As I have said before, I have many problems with John Kerry’s policies (or lack of) on issues. In Smax-like fashion, here are a few that I found as composed by the League of Women Voters. It was a link on the C-SPAN website. The debates should be interesting. I can't wait to see if he will provide any real answers or just keep on talking around the issues. As complicated as Iraq seems, there are really only three basic options: (1) we can continue to do this largely by ourselves and hope more of the same works; (2) we can conclude it's not doable, pull out and hope against hope that the worst doesn't happen in Iraq; or (3) we can get the Iraqi people and the world's major powers invested with us in building Iraq's future. This Administration has made countless mistakes that have complicated our mission and jeopardized our objective of a stable, free Iraq with a representative government, secure in its borders. We may have differences about how we went into Iraq, but we do not have the choice just to pick up and leave--and leave behind a failed state and a new haven for terrorists. He still hasn’t said how he will win foreign support or how he knows he will. To all those supporting Kerry because you think he will get us out of Iraq, there you have it. That is, if you believe the words of your candidate. CUT-OFF TERRORIST FINANCING: Kerry will impose financial sanctions against nations or banks that fail to cooperate in the effort to control money laundering, and launch a "name and shame" campaign against individuals, banks and foreign governments that are financing terror. That’s it, shame these people into backing down on supporting terrorism. That should be really effective. A politically correct, pacifist method of fighting terrorism. BUILD BRIDGES TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD: A Kerry Administration would fight to expand our diplomatic presence with a particular focus on the Islamic world. Kerry's plan would promote dialogue and understanding by appointing a Presidential Envoy to the Islamic World, assist civil society groups and governments that aid democracy, public participation and free expression, promote cultural understanding and support the creation of opportunity for youth in the Arab and Islamic world. I agree. If we could get these Arab youth’s minds off going to terrorist training camps and hating America, we could stop all of this. Maybe Kerry will get them involved in Boy Scouts and midnight basketball to keep them busy. Lifting the Ban on Gays in the Military John Kerry opposed the Clinton Administration's "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy" He was one of a few senators to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee and call on the President to rescind the ban on gay and lesbian service members. I wondered how he would increase the military by 40,000. Maybe this is it. This is something that caused division and resentment in our military when it first came to light. With a war on terror underway, this isn’t the time for this argument. But hey, anything to win a few votes, right? John Kerry believes that women have the right to control their own bodies, their own lives, and their own destinies. He believes that the Constitution protects their right to choose and to make their own decisions in consultation with their doctor, their conscience, and their God. He will defend this right as President. He recently announced he will support only pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court. Kerry also believes that we should promote family planning and health plans should assure women contraceptive coverage. “Only pro-choice judges” is another way of saying liberals. Regardless of your feelings on this particular issue, history shows that liberal judges are more interested in re-writing the Constitution rather than upholding it. These judges will allow the ACLU free reign over America. John Kerry believes that America needs immigration policies that are fair and safe. The United States is a diverse nation built by people from all parts of the world who are here because they believe in freedom, democracy, and justice. Immigration is central to our nation's history, as almost all of us are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. At the same time, John Kerry believes the federal government must secure our borders so that terrorists do not use our immigration system as a means to enter the country and do us harm. In other words, he has no idea what he will do on this issue.
I've mentioned this before, in another thread, but if you want to read up about Kerry's agenda go to Our Plan For America Here is what I gleaned from reading it: Kerry claims that his leadership will reflect that of Wilson, FDR, Truman, and Kennedy "Our overriding goals are to protect our people and our way of life; and to help build a safer, more peaceful, more prosperous, more democratic world." They claim the way to do this can be found in 4 different steps: 1. to win the global war against terror, 2. to stop the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, 3. to promote democracy, freedom, and opportunity around the world, starting by winning the peace in Iraq, and 4. end our dependence on Mideast oil. The way to go about this, according to them, is to: 1. use every available resource to get the terrorists before they can strike us (sounds a lot like Bush's pre-emption policy) 2. Modernize the military (yet Kerry voted against the money to fund the troops) 3. develop biofuels, and hydrogen-based energy (which i agree with 100%) on domestic issues they plan to: 1. end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas (agree with even though outsourcing does help developing countries) 2. reduce the corporate tax by 5% and cutting taxes for 99% of corporations 3. Cut taxes to the middle class and investing in health care and education. 4. They will provide tax credits, up to $4,000, for each of 4 years of college tuition (personally speaking my family is not wealthy, in fact you can probably call us poor yet they can afford to pay to have 2 kids in college and still have money to live on, so I don't buy the bull**** of people not being able to afford college tuition) 5. promise to balance the budget and cut the deficit in half (thank God, this is one thing that I am very ashamed of about President Bush) 6. Provide up to $1000 in relief for employers that offer it's employees quality health care. (Bush plan) 7. enroll every child into medicare 8. cut halth care by reducing administrative costs, waste, fraud, and abuse. 9. Fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act, and invest in afterschool programs (Yet another Bush plan) 10. Improve teacher development and provide higher pay 11. Will try to ensure that every young person graduates by holding schools accountable, offer more tutoring and mentoring, and will strengthen the high school curriculum so everyone can get a meaningful diploma (also sounds like a Bush plan) I encourage everyone to read "Our Plan For America" even if you aren't planning on voting for Senator Kerry, so you at least know what he plans on doing if he is elected, Heaven forbid.
