Are you sick of Kerry and other Dems getting bashed at DU by war-mongers?

Dear DU,

It's as simple as this. Most members of Congress, myself included, share some responsibility for getting us into Iraq. We've got to take responsibility for getting us out.

Since April, hundreds of thousands of you have joined me in calling for a change in policy, a change in course -- for Iraq, and for Americans here at home. Now let's turn the volume up higher. Washington needs to hear your voice.

The violence continues to spiral in Iraq. But, instead of a deadline to bring our troops home and put the future of Iraq in the hands of Iraqi leaders, we get half-hearted comments about past mistakes, and cynical political calculation.

Last month, I introduced Senate Joint Resolution 36 which calls for the withdrawal of our combat troops from Iraq by the end of this year. In the next few weeks, I am urging the Senate to take a strong stand on Iraq and pass this Resolution. It's time to put the future of Iraq where it belongs - in the hands of the Iraqi people and their leaders. Our valiant soldiers have done their job.

Tell your Senators: support Senate Joint Resolution 36 to bring our combat troops home in 2006
http://www.johnkerry.com/action/call/senate/?sc=e.20060602

President Bush wants to stumble along, perpetuating his mistakes for the remainder of his time in office. He's even suggested that decisions about withdrawing all of our troops from Iraq will be for the next president to make.

And, instead of statesmanship, the president's top advisor, Karl Rove, is worrying that the war has put voters in a "sour mood" for the 2006 elections. He should be worried about the safety of our troops, not the job security of Republican congressmen.

It took President Bush three years to admit he was wrong to say 'bring it on.' We can't afford years to go by until he admits the standstill in Iraq today is wrong.

Tell your Senators: support Senate Joint Resolution 36 to bring our combat troops home in 2006
http://www.johnkerry.com/action/call/senate/?sc=e.20060602

After months of squabbling and delay, we now hear that the new Iraqi government will complete its cabinet in a matter of days. So, it's time to act -- time to keep the pressure on.

Iraqi leaders have only responded to deadlines -- a deadline to transfer authority to a provisional government, a deadline to hold three elections, and their own constitutional deadline to establish a unity government.

Now we must set another deadline to get our combat troops out and get Iraq up on its own two feet. We must agree with the new Iraqi government on a schedule for withdrawing American combat forces by the end of this year.

Doing so will empower the new Iraqi leadership, put Iraqis in the position of running their own country, and undermine support for the insurgency, which is fueled in large measure by the majority of Iraqis who want us to leave their country.

Tell your Senators: support Senate Joint Resolution 36 to bring our combat troops home in 2006

Our soldiers have done their job, and America is grateful to them for their honor and sacrifice. Now it's time for the Iraqis to do their job of securing and governing their country and it is time to get our combat troops home in 2006. Only troops essential to finishing the job of training Iraqi forces should remain.

We need blunt talk and clear plans -- and only pressure from you can force Washington to change course.
http://www.johnkerry.com/action/call/senate/?sc=e.20060602

I am committed to forcing Congress to speak out on Iraq. Yesterday in Los Angeles I made it clear that I'm not going to stop fighting until we have a change in policy. I urge you to keep supporting our efforts to force action when lives are on the line and leadership is desperately needed.

Sincerely,

John Kerry
https://contribute.johnkerry.com/form.html?sc=7054

we do the freepers job for them.

They don't have time to think about the war!

no time for unimportant stuff like the horrors in Iraq or terrorists in the US.

Thanks for posting this again JG!

We need people to spend their energy lobbying to get our troops out of Iraq and some sanity back into our government. This circular firing squad shit needs to stop.

btw, the freeps have pissed me off again and can now look forward to hearing about my JOHN KERRY ANTI-WAR CAMPAIGN ALL WEEK!

if someone expressed any criticism of Kerry on Democratic/liberal forums they were pounced on by dozens of outraged Democrats scared to death that any criticism of Kerry would be a vote for Bush. So what happened? Looking back at it Kerry was not such a good candidate and he didn't run a very good campaign. We had Democrats who voted more against Bush than for Kerry. Kerry's platform didn't bother to include most of the things Democrats were concerned about but instead supported unpopular stuff like the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Some serious criticism from Democrats might have helped. If Democrats continue with the anyone but a Republican attitude it may be a long long time before we have a Democratic president.
Democrats need to find candidates that support their platform not the other way around.
This talk about a big victory for Democrats because of Bush's pole records may come to a very big dissappointment if they don't get serious about strong candidates that support THEIR platform.

and we can't afford to stay. Kerry probably won't run again. all he wants is to put Democrats in office in Nov. so he can end the war. He's supporting several Iraq vets for congress. If you want to meet a future war protester, look under a helmut.

take care, give care

over the smarmy character assination that has been going on around here. I don't think posters who refer to Senator Kerry as "chicken shit coward" are adding anything to the discussion of his platform. Nor do I think it adds to a discussion of the issues to parrot right wing talking points such as, "The RW was right: Kerry is a flip-flopping political opportunist."

