Flip-Flops May Haunt Kerry Candidacy
In the stump speech he delivers virtually every day, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) stirs the Democratic faithful by railing against current trade practices and slamming President Bush’s policies on education, civil liberties and Iraq
But the Democratic front-runner does not mention how he, as senator, supported the president on all four issues, helping cement in law what he often describes as flawed government policies. Kerry’s past support for policies he now condemns is complicating his run for the White House, strategists from both parties say, and could prove problematic in a general election showdown with Bush
Strategists suggest that as a born-again protectionist, Kerry will face charges of being wishy-washy. Last week, speaking to the AFL-CIO, Kerry blasted the administration’s support of free trade agreements. “Yet in the Senate, Kerry voted for a Bush trade agreement with Chile and Singapore that some Democrats complained did not mandate tough enough labor and environment standards,” reports the Washington Post.
“In the stump speech he delivers virtually every day, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) stirs the Democratic faithful by railing against current trade practices and slamming President Bush’s policies on education, civil liberties and Iraq,” reports the Washington Post. “But the Democratic front-runner does not mention how he, as senator, supported the president on all four issues, helping cement in law what he often describes as flawed government policies. Kerry’s past support for policies he now condemns is complicating his run for the White House, strategists from both parties say, and could prove problematic in a general election showdown with Bush.”
Strategists suggest that as a born-again protectionist, Kerry will face charges of being wishy-washy. Last week, speaking to the AFL-CIO, Kerry blasted the administration’s support of free trade agreements. “Yet in the Senate, Kerry voted for a Bush trade agreement with Chile and Singapore that some Democrats complained did not mandate tough enough labor and environment standards,” reports the Post.
“Kerry also voted twice to provide Bush greater authority to negotiate trade agreements by granting "fast track" power, which requires a straight up-or-down vote from Congress and precludes the House and Senate from amending the trade pacts… He has also been critical of the trade imbalance with China, the largest exporter to the United States, though he voted to expand the country’s trading rights in 2000…”
Kerry must clearly explain his positions “before the public perceives him as a flip-flopper,” says Al Gore’s 2000 Chairman, Tony Coelho. Otherwise, Bush “will tag him.”
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