Why I'm voting for Kerry.

[pauraque_bk]

Since this is primarily a fandom journal, open to all, I've tended not to post very much about the election, except in what I hope is a reasonably non-partisan tone. But, well, yet another political post on your flist won't kill ya.

This one's about why I'm voting FOR Kerry, not just against Bush.

By way of background, I'm registered as an independent, and I vote based on issues and respect for the candidate, not on party affiliation. I see myself as pretty moderate, but I'm strongly anti-war, so Bush already lost any chance of my supporting him quite a few moves back.

When it became evident that John Kerry was going to be the Democratic nominee, I wasn't too thrilled about it. I thought Dean would have made a better candidate, more galvanizing to the needed liberal base. I didn't know much about Kerry, except that he seemed less angry, less smooth, less exciting. It was in this somewhat morose state that I was sitting and flipping channels, and came across an episode of the Dick Cavett show from June 1971, airing on C-SPAN. [ETA: I do realize that transcript is provided by an anti-Kerry site, but it is accurate, and I couldn't find another. Everyone just seems to link right back to that one, even the pro-Kerry sites. Go figure.]

Here was a very young John Kerry (of Vietnam Veterans Against The War) debating a very young John O'Neill (of Vietnam Veterans For A Just Peace). I'm very young myself, so this was far before my time, and I was... captivated. It's one thing to read of concepts like vietnamization in a textbook, quite another to see them passionately debated. In Kerry I saw a person who was sincere, articulate, morally anti-war, and yes, passionate.

"[W]e are killing more Americans needlessly. If in fact we have stated that we do have a date certain, even if it hasn't been put out in front of the people, then some American is going to be killed and is going to be the last guy to die for an admitted mistake. Now, I don't think that's right.
[...]
[The Pentagon Papers] are a terribly, terribly important aspect of what has happened because they do show -- well, they show a great many things and they are partially incomplete, but they certainly show the duplicity and the deceit which has been involved in building up this war because clearly there was a peace candidate who ran in 1964 who was not a peace candidate, and clearly we had -- we were committing aggressive acts against -- covert warfare against Laos and against North Vietnam prior -- without telling the American people. We've been bombing Laos now for seven years, and only this year the American people were told, and I think that this typifies a great deal of the most recent approach of the American government to the people, that they've shown a kind of disdain for the ability of the American people to determine for themselves the difference between right and wrong, and I think clearly that when it comes to a question of sending men off to fight and to die, the people of this country have the ability to make that decision for themselves."

I really hope some of you will go look at the streaming video or at least read the transcript. As I watched this, I realized that if Kerry is still the same man he was 33 years ago, then he's a man who knows the cost of war, and a man who shares my core values.

A campaign season later, I just don't get how people can be unable to choose between the candidates (though actually, the undecideds are currently only what, 3%?). These guys are fundamentally different people. This is from the second debate:

FOWLER: President Bush, 45 days after 9/11, Congress passed the Patriot Act, which takes away checks on law enforcement and weakens American citizens' rights and freedoms, especially Fourth Amendment rights.

With expansions to the Patriot Act and Patriot Act II, my question to you is, why are my rights being watered down and my citizens' around me? And what are the specific justifications for these reforms?

BUSH: I appreciate that.

I really don't think your rights are being watered down. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't support it if I thought that.

Every action being taken against terrorists requires court order, requires scrutiny.

As a matter of fact, the tools now given to the terrorist fighters are the same tools that we've been using against drug dealers and white-collar criminals.

So I really don't think so. I hope you don't think that. [He was smiling here.] I mean, I -- because I think whoever is the president must guard your liberties, must not erode your rights in America.

To me, this is the most disturbing thing Bush has ever said, the one that keeps coming back to my mind. Maybe it doesn't quite come across in the text, but... he answered as though he just didn't accept the premise of the question. I hope you don't think that. Far from addressing the man's concerns, from where I was sitting he practically laughed them off.

DEGENHART: Senator Kerry, suppose you are speaking with a voter who believed abortion is murder and the voter asked for reassurance that his or her tax dollars would not go to support abortion, what would you say to that person?

KERRY: I would say to that person exactly what I will say to you right now.

First of all, I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins. I'm a Catholic, raised a Catholic. I was an altar boy. Religion has been a huge part of my life. It helped lead me through a war, leads me today.

But I can't take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it for someone who doesn't share that article of faith, whether they be agnostic, atheist, Jew, Protestant, whatever. I can't do that.

But I can counsel people. I can talk reasonably about life and about responsibility. I can talk to people, as my wife Teresa does, about making other choices, and about abstinence, and about all these other things that we ought to do as a responsible society.