I am tired of hearing how wonderful the "flavor of the month" Democrat is but never hearing about what they have actually voted for and where they truly stand on the issues.

Does anyone really want to discuss the fact that Al Gore supports the death penalty or that Russ Feingold has voted for more of Bush's appointees than Kerry has?

If the subject is the issues: Bring it on!

But frankly, I am sick of personal attacks.

Kerry's platform had an excellent health care plan, excellent environmental plan, alternative energy plan, good economic plan and a much saner approach to dealing with non-state terrorism - Kerry having worked on solutions to this in the 90s when no one wanted to talk about it.

He did not support the invasion and called for regime change at home.

and I am contacting as many Senators as I possibly can.Why limit the call or letters to your own. All the Democrat Senators should be contacted and then some of the Republicans.

I'll call other senators today too!

that if I ever called George Allen's office again it would be to tell him to go fuck himself.

I can try Warner, but I don't expect much. At least he will acknowledge you as his constituent.

give the senate some DU love!

telling George Allen to go fuck himself!

:D

to bring our troops home

of buying into the repug and media sound bites with our democrats. that are literal flat out lies, ...... to diss the dem. tell a story about the dems that isnt true to keep people from voting for them. and most of the dem bashing arent even from the war mongers, but hte true blue dems. that one just makes no sense

blessed are the peacemakers... "God bless them each and evey one," as tiny tim said in Christmas Carol!

The criticism of Kerry on DU is that he, as he says, shares some responsibility for getting us into Iraq. It's not war-mongers - it's people who aren't willing to forgive him.

I don't know if that is what the o.p. meant, but there is a certain subtle truth to it.

People choose to mis-characterize the resolution as a vote for war.

If you're interested you can read his speech to know why he voted the way he did:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2661931&mesg_id=2661931

It was designed to hold Bush accountable. This is Bush's illegal war. No amount of twisting is going to make this the Democrats' fault, not even in part!

The vote occurred in 2002 and the election in 2004. What the hell would have caused you to vote for Kerry when you believed he supported the illegal war? What exactly were you voting for, more of the same? Did you hate from 2002 until 2004, then decided to forgive him on that day and vote for him, then go back to being unable to forgive him?

By this logic you supported the war then, but don't now. This is a bullshit excuse for an ulterior motive!

Unlike this BS logic, Kerry never voted for war and never supported war.

Kerry, you helped give * the power to make war. Take it away from him, mister "responsibility." Undo what you did.

Withdrawal of *'s blank check for eternal war.

:rofl: I'm laughing that I even referred to that as a talking point!

I was hoping you could acknowledge that before going all ad hominem.

:rofl:

If you're interested, I voted for a Liberal Democrat at the last UK election, who voted against going to war in Iraq. I also voted for her in the election before that.

Since Kerry himself says "most members of Congress, myself included, share some responsibility for getting us into Iraq", I think the title of your post is wrong. I think Kerry has said the title of your post is wrong, too. And if you read my post agin, you'll see that I wasn't criticising Kerry myself, or saying I couldn't forgive him, just pointing out that the OP's claim that "war-mongers" on DU are criticising Kerry was wrong. There aren't war-mongers on DU - at least none who dare to let their views be know now, because it is so obviously an unjust war, and awful for everyone concerned expect Bush and his cronies. What I was saying is that those who still do criticise Kerry come from the other side of the war argument. You can find people like that on DU. I do appreciate that Keery has said his position on Iraq was incorrect. He wasn't manipulating the intelligence - there were reasons why he was misled.

it got readers to help end the atrocities in Iraq. it's not a "war" anymore and be sure to tell Blair we already won. time to bring them home.

Did you understand what I meant in my prior response to your post?

Some people seem bent on causing "wars" at DU. One would hope not, but the bitterness and anger created in the online world could spill over into the physical world, so it is more than a mere rhetorical analogy.

Again, I don't know if that was the intent of the op. However given his other writings, I would not be surprised.

but I'm not sure that it is what the OP meant. I think he just put in a word to indicate "I don't like these people", without concern for whether it was an accurate description of DU.

but I did get a few on another John Kerry board late last night and I was pissed when I wrote the "war-monger" headline.

Share of the responsibility: Kerry has said repeatedly that his regret is trusting Bush.

