Kerry Just Made the Speech of his Entire Career

It was powerful. It was honest and it spanked the President and the Republicans hard in the ass.

The question as why didn't he say half of these things in the campaign, has puzzled and deeply frustrated many of us.

The answer to this fundemental campaign question most likely lays at the feet of DP/DLC advisors - just speculating but I think based on who those players were - must have some measure of accuracy, because I did not see a spineless coward on the floor today.

We cannot turn back the calendar, but goddess only knows I wish we could, for the sake of our country and the world at large, i wish we could turn back the calendar and insert today's speech in response from everything to to those vicious Swift boat attack ads, to the convention and then even to the debate - which Kerry did not speak as forcefully and succinctly on this issue of the War in Iraq as he did today.

We can't turn the calendar back, but we thank him for his statements today and urge him on to continue to be front and center on this issue.

The cable news would not (and still don't) allow the Dems to be heard.

If you say it loud and frequently enough you will get people's attention

This is the democrats opportunity to BLAST this administration for lying about a war, and responsibile for for over 100000 casulties

If a tree fell in a forest...

At anyrate...the groundswell of support was not being played by the media.And after Dan Rather got framed and booted by the media, and he fought the charges, I'm simply shocked that you're even buying the media crap at all.

Sad...You watch them mow down ever dem and every bit of truth, but you still prefer to believe somehow Kerry is to blame because the media is lazy, corrupt, and inaccurate!

Kerry to over a MONTH before he responded to the swift puke ads, and that was a major mistake

* was awful in the debates, and Kerry was good, but he was too constrained

At that time there was enough information to say that bush misled us. Why didn't he say that in the debates?

Why wasn't PNAC brought up? Most people in this country are NOT even aware of the connections

Sorry, but in a street fight in order to win, you have to fight light they do

But he has been on fire since coming back from Iraq this August. The media didn't cover much of anything fairly.

....I saw Kerry on TV plenty and each time it was hard to stay awake.

If you say something that is "news" i.e. "Dems grow a spine" it will get airtime.

If you voted for it before you voted against it, nobody cares.

What choice do we have, really? It's better than just sitting back down and giving up. And it's a lot easier on the conscience.

NOT trying in any way to flame anyone who feels a little (!) disconsolate by the five-year hostage-hold we've been stuck in. But the hold is loosening now, and instead of little teeny cracks to try to pry open, we have whole rocks falling out and leaving the surface looking rather sponge-like. Considering the polls, now is NOT the time to give up, or to get complacent. We've gotta keep rockin' and rollin'.

Buck up! DON'T let it get you too far down. Finally, there's hope.

IMPEACHMENT isn't so unthinkable anymore, nor is it that still completely suppressed from public speech. Not anymore.

And Fitzgerald hadn't yet pronounced himself satisfied, either.

It's our job to make sure this stuff stays fresh, and up front in people's minds. KEEP THE DRIPPING GOING. AND THE DRUMBEAT!!!

It's not like he hasn't been highly critical-it's just the MSM which continues to bleat on about voiceless democrats-which is not and has not been the case.i saw Kerry in west palm on the campaign trail and he lit into Bushco pretty brutally then

"It was honest and it spanked the President and the Republicans hard in the ass."

Only thing is, George enjoys it. :P

During the campaign, many people still trusted Bush and/or didn't want to believe the Commander in Cheif had misled them on such a crucial issue. Bush's numbers were higher then, and I can tell you that a lot of people I know who are now questioning Bush were rabid supporters during the campaign.

I think Kerry had to tread lightly in this area last year. Had he been more aggressive, it would have turned people off, I think. People forget how much the mood of the country can change in 18 months. Saying these things in July 2004 would have brought down an avalanche of bad press.

(all of this is just my humble opinion)

AND let me tell you they DID come out strong, but the corporate media decided to show their 'warm up' comments instead of the real stuff.

He was strong, dedicated, and had the crowds who showed up roaring with approval!!!

So I think it's time people quit smearing Kerry because it's just playing into the complicit media's plans.

Watch them closely now...watch how they try to direct your thoughts into supporting anyone but Kerry. It's because they know the 'gifts' they'll be losing when Kerry takes over.

I saw him in the debates, and three times he didn't answer why he voted for the IWR, but against the 87 billion, even though he had a good explanation

During the campaign when he was in the Grand Canyon, he was asked if he would vote for the IWR know what he knows now, and he said YES

But the worst mistake was ignoring the swift puke liars. If he didn't plan to defend his Viet Nam record he should NOT have brought it up at the convention, and he ignored the swift liars for two months, and by then it was too late

This election should have been a slam dunk, and instead we lost more than in 2000

Not slamming him, just giving another perspective

Yes I voted for him, and yes I support what he is doing now, but he ran a terrible campaign. If he didn't we wouldn't be talking about loss of civil rights, an immoral war out of control, plus a major shift in the supreme court

we will see if things turn around in 2006

the off year elections were a good sign

out there doing what he does best... getting the job done, not talking about it. 20 electoral votes stolen outright by Ken Blackwell does NOT mean that people really voted "overwhelmingly" for Bush.

