John Kerry's numerous flip-flops
Joseph Perkins
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
March 12, 2004
John Kerry has an Al Gore problem. Gore was exposed during the 2000 presidential election as a congenital fibber. Among other whoppers, he falsely claimed that his poor old arthritic mother-in-law had to pay three times as much for her prescription medicine, Lodine, as Gore himself paid for the very same prescription medicine for his poor old arthritic family dog.
Kerry is a congenital flip-flopper. There hardly is any statement the Massachusetts senator has made, any principle for which the Democratic Party standard-bearer supposedly has stood, that he hasn't repudiated or abandoned to suit his vainglorious political ends.
There are many examples of Kerry's duplicity. But here are a noteworthy few:
l In the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., Kerry went on the CBS Sunday morning news program, "Face the Nation," and pronounced that "the single most important weapon for the United States of America is intelligence."
Yet, in 1995, Kerry introduced a bill to slash the overall intelligence budget by $1.5 billion over five years.
Not even the Bay State senator's fellow Democrats were willing to co-sponsor his proposed intelligence cuts, especially in the wake of the 1993 terror attack on the World Trade Center Kerry chose to ignore.
l In a major foreign policy speech at Georgetown University back in January, Kerry declared, "I believe the Bush administration's blustering unilateralism is wrong, and even dangerous, for our country."
Yet, in 1997, Kerry wasn't nearly so critical of the Clinton administration as it prepared for unilateral military action against Iraq – despite objections from France and Russia, among others.
Appearing on CNN's "Crossfire," Kerry asked, "Where's the backbone of Russia? Where's the backbone of France? Where are they in expressing their condemnation of such clearly illegal activity (Saddam Hussein's material breach of United Nations resolutions)?"
Kerry didn't think it wrong or dangerous back then for the United States to go it alone if need be. "I think the United States has always reserved the right, and will reserve the right, to act in its best interests," Kerry declared.
l During recent campaign appearances, Kerry has denounced the Bush administration "for rewarding Benedict Arnold CEOs who move profits and jobs overseas."
Yet, as The Washington Post revealed last month, the Democrats' standard-bearer has accepted money and fund-raising assistance from top executives at companies that Kerry considers the moral equivalent of the Revolutionary War traitor.
Like David Roux, who raised more than $250,000 for Kerry. He's co-founder of a California company that helped purchase Seagate Technology four years ago and incorporated in the Cayman Islands, a well-known offshore tax haven.
Same goes for Thomas Steyer, who raised roughly $200,000 for Kerry. He is a partner at the California investment firm Hellman & Friedman that helped set up an insurance company in Bermuda, another offshore tax haven.
The Post notes that the insurance company, Arch Capital Group Ltd., stated in a 2000 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had set up in Bermuda to reduce its U.S. tax liability.
As to corporations that move jobs overseas, Kerry need look no further than H.J. Heinz & Co., whose majority shareholder happens to be Teresa Heinz Kerry, the senator's wife. The ketchup maker boasts some 79 factories, 57 of which are overseas.
l CBS News notes that on Kerry's Web site, he excoriates "right-wing ideologues" for promoting conservatives for federal judgeships, slams the "right-wing assault on the rights of women," and claims the president has "appeased his party's right wing" by skewing scientific decisions for political purposes.
Yet, Kerry took umbrage when National Journal, the respected, middle-of-the-road political weekly, recently reported that he had the Senate's "most liberal" voting record last year, based on votes he cast on matters relating to economic, social and foreign policy.
When Kerry was asked about his National Journal rating, the not-so-stand-up liberal responded, "Labels are so silly."
During his campaign for his party's presidential nomination, Kerry's rivals never really forced him to defend his inconsistent statements and votes.
But Kerry's free ride is over. Between now and November, the American people will learn just how duplicitous the Massachusetts senator truly is.
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