Friday, November 26, 2004

Kerry Supporters

Here's another letter to the editor written before the election, not published by the Morning Call. I had to go to C-Span and watch the DNC over again because there were so many things that disturbed me about what the speakers were saying.

To the Kerry-Edwards supporters who have been calling and urging me to vote for Kerry since Nader is no longer on the ballot in Pennsylvania I would like to remind you in the words of some of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention, what John Kerry stands for:

Gen. Wesley Clarke, “John Kerry will join that great pantheon of wartime democrats like…Harry Truman…Bill Clinton who confronted ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia and with a policy backed by force brought peace to a shattered land.”

Senator Joe Lieberman: “People are worried about their jobs, about rising healthcare bills, about their kid’s education, about their retirement and their environment. John Kerry and John Edwards have practical, progressive, sensible plans to relieve those worries, but all of us know that those plans won’t mean much unless we can restore the American peoples sense of security…shattered by Islamist terrorists…fanatics who are as great a threat to our personal security and freedom as the Nazi’s and Communists who we defeated in the last century.”

Madeleine Albright: “I want a President who will lead in the tradition of Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower…We all know that throughout history freedom has been opposed by dictators, aggressors, fascists and communists. In recent years we have seen arise a new and evil tide-terrorism. As President John Kerry will mobilize the full arsenal of American power including the military, intelligence, law enforcement…under his leadership, we will persist until we prevail.”

And Kerry himself: “I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President…I will never hesitate to use force…We will add 40,000 active duty troops…double our Special Forces…provide our troops with the newest weapons and technologies…our National Security begins with Homeland Security.”

Ralph Nader may not be a prophet to lead us into the Promised Land. Do we need one?
He may not be building a movement the way some think he should; maybe that’s our job. But he is clearly anti-corporate, while the Democratic Party is the good cop of capitalism.

Remember, those of you who vote for Kerry and Edwards, exactly what principals you supported in this election. Hopefully, organizing and agitation around the real issues of war, poverty, education, healthcare and the environment as they affect the people of the US and the world will continue despite capitalism’s more palatable mask.