No Oil For Pacifists has full, link filled coverage of John Kerry’s imaginary trip into the Heart of Darkness – otherwise know has his Christmas in Cambodia episode.
Hugh Hewitt follows that with a new report:
BREAKTHROUGH: On the Kerry-in-Cambodia story. Fox News led Special Report with a Carl Cameron story on the 1986 Kerry speech on the Senate floor. The Kerry campaign had first denied that Kerry ever placed himself in Cambodia, and then –after Carl read or showed them the Congressional Record in question– told him they’d get back to him.
They didn’t. Hmmm. Think there’s some serious spin-thinking going on with Senator Kerry tonight?In light of that information, perhaps it’s appropriate that the old Kerry DBunker (http://blog.johnkerry.com/dbunker) link now takes you to the Kerry Rapid Response Center. Looks like the Kerry team has turned the ball over and is playing defense now.
I’m positively giddy at the prospect of seeing how the Kerry camp spins the Christmas in Cambodia lie, so much so that I offer a first ever:
The key word in the official Kerry response will be: metaphor (as in “I was speaking metaphorically”)
Update: Glenn Reynolds offers as a possibility the Brownie defense, though I doubt Kerry would want to be linked with the likes of the Twinkie defense or the Chewbacca defense.
John Kerry was in Cambodia. It’s all a conspiracy. Didn’t you see Apocalypse Now? It was based on the life of John Kerry. He was an assassin and a war hero.
so basically hes another bill clinton. There is no such thing is fact, only what they tell you is true. What they deem you should think is true.
I think he should be called on it. But at the same time I am sad that our political system has reached this point.
Maybe he drank too much iced tea.
I understand what you mean, Dave Anderson. Before the Democratic primaries began, my fervent hope was that this presidential election, due to our being in the middle of fending off an extremely dangerous foreign enemy, with the world’s future being decided by American resolve, we would see, for the sake of the world situation, the Democrats turn back to fair play, since anything other than that would strengthen our enemy and weaken us. Campaigns can be hard-hitting without trashy behavior from a major party’s leaders demoralizing the nation. This choice was Kerry’s to make. But no, he couldn’t resist running yet another corrupt, dishonest campaign. So, yes, Dave, sadness is in order. But sadness is nothing compared to how you’ll feel a year or two into a Kerry & company presidency.
That is absolutely hillarious. You know one of the reasons I respect Kevin and the Commissar and a few other Conservative Bloggers is that they are not hypocrits. This campaign is dirty on both sides, and dont confuse my disgust with partisanship. If you read my Blog you will know that I am not a big Kerry fan, but for anyone to suggesst that Bush has not been playing dirty politics all the way back to the smear campaign against John McCain (One Republican I would proudly cast a vote for over the majority of the self serving scumbags in both parties), is not only ridiculous, it is disengenous.
Maybe I did get a little pompous there, Dave. Sorry. But if you assert that Kerry has had a tenth, or a hundredth, as much dirty propaganda dumped on him by dishonest people deliberately lying, as Bush has had to deal with, then you’ve taken flight from reality. This could be quantified, you know.
Thanks Buddy. To be honest, I have not been keeping a scorecard, but my original point was that I am sick of the whole thing. I would like to see both of the campaigns get down to what I care about… How they are going to solve my problems. I dont give a rats ass about the personal attacks going back and forth. It has gotten to the point where one has two choices:
1. Believe the lie of the moment based on Partisan preconceptions
2. Spend half your time investigating each partisan groups claims of scandal while never getting a chance to see anything substantial about what one will do different over the other to resolve the problems of our country.
To be honest, I think both candidates are disengenous scumbags who are cattering to special interest. My only decision is which of them caters more to my own needs and the vision I have for my country.
Funny comments on brownie vs the metaphor defense spin. The humor cycle in the blogosphere is also ahead of the dead tree & talking media, already blazing through factual discovery, analysis, commentary, and philosophical predictions. When the late night comedians pick it up, you know this story is Kerry’s political epitaph.
