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2004-02-10 Home Front: Politix

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Posted by mhw 2004-02-10 9:03:45 AM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 The more of this stuff there is the more it will hurt Kerry with the center - not so much the Teheran Times, as the inevitable support from the Guardian and Independent, and from elements of the loony left at home - hopefully this will force Kerry to a "sister souljah" moment. Only in this moment in history not wrt to rap music, but wrt to the antiamerican and antisemitic elements in the world. It isnt enough to speak against Al qaeeda - that would have been like Clinton in 1992 critizing driveby shooters and giving rappers a pass. He has to attack the whole range of folks who incite and justify - he has to do it hard and wideranging enough to anger at least some of his base. This is one reason why its important that Dean fade early, since Kerry wont want to make a really hardhitting and wideranging statement till he has no challenge from the left.

Posted by liberalhawk 2004-2-10 9:12:42 AM|| 2004-2-10 9:12:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 LH
good analysis; one problem with Kerry is his instinct to pander, what if he has a sister souljah moment, say criticizing teachers groups that want the 'leave no child behind' money but don't want the standards - do you actually think Kerry wouldn't crumble after one call from the NEA?

Posted by mhw 2004-2-10 10:15:59 AM|| 2004-2-10 10:15:59 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Oh, this is NOT Scrappleface? My bad.

Posted by john 2004-2-10 10:16:40 AM|| 2004-2-10 10:16:40 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 You're wasting your time, LH, and setting yourself up for endless heartbreak, if you think John Kerry's going to be having any kind of "Sistah Souljah" moment with regard to the fight against Islamic extremism.

John Kerry- and the rest of the Democratic Party along with him- IS Sistah Souljah now.

Posted by Dave D. 2004-2-10 10:19:16 AM|| 2004-2-10 10:19:16 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 great relatoinship we have with the mullas. They hit and kill us throgh proxy and we do nothing. At least when a democratic prez in office. Well not totally true , we still had our people kidnapped under reagan - but it was a diff type of terrorism. When a dem prez is in office we dithering on our part and bombs from our enemies.
Still do not know how clinton did nothing wiht the first wtc bombing.

Reagan-Bush-Bush at least we have/had a response that did/does change behavoir towards us.

We will be hit if we did nothing, do nothing, attack balls out, or just pull out. We will still be attacked.

Posted by Dan 2004-2-10 10:32:34 AM|| 2004-2-10 10:32:34 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 You see Kerry plan from the beginning was to do NOTHING! He has done that as the Lt. Gov and Senator, why not be the 'Do Nothing' President! He voted for the War, but 'expected' Bush to do NOTHING. That is why Kerry is so popular in Europe and Muslims. They wan the U.S. to be omnipotent, until they 'really' need us. His rhetoric will be his downfall. Just look at how well âHowlingâ Howard Dean is doing! Same message, different messenger.

Posted by Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-2-10 10:45:09 AM|| 2004-2-10 10:45:09 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 I like that! It would make a good bumper sticker

Kerry For President
A man who does nothing- does nothing wrong!

Posted by B 2004-2-10 11:17:48 AM|| 2004-2-10 11:17:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 That is why Kerry is so popular in Europe and Muslims
I imagine that Vietnam,and North Korea sorta like his potential too.

Posted by GK 2004-2-10 11:20:55 AM|| 2004-2-10 11:20:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 for a bumper sticker based on Kerry's statement that he didn't think Bush would invade without a UN approval, "Vote for Kerry - He's easily fooled"

Posted by mhw 2004-2-10 11:21:33 AM|| 2004-2-10 11:21:33 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Dan, what people were kidnapped under Reagan?

People were killed, Marines 83, Leon Klinghoffer 85(?) the Greek hijacking incident 85 and others, but I don't remember kidnapping. The Iranian hostages were released as RR became pres.

Posted by Anonymous2U 2004-2-10 11:59:54 AM|| 2004-2-10 11:59:54 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Anonymous2U,

The thing that pissed me off about Reagan was when he ran from lebanon when the 241 marines were killed in that suicide bombing. It made us look like cowards and game confidence to our enemies...

Posted by Damn_Proud_American 2004-2-10 12:16:00 PM|| [http://brighterfuture.blogspot.com] 2004-2-10 12:16:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Anon2U: I believe it was Lt Col William Buckley that was kidnapped, and later tortured to death. Also kidnapped and killed, the man for which he was seeking the release of, Col William Higgins. There were others too...at the time of Buckley's operation there were believed to be other hostages held. Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong...it's been awhile.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2004-2-10 12:26:40 PM|| 2004-2-10 12:26:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Buckley was the CIA station cheif in lebanon, right? As I recall he was captured and tortured for years and we did nothing...

Posted by Damn_Proud_American 2004-2-10 12:31:36 PM|| [http://brighterfuture.blogspot.com] 2004-2-10 12:31:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 The other person that I can think of is Navy diver Bobby Stethem. (I'm not sure they kidnapped him, but they did kill him.)

For what looks like a pretty comprehensive list see:

http://www.usisrael.org/jsource/Terrorism/usvictims.html

Posted by Matt 2004-2-10 1:08:48 PM|| 2004-2-10 1:08:48 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 For what purpose would a candidate, who is not even the "official" candidate of his party in THIS country, want to appease and make campaign promises to enemy nations?