Sorry for the misunderstanding!

to congress, I gave hin $25. more just now. how are those elections going I heard the lady ex-soldier from Iraq in the wheel-chair is kicking ass.

Most of them support people like Lieberman and Clinton, who still support this illegal war.

But you're right to say that ANTI-Iraq war types are NOT war-mongers. That's just a lie on the part of the OP.

(As for Kerry, I forgave him, but haven't fogotten.)

of something concrete being done to end the war.

Some people here are using the war as another excuse to bash Kerry. These are the same people who jump into any thread that mentions Kerry so they can to howl about stolen elections or that he didn't fight back against the Swifties effectively enough or to divert the subject of the thread to a competition for the 2004 nomination. You will also see the same individuals stooping so low as to throw out RW talking points and derrogative terms that Republicans used in their hate campaign against the senator.

Using the war in Iraq this way is beneath contempt. Anyone who genuinely cares about getting our troops home, isn't going to use Iraq as a tool to bash a Democrat who is trying to get us out of there, regardless of his vote in the past.

That is what I think the point of this post is.

Since the war is going so darn well, it's time to get down to issues that really count...for the Repugs that want you to think so.

Thanks, John.

Those darn gay people. First they want to get married - now this??

:sarcasm:

or is it "merry" as in merry and gay?

I was totally behind Kerry's strategy of sitting back and letting Bush dig a hole for himself in Iraq. There was no way to stop Bush, so fine, let's pretend to support the falsified reasons for invading.

And now I totally support Kerry's call for withdrawal. The only real solution for avoiding civil war in Iraq is to partition the country, forcing much of the same carnage which occurred in divided Yugoslavia, and I certainly share Kerry's lack of stomach for that task. So let's pretend we can withdraw and Iraq can govern itself and avoid the bloodbath. That's much better than pinning blame on America for forcing a solution. America has so far avoided the blame for the partition of Israel and Palestine, so this is a proven successful strategy.

We need to support our leaders, so I support Bush and Kerry in this mess.

please call your senators and tell them to get us out before gas is $5.00 a gallon!

just like he didn't REALLY want us to get in.

He's just saying he wants us to get out. It's positioning. He knows we can't withdraw because then Iraq falls to unimaginable violence and civil war, with outsiders including Taliban and whatever other groups flocking across the borders to help one side or the other.

So we have to PRETEND to want withdrawal. A great strategy for a non-solution.

I fully support Kerry and Bush in their non-solutions. Because the only real solutions are much more painful.

his actions, like bushy's actions, speak louder than words! this is Kerry's 3rd resolution to end the war, He not only protested after honorable service in Vietnam but also formed VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR? Now what was Bushys military record again? John Kerry won a silver star for valor. how many anti-war efforts did bushy lead?

Bushy-boy is a great leader; a CHEER-LEADER!

who's your daddy bush-boy?

wrong spot

that we leave them totally on their own, but we have to allow them to fight and tough it out with only marginal help if necessary.
Kerry is not positioning on this issue. He has proposed a real plan that will benefit the Iraqi's and bring our soldiers home.

Dividing the country defeats the whole purpose of this new democracy. So you suggest we stay and fight in a divided country and accomplish what? kerry, believes the Iraqi's will not stand and fight for themselves as long as we are there to do it for them. We are also creating problems because we are fueling the Sunni and some of the Shiite anger because we are viewed as an invading force. Bush has said at least 80% of the iraqi troops are trained and ready to go. Lets challenge him on his statement. The new prime minister of Iraqi has said they should be ready to take over much of the fighting by years end. Kerry proposes pulling back, sending some troops home and having a small number close by for emergencies to be used as back up when necessary. Iraqi peace may or may not ever come, but I do think it is time to leave and let them work it out and make their own peace without our interference.

I've seen Kerry bashed in the corporate media by war-mongers, but here at DU, he's more likely to be attacked for his voting for Bush's war than for calling for withdrawal. I think most of us are in agreement with him on that.

Kerry disavowed that vote. In short, he agrees with you. Yet people keep saying the same stuff over and over again. Kerry is not a liar or a criminal. He made an honest mistake based on the information he had at that time. I'm tired of the DU bashing of Kerry. Some people have more hatred for Kerry than Freepers, I swear.

But to say that "warmongers at DU are against Kerry" is a bit of a distortion, to say the least.

the warmongers, if not the goals, if they let their blood lust for Kerry bashing take overshadow the goal of getting us out of Iraq.

is it time to change the course yet?

that "pharse" was there to show people the thread was also anti-war but this thread inspired it. read the posts:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1353207&mesg_id=1353207

I believe that the proportion of DUers who hate Kerry more than freepers is asymptotically low enough to not be an issue.