But as a president, I have to represent all the people in the nation.

Don't jump down my throat, guys, but I'm pro-life. Yet, I still respected this answer because it addressed the concern, showed thought and consideration and seriousness, willingness to listen.

This is the fundamental difference, for me. Bush thinks that in refusing to acknowledge the possibility of error or dissent, he's showing strength. To me, that isn't strength, but dangerous rigidity. Some people see Kerry as a weak equivocator, but I see him as a person who knows that things aren't simple, and that it isn't weakness to change your mind when there's new information or to speak to the concerns of people who disagree with you. He's someone I'd vote for even if the opponent were not George Bush.

Okay, one more. This is from Kerry's Rolling Stone interview. Perhaps not the paragon of serious news, but it struck me.

What do you think of the color-coded terror alerts the Department of Homeland Security issues?

I think Americans, sadly, laugh at it.
[...]
Bush says, "They hate our freedoms and resent our democracy." Do you think their motives are so simple?

I think it's more complicated than that. There is a lot about us they don't like, but they believe that these moderate regimes in the Middle East have sold out. They are attacking the Saudi royal family, as they are attacking Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan, because those leaders deal with the West and have a sense of engagement in the world.

There is also power involved. They're preaching a very different kind of power -- through the madrasas and otherwise -- to populations that are impoverished and uneducated, and disenfranchised in their countries. And they're offering them someone to hate.

Guys: He gets it. He gets the way we feel about the chain-yanking security alerts, he gets that world issues aren't simple enough to be summed up in a sound bite.

Boy, I really tried not to make this sound like political rhetoric, but it's damned hard!

For any stragglers, here is a picture of John Kerry hugging a teddy bear.

Now back to your regularly scheduled fandoming.

Comments

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Hear hear! Thank you so much for posting this.

And I have voted for Kerry and dropped my ballot in the drop-off box.

[pauraque]

High five! *g*

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

This is the thing:

He is articulate, thoughtful and measures what he says. He sees the whole picture, but does not forget the details. He is honorable, and seems to have a keen sense of what justice is. And it seems that he understands grace and humility, and that having both does not make you weak.

I, too would have prefered Howard Dean. But Dean is young, and he can run again, if he chooses. I do not regret my vote for Kerry ( we have paper ballots here) not one bit.

[meridym.livejournal.com]

But Dean is young, and he can run again, if he chooses.

You do know that Howard Dean will be 56 in about a week, and that Kerry is 60, right? ; )

[malograntum.livejournal.com]

Don't jump down my throat, guys, but I'm pro-life. Yet, I still respected this answer because it addressed the concern, showed thought and consideration and seriousness, willingness to listen.

And from where I was sitting, at least, you could watch the questioner's face through Kerry's answer and Bush's disingenuous, condescending rebuttal and see her vote slowly but surely go to Kerry, and it didn't seem like an easy thing, either. She looked like she was near tears when they cut back to her at the end.

Thank you for reminding me why I woke up at 7 AM to print out canvassing lists before going to a rally and coordinating out-of-state volunteers at 9 AM to spend three and a half hours with them knocking on doors, am about to spend four more on the phones, and will be waking up at 5:15 AM on Tuesday to make phone calls until 8 PM.

8 PM is when the drinking starts. Regardless of outcome oh my freaking god.

[pauraque]

Anything I can do. Give 'em hell.

[meridym.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much for sharing this. I agree with you on just about every point. I remember seeing the Cavett debate live when it happened. I also protested the Vietnam War and knew many members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, so I was aware of Kerry and what he could bring to the table. So I never questioned his ability to be an excellent President, or wondered if he had the passion to make a fight of it. That 27-year-old who argued with such passion and moral force in 1971 is still alive and well in today's John Kerry.

[pauraque]

I agree. It's sad to me that he's felt like he's had to downplay his activism, when that's really the thing that's special about him. I admire his bravery while serving in Vietnam, but that's only half the story. There's an implicit moral struggle there... volunteering to do a difficult thing he was led to believe was right, doing it with honor, and then having the horrible realization that he -- we -- had been led astray. And then being willing to stand up and say so, in the face of vicious personal attacks... wow. I couldn't have done it. I know I couldn't have.

[meridym.livejournal.com]

And then being willing to stand up and say so, in the face of
vicious personal attacks...

And how sad that, 30-some years later, the same people are still mounting the vicious personal attacks, in the pocket of the GOP yet again.

[pauraque]

I know. That 1971 debate was the first I'd seen of John O'Neill, and recently I saw him on Pat Buchanan's show, talking up his anti-Kerry book. I didn't realize it was him at first, and then I was like... no. Is it? Can it be?