You guys have been writing this guys epitaph since before the primaries were over. I would wait a bit before I gloat. Do I need to post links to all the Intern stories running on Conservative Blogs earlier this year. Whatever the case, Kerry was a 20 somethin’ kid with a bunch of medals who was enjoying playing Rambo in the spotlight. What was Bush doing about the same time.
I keep waiting for just ONE conservative to agree with me that we need to start discussing issues. I am begining to get the impression that that is a discussion you guys dont want to have….
David, be fair. We’d be happy to discuss legitimate issues if Kerry would raise some.
LOL! McGehee, you are funny. You know what I am talking about. 😉
Hell, did ANY us prez deny US presence in Cambodia until Nixon in 1970? I don’t think so, and it seems a fairly easily verired matter. If any prez made such a statement at or near Christamd 1968, point for Kerry. If no such statment was even made at that time (and I think Nixon didn’t do it unitl 1970; Johnson never mentioned it, because it hadn’t happened), how could Kerry have been wrong about an event so “seared” in his memory? A mistake just is not possible given his many statements about his strong recollection of where he was, what he heard and what he felt at that very moment.
He has played
sensitive-scarred-warrior-with-a-consciemce for over 30 years, using it as a credential to buy credibility and immunity, and as a club to silence opponents on many issues. My God, is the man a virtual fraud?
I dunno, David, I for one have been giving Kerry a pass on much of what he has said about his service in Vietnam, but he just keeps bringing it up, so I’m encouraged to think more about it. And it ain’t comin’ up in Kerry’s favor.
He spent all of a whopping 4 months, 12 days in-country. The first month of that was in training (which appears to encompass the infamous Cambodian Christmas). The more I read about his Purple Hearts, and think critically about them, the worse I think about him. Very few Purple Heart recipients stayed in Vietnam after they received the cited injury, and Kerry was clearly not “too injured” to stay there even after his third one.
And here’s a key point relating to your penultimate statement, David. Bush has never pushed his ANG service as a qualification for being elected President. Kerry’s the one that keeps talking about Vietnam. Who’d be listening to the Swifties if Kerry had just shut up about it back in March and focused on the actual issues we should be considering for this election.
It’s not that it’s a discussion that I don’t want to have, I just think there’s a world of difference between serving and moving on, and serving and self-promotion over what’s looking to be less and less honorable. Especially in light of his post-service anti-war activities.
As a retired sailor (technically a Vietnam-era vet, but we were effectively out of the country before I signed up), I resent his early-70s aspersions against my band of brothers, especially in light of his emphasis on his “proud service” today.
And don’t even get me started on the medals (or were they ribbons, or were they even his?) issue. My medals are second only to the US flag in terms of respect.
I don’t think Senator Kerry understands the term “honor.” Admiral Mike Boorda understood honor, even if he took it to the extreme.
Not that I’m suggesting the good Senator should follow his lead. No, I’d never suggest that.
I cede the floor to you Boyd. As someone who did serve and served honorably. But I still think everyone is missing my point, deliberately or otherwise. But I am not going to beat a dead horse, especially here at Wizbang. Drop by ISOU and lets talk about some other issues.
I don’t mean to pick on you, Dave Anderson, but your point about the primacy of issues is valid when both candidates are more-or-less equally credible. Voting for Kerry because of “the issues” means buying what Kerry says about “the issues”. The revealed point of any campaign seems to be less about picking the best guy (half of us won’t agree) and more about trying to make certain that neither would be catastrophically bad. Study Carter, Dave. The great majority more or less agreed with him on the issues. However, the presidency itself turned his own personality into a national disaster. Mismatch. Who knew? Not even him. To this day. Unless we’re certain we’re catching every nuance, our next beautiful illusion promises some thoroughly ugly results. What with the team in-place having by any honest historical definition a centrist record, and little chance that the candidate will wear his secret ‘dream-come-true’ (literally?) hat to the inaugeration, where’s the problem, come Nov 2?
Drop by ISOU and lets talk about some other issues.
I’ve tried to do that a couple of times today, David, but I’ve not yet been “approved to comment.” Hint, hint. (Or to put it blatantly, git off yer dead ass and approve me, you barking moonbat! 🙂 )
Hey Piss off sailor. Seriously though, I dont know what the problem is. I installed the Type Token or whatever the hell it is and registered, but the comment system keeps saying my site is not set up to use the service.