However, I do agree that criticism of Kerry from 2005-2006 has been a bit overzealous. It is an artifact of the election disappointment. A fair analysis of Kerry's actions in the last two years has shown him to be one of the good guys. He is one of the most liberal Senators we have.

Those that criticize Hillary for the Iraq war have a point because she still has not disavowed her vote and continues to support this misadventure. Kerry has disavowed his vote and has a plan to end the war, so continued criticism of Kerry on this issue is a bit out of place.

However, I do not disagree with those that wish to criticize Kerry for his handling of the 2004 election. Sometimes these criticisms go a little over the top, but I do not begrudge a person for making them. These criticisms will actualy help us when we formulate a strategy for 2008..they are hard to listen to, but there is at least a grain of truth in it.

with. Other candidates are being touted here as the "flavor of the month" without any serious examination of their stance on the issues. If you want to discuss qualifications, that is a serious debate and I'm all for it. What I am not for is making Kerry the goat while others get a fee pass on their past votes and current votes in some cases. I also think the time for this debate is after the elections in November.

No election should be driven by one or two issues. We have a number of deep and long-standing problems in our country that take more lives every year than the war in Iraq, but these issues aren't examined. Funding for cancer research has been cut. The elderly go without life-saving prescription drugs because they can't afford both medication and food. Aids is still killing thousands. People are still suffering and dying in poverty. Homeless people freeze to death every winter, some of them within sight of the White House. Mercury is poisoning our water supply. Our earth is warming. Funding is being slashed social services while big oil companies and Halliburton rake in record profits. Veterans are being screwed left and right. Small business is being crushed. Our media is on the government propaganda payroll. We have corruption at every level of government. We have serious issues about voting processes and voting machines. Our government is breaking the law and spying on US citizens. Cronyism and incompetence is rampant. We are in debt and digging ourselves deeper while millionaires enjoy a tax cut.

We have a lot to make right, so I think we need to talk about the issues, not whine about recriminations.

Right now we need to concentrate on an exit strategy from Iraq and on getting Democrats elected in November. After that, we need to discuss everyone's record, not just Senator Kerry's.

We are in Iraq until there is a stable pro-west democracy based in Baghdad.

I never thought that this was possible. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer think it is. All you mealy mouth pro war dems went along with this idea, and the dem party is split on this issue. Most "stay the coursers" feel that we are committed, and must remain.

We are there for the long haul - that is a fact. Your vote will haunt you just like George Bush's presidency will haunt the "Walker" family name. Bush has turned "W" into a synonym for incompetence.

Kerry will alway be a war enabler.

a shining beacon of hope for the rest of the middle east. Leaving Iraq in chaos is worse then leaving it under Bath party rule. We wanted Saddam out so that "democracy" could take route.

I never thought that a stable, pro-west democracy was possible in Iraq. Those that supported the war apparently did think it was possible. Now they can prove it.

We will only leave Iraq when we are willing to admit a Vietnam style defeat or when a Hooters is open in Baghdad. I don't know which one will come first.

democracy was hardly mentioned in the fear-mongering campaign to make Cheney and others rich of the US Treasury.

now we are stuck there until we can admit defeat or leave with a stable pro-west democracy in place. Once we overthrew Saddam, we took responsibility for Iraq.

WMD should have been addressed through inspections and diplomacy. The GOP and the Dems (except for Ted Kennedy, God Bless him) thought that war was a better way.

I'm glad Kerry is saying withdraw, but it is not possible without admitting defeat. Since we are not ready to do that, we can't leave.

If the Iraqis could operate a democracy, they would. They can't. They are not powerful enough to do so. Hell, even Saddam had to resort to mass murder to keep Iraq under control.

Puts it all in perspective, doesn't it?

I mean, really, elections are coming up and Kerry is only running for the senate and will likely not even run for president.

How can you talk down something like this?

I've been disappointed by Kerry, but now is the time to stop the nonsense and fight these fascist policies together.

They be in the advance party! I doubt if mercenaries on their own could protect them.

:kick:

I pasted his letter here
It's as simple as this. Most members of Congress, myself included, share some responsibility for getting us into Iraq. We've got to take responsibility for getting us out.
America overthrew the Bath government. We now owe Iraqis security. Or we cut and run and admit defeat. The army has done its job. Now it is time for nation building. This job sucks.

