An Open Letter to John Kerry

[MAX 300]

Please, Please, please stop running on your Vietnam record senator Kerry. Because every time anyone mentions that you went to Vietnam the American people, who unfortunately are still allowed to vote, remember that our current puppet, ehhh - commander in chief, is a draft dodging pussy who never had the balls to go to a warzone, but who has no problem sending our young men and women into combat.

 

[bluepeter]

This whole thing is just a fucking joke. Nothing worse than seeing the 2 potential leaders of your country slugging it out in dirty politics. Discuss the fucking issues already.

That said, John Kerry may be a shitty President but that would still put him light years ahead of one George W. Bush.

 

[Y_lifter]

That said, John Kerry may be a shitty President but that would still put him light years ahead of one George W. Bush.

How so ?

 

[MAX 300]

Homer Simpson would make a better president than Dubya.

 

[bluepeter]

How so ?

I've argued ceaselessly on here about what a complete and utter failure I think Bush is and how dangerous he is. Frankly, I'm tired of stating what to me is obvious.

That's not a shot at you dude, I have complete respect for your opinion as you are not just the typical American political hardass that can't see both sides of the coin...............I really am just tired of it.

I'll fire off a few quick comments just for the hell of it............

His economic policies suck.
He has created the largest debt in American history.
He appears to think he is God's messenger.
This ties into the previous point but no matter what he says publicly, his actions belie an anti-muslim agenda which I find offensive.
Iraq has been bungled beyond belief.
etc. etc. etc.

 

[Y_lifter]

I'll fire off a few quick comments just for the hell of it............

His economic policies suck.
He has created the largest debt in American history.
He appears to think he is God's messenger.
This ties into the previous point but no matter what he says publicly, his actions belie an anti-muslim agenda which I find offensive.
Iraq has been bungled beyond belief.
etc. etc. etc.

Just checkin if you've thought it thru, and obviously you have for your mindset agenda or the way you see the world....

Mine is that these same bullet points have been experienced in some flavor or fashion throughout US history and all was OK for the most part..

I also subscribe to the moral taint of his policies, which seems to be the one difference among many, outside of the historical event/debt cycles I mentioned..

I see no MAJOR non cyclical agendas that I can say would be a reason for me to "toss the bum out".. as it were.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

I'll fire off a few quick comments just for the hell of it............

His economic policies suck.
He has created the largest debt in American history.
He appears to think he is God's messenger.
This ties into the previous point but no matter what he says publicly, his actions belie an anti-muslim agenda which I find offensive.
Iraq has been bungled beyond belief.
etc. etc. etc.

This is good post in the sense that it discusses real issues; Kerry has said nothing as specific as this, and while I disagree (and will respond in a second), I would love to see dialogue such as this take hold in our campaign.

"Economic policies suck" is a little vague.

The largest debt in US history is true, however, Bush's economic policies assume that if GDP outgrows debt, then eventually there will be a time where the entire thing is paid off. One could argue that Bush and Co are living like an "interest only" homebuyer, beyond their means, but hoping that the value of the house outgrows the principal of the mortgage. In theory, the value of the house (the US GDP) is growing, so increasing the debt is not intrinsically bad. nor is it by definition a bad policy.

More careful scrutiny of this policy would doubtless have to include an analysis of where the money goes and the cost of the debt. The cost of the debt is staggering, however, over half of the annual budget goes to Social Security and Medicare. 90% goes to those 2 plus other entitlement programs. Maybe there is a problem there, but ultimately you get to the partisan (interest group fueled) impasse that effectively blocks reform. This is why Kerry has nothing of substance to say. Back to Square One.

I don't think Bush feels like he is God's messenger. His faith appears quite strong, I am not a religious person so I have doubts when people are, but Bush's actions do not seem to reflect a "divine right of Presidents" to act. The entire charge of thinking he is God's messenger is so ambiguous and amorphous that it can't really be attacked or defended.

Anti-Muslim is a tough one, especially given the US's history of fighting wars to protect Muslims. (Gulf war 1, Kosovo, Somalia to an extent). Bush has removed the greatest killer of Muslims since the Crusades (Saddam), so it is pretty hard to look at him and say "anti Muslim", when the plight of many Muslims has been improved.

Iraq has been bungled? Well, I would agree that we bungled it in 1991. The real bungling was the bipartisan nonsense that led to a dozen years of UN inspections and resolutions, without any hope of enforcing them.

Clearly Middle East is better off without Saddam. There should be some impact in Iran if Iraq can emerge from the current difficulties, as well as perhaps in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East is largely a collection of oil kingdoms with zero infrastructure. Hoiw can a country like Saudi Arabia, as rich as they are, have 30% unemployment? A transformation of these nations from dictatorial to free / democratic will never be without bloodshed; when power and wealth is so concentrated, there is always violence. To expect a bloodless or flawless fix is unrealistic.

The only bungling that happened in Iraq is 12 years of ignoring the situation.


Now....you and I may disagree, and I would like to hear your responses to the above if you feel up to it. However, what I would REALLY like, is to hear the above at a Presidential debate.

 

[Y_lifter]

This is good post in the sense that it discusses real issues; Kerry has said nothing as specific as this, and while I disagree (and will respond in a second), I would love to see dialogue such as this take hold in our campaign.