Like Clinton and Gore taking campaign contributions from foreign nations / powers, this is the equivalent of selling out your own nation, aka treason.

Posted by Unmutual 2004-2-10 1:12:01 PM|| 2004-2-10 1:12:01 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 nmutual

to be fair, Kerry did not write to the Tehran Times himself. A group of US citizens that may or may not be affiliated with Kerry wrote to the Tehran Times.

Kerry almost certainly did not make Iran a campaign promise since the mullahs don't have delegates (well, sympathizers maybe) at the Donk convention. If the Mullahs (or the French or the Belgians, etc.) want to donate to the Kerry campaign, they will have to do it indirectly through a American sympathizers (by the way, I'm willing to take the Mullah's money, I'll only keep a small retainer, like.. oh say 100%).

Posted by mhw 2004-2-10 2:14:56 PM|| 2004-2-10 2:14:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 "John Kerry- and the rest of the Democratic Party along with him- IS Sistah Souljah now."

I am the democratic party. So is Joe Lieberman. So are many other liberal hawks. The sistah souljahs in the US are in ANSWER and so forth. theyre largely far leftists who hate the Dem party. The deaniac wing of the dem party is analogous to those Jesse Jackson suporters who, while not being rappers, were insulted that Clinton singled out sister souljah.

MHW - i dont care that Kerry panders to special interests - so did Clinton, and so does George (steel tariff, sugar tariff, need i go on just look at some conservative critiques of him) Bush. All pols do that - if you cant deal with it its time to grow up. I AM concerned that he show testicular fortitude on the key issue of the time - which isnt firing incompetent teachers, or prescription drugs, or gay marriage, or the steel tariff, or the Bush deficits. Its the war against a new form of fascism, which extends way beyond AQ, and whose ideas have sympathy across the muslim world. The things that Kerry needs to say will insult a lot of the dem base - and im NOT talking about the AFT, or the NEA, or the trial lawyers, or the Steel Workers, or the enviros. are there conflicts between them and some strategies in the WOT - yeah sure, can you say Alaska oil - but there are for Repub interests as well - can you say gas tax? Im talking about the 10 to 20% (?) of the US electorate that does think that Israel is mainly responsible for the problems in the mideast, and that therefore muslim hatred for the US is justified, and that therefore we shouldnt think of this as a war for freedom, and that we shouldnt try to democratize iraq or anywhere else, etc, etc. You know the type. If Kerry cant "sister souljah" them hes gonna have trouble - not only with folks like me (and with Dem donors who share my concerns) but with a large swath of the center - Bush and company can and will go after him on this if doesnt do the right thing.

Posted by liberalhawk 2004-2-10 2:17:56 PM|| 2004-2-10 2:17:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 # 14 TWA flight 847 was hijacked on June 14, 1985, while it was en route from Athens to Rome. U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem, a passenger, was killed by Mohammad Ali Hamadei and thrown out the door to the tarmac. Hamadei was convicted by a German court in 1989.

Posted by GK 2004-2-10 2:40:04 PM|| 2004-2-10 2:40:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 GK, thanks, and it turns out there's a guided missile destroyer named after him:

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/rdstethe.htm

I remember being really pissed off at the time. And I still am.

Posted by Matt 2004-2-10 2:47:07 PM|| 2004-2-10 2:47:07 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 That TWA Athens/Rome/New York flight which was hijacked in 1985 was one of the regular flights in and out for military and family members arriving in and departing from Greece. There were several Navy divers, including Robert Stethem, returning from a TDY, as well as some Army Reservists who happened to be traveling on their passports, rather than their orders and military ID cards. After the hijacking and Stethem's murder, those of us stationed in Europe were very heavily encouraged to aquire passports for travel, never display anything identifying yourself as American or military, and in the event of a hijacking--- hide the military ID card! As far as I'm concerned the WOT has been going on for 25 years.

Posted by Sgt. Mom 2004-2-10 3:22:17 PM|| [www.sgtstryker.com] 2004-2-10 3:22:17 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 LH
You have given Kerry quite a challenge. He is on record as pandering to both Jewish groups and Arab groups (he condemns the fence but, with great nuance, does not say Israel must take it down or remove it).
If I were Kerry and I were planning to take LH's advice, I'd wait until it was too late for Nader or anyone credible to get on the ballot as a 3rd party candidate. Those 10-20% (your ??) of the electorate (or maybe its higher among the donks; do you think) whose core belief is Jew-hatred (sometime disguised as Israel hatred, sometimes not disguised) could ruin Kerry if he loses their vote to a 3rd party.

Posted by mhw 2004-2-10 4:18:19 PM|| 2004-2-10 4:18:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 Kerry's activities by themself are a reason for me to not vote for the bum and to spread to as many people as I can his dishonor to his country and his unform his acts against our country when he returned. But hey that's just me ,ole Conservative rebel Bill the Dataman Nam 67-68.

Posted by dataman1 2004-2-10 5:19:34 PM|| 2004-2-10 5:19:34 PM|| Front Page Top

#23 Let's hope Iran takes them up on it. I would really like to see this endorsement in the papers this fall.

Posted by Jackal 2004-2-10 8:10:54 PM|| [http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html] 2004-2-10 8:10:54 PM|| Front Page Top

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