American citizen and Vietnam Vet Cedric Brown is concerned that the apparent Democrat Presidential nominee John Kerry has been trying to undermine America's attempt to convince other countries to join them in the war on terror. Brown said "he would rather find out Kerry was lying than that the senator had spoken to foreign leaders while Bush was trying to garner support for the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq. That would have been ''traitorous,''"
From The Morning Call
Question puts Bethlehem man in spotlight
Republican asked Kerry to back claims of foreign support.
By Daryl Nerl
Of The Morning Call
March 16, 2004
Democratic Party, meet your skunk.
Cedric Brown is a 52-year-old Army veteran from Bethlehem who says he graduated in the same West Point class as Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command.
He owns a two-employee business, Pathfinder Sign Systems, that makes signs for office buildings, most of them in Braille.
Brown is a registered Republican who says he voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976. He claims he never attended a political event in his life before Sunday, when he went nose-to-nose with U.S. Sen. John Kerry during a town hall meeting at Northampton Community College.
He said he went just to ask the apparent Democratic presidential nominee one question — the same question that in the last two days has tumbled from the lips of Secretary of State Colin Powell and Vice President Dick Cheney.
That question is now raising a stink that is wafting from coast to coast and has made Brown a media darling of the right — at least for the next 15 minutes. But Brown insists he was no GOP plant.
The question: Which foreign leaders are backing Kerry's bid to become president?
According to The Washington Post, Kerry told reporters at a fund-raiser a week ago in South Florida: ''I've met with 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.''
Powell challenged Kerry to list names in an appearance on ''Fox News Sunday.'' On Monday, Cheney told The Associated Press that Americans deserve to know what Kerry has been telling foreign leaders ''that makes them so supportive of his candidacy.''
White House spokesman Scott McClellan on three occasions Monday accused Kerry of ''making it up,'' according to AP.
Brown said he was inclined to draw the same conclusion from his confrontation with Kerry. In fact, Brown said he would rather find out Kerry was lying than that the senator had spoken to foreign leaders while Bush was trying to garner support for the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq. That would have been ''traitorous,'' Brown said.
He said he still remembers when he was spit on and berated for wearing an Army uniform as the Vietnam War — which he did not fight in — drew to a close. He said Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who protested the war after his tour ended, bears some of the blame for the treatment many troops endured at home.
''As the president, he would become an Iraq war protester and cause today's soldiers to be treated poorly,'' said Brown, who has a son planning to enter the military. ''I wouldn't want him — or anyone — to be treated the same way as I was treated.''
Brown was thoughtful during a telephone interview Monday, saying that the sudden attention was ''stressful'' for his family. His name appeared in The New York Times and Washington Post. Rush Limbaugh talked about him during his radio show. He was inundated with interview requests.
Today, Brown is scheduled to appear on the Fox News Channel's morning show ''Fox & Friends'' and the evening program ''Hannity & Colmes.''
He expressed some regret for shouting at Kerry, though he was not offered a microphone like others who got to question the candidate.
After telling Kerry he was ''proud of him'' for his service during Vietnam, Brown asked Kerry if was ''conspiring with foreign leaders to overthrow'' Bush. He asked him which countries' leaders he conversed with, naming North Korea as an example.
''I am talking about our allies,'' said Kerry, who declined to give specifics.
''Who are you talking to?'' Brown persisted. ''I want an answer.''
Some in the mostly partisan Democratic crowd began to shout Brown down. ''Tell him to sit down,'' one man yelled. But Kerry held off the crowd and continued the conversation, which lasted more than five minutes. ''He has a right to speak,'' Kerry said. ''This is what democracy is all about.''
Kerry said he did not want to betray confidences of foreign dignitaries who have to maintain a relationship with the current administration.
''Senator, you are making yourself look like a liar,'' Brown said.
Kerry then asked Brown if he was a registered Republican and if he voted for Bush. The answer to both questions was yes.
''Democracy works both ways,'' said Kerry, as he walked away.
''It's clear he was there to make a point, and he was intent on disrupting the town hall,'' Kerry spokeswoman Kathy Roeder said of Brown. ''I think Kerry treated him very fairly.''
Roeder said the campaign had not looked into whether Brown was a plant from the Bush campaign. ''The only people talking about it are Republican political operatives,'' he said.
daryl.nerl@mcall.com
610-820-6581
mcall.com
When confronted at a town hall meeting regarding his remarks that he had talked to foreign leaders and claimed they are supporting his candidacy, John Kerry told by Mr. Brown it is none of his business.
The town meeting was contentious at times, with 52-year-old Cedric Brown, who owns a sign-making business, repeatedly pressing the candidate to name the foreign leaders whom Kerry has said are backing his campaign.
"I'm not going to betray a private conversation with anybody," Kerry said. As the crowd of several hundred people began to mutter and boo, Kerry said, "That's none of your business."
newsday.com
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