Since April, hundreds of thousands of you have joined me in calling for a change in policy, a change in course -- for Iraq, and for Americans here at home. Now let's turn the volume up higher. Washington needs to hear your voice.
agreed:eyes:

The violence continues to spiral in Iraq. But, instead of a deadline to bring our troops home and put the future of Iraq in the hands of Iraqi leaders, we get half-hearted comments about past mistakes, and cynical political calculation.
Iraq leaders didn't overthrow the Bath party, we did. We must clean up this mess with their help.

Last month, I introduced Senate Joint Resolution 36 which calls for the withdrawal of our combat troops from Iraq by the end of this year. In the next few weeks, I am urging the Senate to take a strong stand on Iraq and pass this Resolution. It's time to put the future of Iraq where it belongs - in the hands of the Iraqi people and their leaders. Our valiant soldiers have done their job.
what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.

Tell your Senators: support Senate Joint Resolution 36 to bring our combat troops home in 2006
http://www.johnkerry.com/action/call/senate/?sc=e.20060...
what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.


President Bush wants to stumble along, perpetuating his mistakes for the remainder of his time in office. He's even suggested that decisions about withdrawing all of our troops from Iraq will be for the next president to make.
rebuilding and stabalizing Iraq will take decades. That is why we should have avoided war at all costs.

And, instead of statesmanship, the president's top advisor, Karl Rove, is worrying that the war has put voters in a "sour mood" for the 2006 elections. He should be worried about the safety of our troops, not the job security of Republican congressmen.
true.

It took President Bush three years to admit he was wrong to say 'bring it on.' We can't afford years to go by until he admits the standstill in Iraq today is wrong.
true

Tell your Senators: support Senate Joint Resolution 36 to bring our combat troops home in 2006
http://www.johnkerry.com/action/call/senate/?sc=e.20060...
what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.


After months of squabbling and delay, we now hear that the new Iraqi government will complete its cabinet in a matter of days. So, it's time to act -- time to keep the pressure on.
what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.


Iraqi leaders have only responded to deadlines -- a deadline to transfer authority to a provisional government, a deadline to hold three elections, and their own constitutional deadline to establish a unity government.
what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.


Now we must set another deadline to get our combat troops out and get Iraq up on its own two feet. We must agree with the new Iraqi government on a schedule for withdrawing American combat forces by the end of this year.
what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.


Doing so will empower the new Iraqi leadership, put Iraqis in the position of running their own country, and undermine support for the insurgency, which is fueled in large measure by the majority of Iraqis who want us to leave their country.
true

Tell your Senators: support Senate Joint Resolution 36 to bring our combat troops home in 2006

Our soldiers have done their job, and America is grateful to them for their honor and sacrifice. Now it's time for the Iraqis to do their job of securing and governing their country and it is time to get our combat troops home in 2006. Only troops essential to finishing the job of training Iraqi forces should remain.
what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.


We need blunt talk and clear plans -- and only pressure from you can force Washington to change course.
http://www.johnkerry.com/action/call/senate/?sc=e.20060...
This is what I have the biggest problem with. what if Iraq is not stable at the end of the year? Do we cut and run? The Army has done its job. Now it is nation building time.


I am committed to forcing Congress to speak out on Iraq. Yesterday in Los Angeles I made it clear that I'm not going to stop fighting until we have a change in policy. I urge you to keep supporting our efforts to force action when lives are on the line and leadership is desperately needed.
I can supoprt this. Go get em!

to get to the bottom of how and why we were lied to. What we did in Iraq with Invasion was Morally and probably legally...{since we were signers of the Geneva Convention and other treaties.)

No more unilateral wars. Iraq is a repeat of Vietnam and we need to get out now before 58,000 troops or more are once again sacrificed and enough Iraqi's that will make Saddam's atrocities against his people pale by comparison.

Admit you were wrong, get out and face the consequences. Roll heads...Rummy's being the first and Wolfowitz, Perle, Cheney and anyone else who hid information and lied us into this war in Iraq when Afganistan was the harborer of the real terrorists along with Pakistan.

:toast:

just not in order to instigate violence against American forces.

a little pink floyd peace might work well with an end the war Kerry link.

It's disgusting and it should be clamped down on! HARD.

There are good people out there who are sick and tired of hearing all the idiotic garbage. If we can't take back the high ground, how the Hell are we going to take back Congress?

You can bet your ass we won't do it by spouting RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA.

The war has already been going on for 3 years!!

You're right, we have to take ownership for it - to get it out of Shrub's hands.

Gawd knows, he doesn't have an exit plan, besides knowing he won't be in the White House come Jan 21, 2009!

setting a deadline to get out of Iraq. They don't want to commit to a date for exit, so what does that mean? It means that we stay as long as it takes, which is EXACTLY what Bush is saying.

I think these Dems need to know where we stand. It is really time we had a plan to get out of Iraq.