It's sort of fascinating, really. I can't imagine having a vendetta against someone (even if you are put up to it by a party) for 35 years.

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

I came here through maidenjedi's journal, because I very easily could have written your response to her post about why she's supporting Bush. That comment and this post are exactly how I feel about this election. I sent out a letter to some friends and family earlier this week that covered many of the same points.

So, I guess that's all a big long-winded way of saying, "me too!" :)

[pauraque]

Hiya. I've seen you around MJ's journal, and I think kristenk2's as well. Nice to meet someone like-minded; it often seems that my combination of beliefs is pretty rare. Where's the candidate for us, I ask ya?

[eponis.livejournal.com]

This is perfect - I haven't seen the 1971 interview yet (though I've seen stills and clips, of course), and I'll try to make time to read it fully. But in any case, I agree completely.

Just one thing to add on: as you may remember, I'm working now with Clean Water Action, a nonpartisan environmental group. We don't normally endorse presidential candidates - we didn't, for example, endorse either Clinton or Gore - because we're not just looking for the lesser of two evils, we're looking for folks who will genuinely fight for a cleaner environment. We've endorsed Kerry this year, though, because he has a 92% positive environmental record during his time in office; that's one of the highest of any member of Congress, and it's higher than any other presidential candidate, ever. There are lots of reasons to vote for Kerry, not just against Bush; I thought I'd add one more.

[pauraque]

Thanks, love. :*

I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[bowdlerized.livejournal.com]

Right on. *smooches you and pinches your cute little cheeks*

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

So I'll just smooch your ICON!

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[bowdlerized.livejournal.com]

puppet!Kerry will only smooch you back if you promise to turn Colorado bright blue for him on Tuesday. In contrast, I am available for smooching any time.

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[pauraque]

Hey, when I most recently gave to the DNC, they said they were raising money for Colorado. So you'd best put that cash to good use! ;D

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[malograntum.livejournal.com]

Icon love. Avenue Q love. Made my day.

(George Bush is only for now!)

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[bowdlerized.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) And yes, imagine what a response that line will get in the theatre later this week if Kerry wins! ...not that I want to count my chickens before they've hatched.

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[malograntum.livejournal.com]

By the way, perhaps you will enjoy this. (http://www.livejournal.com/users/malograntum/6773.html)

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[priscellie.livejournal.com]

I just saw Avenue Q last weekend. How did I miss the Bush and Kerry puppets?

And if I promise to turn Pennsylvania blue, can I have a puppet!Kerry smooch, too?

Re: I've given up on trying to say something intelligent in response. So:

[bowdlerized.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, you didn't miss them--they're from the mock debates that Avenue Q held.

*smooch* Remember, puppet!Kerry is counting on you! ;)

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

And suddenly, I wish I were American, so I could vote for Kerry. I really admire his response on the abortion question. I've lobbied Australian politicians for better laws around abortion -- I know women whose lives were ruined by legal abortions performed by doctors more interested in making a buck than caring for their patients. And no politician I've ever dealt with has provided such a thoughtful answer. Most either refuse to discuss it ("As a man/agnostic/Christian, I don't feel qualified to talk about this...") or immediately assume I'm a fundamentalist.

Kerry actually made sense, and it sounds like it comes from a position of conscience. I like that.

On the other hand, Australian newspapers were commenting yesterday on the fact that, for the second time, the "greatest democracy in the world" is facing uncertainty about the validity of its election results. So ... maybe I'll just stay here.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

I sincerely hope a lot of Americans feel the same way. It is quite frightening at times to see what goes on across the Atlantic and to have absolutely no control over it whatsoever.
Whatever we like to think of our own leaders, it is undeniable that we are very closely linked politically to the USA and your choice of leader matters as much to us and to the rest of the world as it does to you - and you have the opportunity to do something about it.
From the little I have learned Kerry sounds a good man and the teddy bear hugging in iteself would get my vote any day!!

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

We've all heard of Lieutenant Calley. He's accused of the murder of 102 civilians in Son Mai Lai, and the operations – and the law will operate in his case.

This man has attempted the murder of the reputations of two and a half million of us, including the 55,000 dead in Vietnam, and he will never be brought to justice.

That's interesting...um...rhetoric. O_o

Anyway, much <3 to you and all the other Americans struggling through this madness! :(

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

I'm voting for Kerry in honor of M*, a National Guard medic, who is packing up for two years for Saudia Arabia, leaving his wife (a co-worker) and their infant daughter. He's not even being called up for his qualifications or skills, just one of 600 being shuffled off to the next square hole. It's truly disheartening, frightening and sad.

[pauraque]

It is. I'll spare a good thought for him.