Hi Folks! Please comment/correct and help me improve.
My Dad is retired Army (LTC), and a Vietnam Vet. I've got him squarely in the pro-Kerry camp, and he's asked me if I can help come up with some arguments to spread around his (mostly pro-Bush) Army buddies. I've prepared the following, targeting an audience of conservative and pro-military types.
There are 2 parts:
- Why Bush must go.
- Why Kerry must take the helm.
The conclusion:
After looking through the information below, and following the links, I think you'll find that given his lifelong career of fighting for our country, for our troops, against wars of choice, and against the entanglements of corporations, government, and terrorist groups,
John Kerry is the IDEAL man to lead our country RIGHT NOW - AND THERE IS NO ONE BETTER.
Better lines, links, logic, organizing?
Any comments (and especially corrections!) would be helpful! Thanks!
PS - In the preview, the later text was big, and I don't know why - how can I get it to look "normal"?
Part 1: "Why Bush must go."
Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change
The 26 high ranking diplomats representing EVERY administration since Truman on why Bush's policies have been making the U.S. less safe, and why these ordinarily non-partisan professionals had to put U.S. interests first and speak out. Make sure to check out their statement and signatory list.
"Bush by the Numbers"
For numbers, this recent article from the conservative newspaper in England, The Independent (The Guardian is their liberal one).
Part 2: "Why Kerry must take the helm"
- Even his detractors would trust Kerry as Commander-in-Chief.
- He has put forth an ambitious and visionary plan for leading the U.S.
- His whole life has shown how he puts the interests of America and Americans before his own political party and his own career.
(details below)
After looking through the information below, and following the links, I think you'll find that given his lifelong career of fighting for our country, for our troops, against wars of choice, and against the entanglements of corporations, government, and terrorist groups; Kerry is the IDEAL man to lead our country RIGHT NOW - AND THERE IS NO ONE BETTER.
1. Even his detractors would trust Kerry as Commander-in-Chief.
Examples: Joe Scarborough and Gen. Tommy Franks (both Bush endorsers).
Joe Scarborough (from his 7/26/2004 Hardball appearance)
JOE SCARBOROUGH: John Kerry turned the boat to shore in Vietnam toward enemy fire, shot at them, to save a crewmate. You know what, just being really blunt here? A lot of people probably don`t think Bill Clinton would have done that. Tonight, we`re getting a glimpse of John Kerry as a guy that would lay it on the line.
Now, I`ll tell you what. If somebody does that in their early 20s, they`re going to do that in the White House when it`s time to make tough decisions, not ideological decisions, but the type of decisions you make when the Twin Towers are falling, the type of decisions you make when presidents are paid the money that they`re paid to make those decisions.
That`s the John Kerry America needs to be introduced to, because I`ll guarantee you, watching the reverend talk about him, that moved me. That made me think, you know what? I would sleep well at night. Even though I disagree with this guy probably on 90 percent of the issues that he`d have out there, he`s a guy that I could trust as president.
GEN Tommy Franks says that Kerry is "absolutely" qualified to be Commander-in-Chief.
2. He has put forth an ambitious and visionary plan for leading the U.S.
Kerry has already published a detailed (263 pages worth) book specifying his plans for leading America. Several ideas are particularly exciting:
- (1) Fixing the Corporate Tax structure
Kerry won't raise taxes at all for 98% of American wage earners. He wants to fix the problem that although corporations disproportionately use the nation's infrastructure (ports, running 18-wheelers on interstates, etc.), their share of the nation's tax revenue has been steadily declining since post-WWII. (Data at
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/TaxFacts/TFDB/TFTemplate.cfm?Docid=205)
Off-shoring of jobs and taxes is a related issue. I mean, is Halliburton an American company, or a Bahamian company? If American, they need to pay their fair share of taxes. If Bahamian, then they have no business in sensitive or classified operations involving U.S. national security.
- (2) Independence from Middle East oil in 10 years
This is a no-brainer in its huge importance from economic, environmental, and national security perspectives. Investment in alternative energies, while buffering the transition using U.S. fossil fuels and oil from non-Mid-East sources is necessary for any long-term vision for America,
and to build the energy sources and jobs for the next century's economy.
- (3) Universal catastrophic health coverage.
These catastrophic events are what cause the biggest premium hikes for small businesses, and taxpayers (or the other insured) end up paying for the healthcare for the uninsured in the case of
catastrophic events (e.g., car crashes) where ER's cannot turn patients away (that's a good thing). By covering this aspect of insurance for all Americans, hospitals, business owners, and people win. (especially considering the health care provided to the uninsured has been shown to be of poorer quality.)
3. His whole life has shown how he puts the interests of America and Americans before his own political party and his own career.
Perhaps he has been planning on running for President since he was a kid. Still, after returning from Vietnam, he spoke out against
the war, when doing so was commonly viewed as suicide for any later political career. Why? Because it was the right thing to do, and someone had to do it.
In the Senate, he spent his time doing the unpopular but necessary investigations into corporate and government scandals, including BCCI and Iran-Contra.
- The BCCI story:
Kerry took down a financial giant, entrenched with drug cartels, Regan-Bush cronies, and even Osama Bin Laden. His experience prompted him to write his 1998 book "The New War," which detailed how wars in the the 21st century would not be conventional state-vs-state wars, but wars involving nation-spanning terrorist groups.
- The Iran-Contra story:
Kerry, a fresh, junior senator, took on a sitting administration. In the end, Reagan had to receive Presidential pardons from his former VP, George H.W. Bush, for his role in the scandal President George H.W. Bush handed out numerous Presidential pardons effectively sealing the cover-up.
These are not the actions of an LBJ-type jockeying for more influence and power in the Senate. These are the actions of someone dedicated to improving America, dedicated to limiting the excesses of power in our government, and willing to do so at the cost of his own career because it is the right thing to do, and someone needs to do it.
That someone has consistently been John Kerry.