I keep waiting for just ONE conservative to agree with me that we need to start discussing issues. I am begining to get the impression that that is a discussion you guys dont want to have….
David, in case you missed John Kerry’s speech at the convention it went something like, “I served in Vietnam dammit, now make me President.” Indeed it is the only thing he wants to talk about. He is running like hell from his 20 year record in the Senate.
Talking about “the issues” will get Kerry slaughtered and everyone, including you and including Kerry knows it.
Wow, not this is what I call progress, a post from Paul addressed to me and he didnt call me an idiot, a moron or anything!
Paul in case you havent figured it out yet, I am not Kerry’s number one fan, and if he loses based on an honest discussion of the issues, I think we all win. But I dont think that is going to happen, and that is why this nonsense is at the center of conservative debate at this point.
Easy answer to all this…just have Kerry absolutely and unabashedly authorize the complete release of his military and medical records. That will expose who the real liar is. Wonder why that hasnt happened?
Ummm…Hey…wait a minute…
Did someone just metion discussing “issues”? Fine…lets discuss issues! By all means! What are kerrys positions on ANYTHING? Id LOVE to know them and discuss them!
Saying “I’m going to create 15 million jobs making MORE than the ones that we shipped overseas”…thats NOt a policy…thats a campaign promise. HOW? At WHAT COST? WHAT jobs?
Unelmployment
Fact is unemployment is SLIGHTLY lower today…right now…than it was when Clinton left office…and when he left, the dems were TRUMPETING the low unemployment rates (5.6% vs todays 5.5%)
Health Care
SAYING you are going to provide health care for everyone isnt the same as PROVIDING health care for everyone. And BTW…since Kerry has been a congressman for some 19 years…why hasnt he DONE SOMETHING about it before now? That IS his job as a senotor, isnt it???
Comparing our health care to Canada or Europes health care isnt the brightest manuever since, a-anyone of means in Canada comes to America or see’s a private doctor instead of going to the “public” system, b-the socialized medicine system doesnt cover things non life threatening “elective” procedures. Sure…You CAN live with it…but should you HAVE to? and c-the Canadian citizen that earns $50k pays 46% per cent taxes…thats NON-refundable. (and BTW…$50K in American dollars is about $32k in US)
WHAT health care? WHO is going to pay the bill? How much is it going to cost? How much will it affect everyones tax burden? How much of an impact will overtaxing the wealthy have on job creation and investment?
TAXES
First…Kerry has never met a tax increase he didnt like…but…how about a little HONESTY on taxes?
1-the top 10% income bracket in America already pays over 90% of the nations tax burden
2-The top 2% pays 40 percent of that 90%
3-People that make little to no income dont PAY taxes…therefore its not possible to RECIEVE a refund of something you dont pay. HOWEVER…low income families recieve the Earned Income Credit when they file taxes, which isnt a refund…its a GIFT funded by those that DO pay taxes.
Intelligence
Its EASY to TALK tough on intel…but the facts are, Kerry voted throughout his career to GUT the intel communities and cripple their HUMINT capabilities…the very thing he today disparages.
His cuts were SO severe even democrats like Pete DeConcini begged him to back off.
Military
Never met a weapons system he didnt want to cut.
The fact is Kerry has made his ENTIRE campaign about bashing Bush and glorifying (see “lying about”) the military record that he once had such disdain for. When have you heard mention of his 8 years as Dukakis’ attorney general? When have you heard him talk about his 19 year senate record?
These are just a FEW of the issues.
In an Oct. 14, 1979, letter to the editor of the Boston Herald, Kerry wrote: “I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real.”
Kerry, as a senator from Massachusetts, also talked about his experience during a speech on the Senate floor on March 27, 1986.
“I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia,” Kerry said.
One glaring detail jumps out at you. Nixon didn’t take office until January 20, 1969, 26 days AFTER Senator Kerry claims he was there, fretting about whether the president (Nixon) would lie about where he was.
What a tangled web we weave