complex and emotional as Vietnam reduced to simple campaign rhetoric.” — John Kerry on Feb 27, 1992

We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans’ Day waving small flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the “greater glory of the United States.” We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars — in fact, we will find it hard to join anything at all and when we do, we will demand relevancy such as other organizations have recently been unable to provide. We will not take solace from the creation of monuments or the naming of parks after a select few of the thousands of dead Americans and Vietnamese. We will not uphold traditions which decorously memorialize that which was base and grim. — John Kerry, in “The New Soldier”

“War crimes in Vietnam are the rule, not the exception.” — John Kerry[7], May 1971

“There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down.” — John Kerry, April 18, 1971

“To attempt to justify the loss of one American life in Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos by linking such loss to the preservation of freedom…is to us the height of criminal hypocrisy.” — John Kerry, 1971

“I’ve never made any judgments about any choice somebody made about avoiding the draft, about going to Canada, going to jail, being a conscientious objector, going into the National Guard. Those are choices people make.” — John Kerry Denigrates the National Guard on Feb 3, 2004

“Under Kerry’s leadership, VVAW (Vietnam Veterans Against The War) members mocked the uniform of United States soldiers by wearing tattered fatigues marked with pro-Communist graffiti. They dishonored America by marching in demonstrations under the flag of the Viet Cong enemy.” — Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry

“(N)o one in the United States Senate pushed harder to bury the POW/MIA issue, the last obstacle preventing normalization of relations with Hanoi, than John Forbes Kerry.” — US Veteran Dispatch

“People are going to remember Gen. Giap saying if it weren’t for these guys [Kerry’s group], we would have lost. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War encouraged people to desert, encouraged people to mutiny – some used what they wrote to justify fragging officers.” — Oliver North

“What I saw was a small piece of metal sticking very superficially in the skin of Kerry’s arm. The metal fragment measured about 1 cm. in length and was about 2 or 3 mm in diameter. It certainly did not look like a round from a rifle. I simply removed the piece of metal by lifting it out of the skin with forceps. I doubt that it penetrated more than 3 or 4 mm. It did not require probing to find it, did not require any anesthesia to remove it, and did not require any sutures to close the wound. The wound was covered with a bandaid.” — Louis Letson, the doctor who treated the wound that Kerry received Purple Heart #1 for.

“One veteran, noting the allegations were again made in a book on Kerry’s war experiences, choked back tears as he related how his wife and daughter had read about the alleged war crimes Kerry spoke about in Douglas Brinkley’s “Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War” and asked him if he had committed them.” — From an article on the anti-Kerry group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth[8], May 2004

“John Kerry’s recent admissions caused me to realize that I was most likely in Vietnam dodging enemy rockets on the very day he met in Paris with Madame Binh, the representative of the Viet Cong to the Paris Peace Conference. John Kerry returned to the U.S. to become a national spokesperson for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a radical fringe of the antiwar movement, an organization set upon propagating the myth of war crimes through demonstrably false assertions. Who was the last American POW to die languishing in a North Vietnamese prison forced to listen to the recorded voice of John Kerry disgracing their service by his dishonest testimony before the Senate?” — John O’Neil in May, 2004

Endnotes:
  1. The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4009850,00.html
  2. From John Kerry’s Blog: http://69.20.93.201/blog/archives/000871.html#000871
  3. John Kerry For President: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2002_0827.html
  4. performed with on stage: http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:-bsk_FGjqcwJ:www.independentsforkerry.org/info/index.php%3Fcategory_id%3D784%26subcategory_id%3D634+moby+john+kerry+stage&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
  5. Kerry: http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/newswire/news2004/0401/043004-kerry.htm
  6. USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-02-11-dems-war-uast_x.htm
  7. John Kerry: http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061703.shtml
  8. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth: http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/05040000aaa00c01.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News

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