"Economic policies suck" is a little vague.

The largest debt in US history is true, however, Bush's economic policies assume that if GDP outgrows debt, then eventually there will be a time where the entire thing is paid off. One could argue that Bush and Co are living like an "interest only" homebuyer, beyond their means, but hoping that the value of the house outgrows the principal of the mortgage. In theory, the value of the house (the US GDP) is growing, so increasing the debt is not intrinsically bad. nor is it by definition a bad policy.

More careful scrutiny of this policy would doubtless have to include an analysis of where the money goes and the cost of the debt. The cost of the debt is staggering, however, over half of the annual budget goes to Social Security and Medicare. 90% goes to those 2 plus other entitlement programs. Maybe there is a problem there, but ultimately you get to the partisan (interest group fueled) impasse that effectively blocks reform. This is why Kerry has nothing of substance to say. Back to Square One.

I don't think Bush feels like he is God's messenger. His faith appears quite strong, I am not a religious person so I have doubts when people are, but Bush's actions do not seem to reflect a "divine right of Presidents" to act. The entire charge of thinking he is God's messenger is so ambiguous and amorphous that it can't really be attacked or defended.

Anti-Muslim is a tough one, especially given the US's history of fighting wars to protect Muslims. (Gulf war 1, Kosovo, Somalia to an extent). Bush has removed the greatest killer of Muslims since the Crusades (Saddam), so it is pretty hard to look at him and say "anti Muslim", when the plight of many Muslims has been improved.

Iraq has been bungled? Well, I would agree that we bungled it in 1991. The real bungling was the bipartisan nonsense that led to a dozen years of UN inspections and resolutions, without any hope of enforcing them.

Clearly Middle East is better off without Saddam. There should be some impact in Iran if Iraq can emerge from the current difficulties, as well as perhaps in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East is largely a collection of oil kingdoms with zero infrastructure. Hoiw can a country like Saudi Arabia, as rich as they are, have 30% unemployment? A transformation of these nations from dictatorial to free / democratic will never be without bloodshed; when power and wealth is so concentrated, there is always violence. To expect a bloodless or flawless fix is unrealistic.

The only bungling that happened in Iraq is 12 years of ignoring the situation.


Now....you and I may disagree, and I would like to hear your responses to the above if you feel up to it. However, what I would REALLY like, is to hear the above at a Presidential debate.

BEST POLITICAL ISSUES POST EVER regardless DEM OR GOP.... thank you Matt for bringing us into the light

 

[Code]

This ties into the previous point but no matter what he says publicly, his actions belie an anti-muslim agenda which I find offensive.

Elaborate please. What legislation has he presented or approved that is specifically anti-muslim? What statements has he made that define him as taking an anti-muslim stance?

 

[bluepeter]

This is good post in the sense that it discusses real issues; Kerry has said nothing as specific as this, and while I disagree (and will respond in a second), I would love to see dialogue such as this take hold in our campaign.

"Economic policies suck" is a little vague.

The largest debt in US history is true, however, Bush's economic policies assume that if GDP outgrows debt, then eventually there will be a time where the entire thing is paid off. One could argue that Bush and Co are living like an "interest only" homebuyer, beyond their means, but hoping that the value of the house outgrows the principal of the mortgage. In theory, the value of the house (the US GDP) is growing, so increasing the debt is not intrinsically bad. nor is it by definition a bad policy.

More careful scrutiny of this policy would doubtless have to include an analysis of where the money goes and the cost of the debt. The cost of the debt is staggering, however, over half of the annual budget goes to Social Security and Medicare. 90% goes to those 2 plus other entitlement programs. Maybe there is a problem there, but ultimately you get to the partisan (interest group fueled) impasse that effectively blocks reform. This is why Kerry has nothing of substance to say. Back to Square One.

I don't think Bush feels like he is God's messenger. His faith appears quite strong, I am not a religious person so I have doubts when people are, but Bush's actions do not seem to reflect a "divine right of Presidents" to act. The entire charge of thinking he is God's messenger is so ambiguous and amorphous that it can't really be attacked or defended.

Anti-Muslim is a tough one, especially given the US's history of fighting wars to protect Muslims. (Gulf war 1, Kosovo, Somalia to an extent). Bush has removed the greatest killer of Muslims since the Crusades (Saddam), so it is pretty hard to look at him and say "anti Muslim", when the plight of many Muslims has been improved.

Iraq has been bungled? Well, I would agree that we bungled it in 1991. The real bungling was the bipartisan nonsense that led to a dozen years of UN inspections and resolutions, without any hope of enforcing them.

Clearly Middle East is better off without Saddam. There should be some impact in Iran if Iraq can emerge from the current difficulties, as well as perhaps in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East is largely a collection of oil kingdoms with zero infrastructure. Hoiw can a country like Saudi Arabia, as rich as they are, have 30% unemployment? A transformation of these nations from dictatorial to free / democratic will never be without bloodshed; when power and wealth is so concentrated, there is always violence. To expect a bloodless or flawless fix is unrealistic.

The only bungling that happened in Iraq is 12 years of ignoring the situation.


Now....you and I may disagree, and I would like to hear your responses to the above if you feel up to it. However, what I would REALLY like, is to hear the above at a Presidential debate.

Great post Matt, I'll try and post something in response tomorrow........