Kerry is still miles more verbally gifted than Bush, but if he had been in office, it would have been more like Clinton's time. Building bi-partisan support and addressing real concerns instead of starting fake wars.

and the exit polls are a far more accurate indicator of vote count than the electronic voting machines.

Mitofsky himself admits that the discrepancy between the alleged vote and the exit polls is statistically impossible. His explanation, at least the first one before he came up with some others that were even less likely, was that Repubs are less likely to answer exit pollsters than Dems.

The exit polls also agree with the demographic changes between 2000 and 2004 and all the other break-downs that were done, besides just common sense.

Do you really think that Bush won by 2 1/2 M votes when he lost to Gore 4 years before by 500,000 votes and even more than that if FL had been fairly counted? After a disaster of a first 4 years, a truly aroused Dem Party, etc. etc. etc.

Yes, those of us who supported Kerry knew damn well the MSM would do, and indeed did everything that was in their power to make sure Kerry would lose that election - and they succeeded.

However, those of us who were monitoring every moment on the internet and in the MSM - were giving the campaign input on how the message was coming off - and giving input at what exactly needed to be said and done to counter the MSM distortions.

His handlers and/or his advisor's (and/or his own internal inclinations) simply ignored every thing offered.

Utterly and completely ignored it all.

I watched plenty of video on the Kerry website, and others that people would upload as well as the MSM.

On the essential issues regarding this war - he needed to be crystal clear like he was today, on what that vote was about in Congress and what he actually said in speeches on the eve of the war.

Peoples perceptions one year ago (not 18 months) has changed dramatically - because those of us who kept pushing that the lies of this war must finally be exposed in the MSM took that long to get through. But Kerry had the power to get that out during the campaign, but he chose not to state in no uncertain terms that the war was based on lies. Instead he carefully couched his words in very ambiguous parsing of his vote for the war, "before I voted against it". He never explained that.

So the public heard a kind of mealy mouth waffle of the facts. Most people are quite turned off to that because that is a message in and of itself, effectively translating to "weak on security".

Those of us who fought hard for Kerry's election have a right to say out loud - what must never occur again in a campaign. Especially one that is as important to America and the world as the 2004 elections were.

Now we have to fight to impeach, prosecute and convict both Bush and Cheney after we win back the house and senate in 2006.
In quick order. Unfortunately it's a whole year away.

Imagine the damage that can be done before then.

I hope that the Democratic Senate leadership continue plugging through this ground, tough and hard as they have been these past few weeks and today was another excellent round. We need to back them up when they do, so my hat is off to the Junior Senator from Massachusetts today.

and longer, ever since this evil war began - we never heard a peep from the leadership in this party with only a few exceptions while we were being pelted by corruption and endless rhetoric ruling the day.

I would like to ask for a truce about this.

Honest critique is good. And I hope from now on the democractic party as a whole is learning to kick some butt!

But I think we all need to be the grassroots on the ground now!

I hear stories of Rove and Republicans still mailing to churches and their lists from last year! They're fighting day and night and not wasting time on name calling. And that's what we must do. I think Kerry and Reid and a few others have also picked up on this.

It was on C-SPAN, but here is the link with the speech.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2249923

You need to hear it.

Nowhere near a TV.

after he came out of isolation after 2000. He wasn't the same person.

...the one where he said "...how dare they drag the good name of the US through the mud of Abu Ghraib" would play great right about now...

As Naomi Klein put it (paraphrasing) there were enough crimes committed by this administration to invoke impeachment on President Bush with every week that passed and though some things were hinted at in the 2004 campaign, the one issue even above the illegal war invasion itself that c/should have brought this president down in 2003 and certainly by the 2004 elections, was Abu Ghraib.

'But the words Abu Ghraib was a name not to be mentioned (ever) in Kerry's campaign.'

But people say that's all behind us now. We need to move forward and not think about such things. But in fact directly related to policies that are being heard on the Senate floor today is directly related and are a part of the defense bill amendments on the question of torture, and detainee rights on habeas corpus.

When we first learned about Abu Ghraib, Kerry called for Rumsfeld to be fired because of the way he handled it. (Naomi Klein obviously missed this) He also did say," Abu Ghraib " in the list of things done wrong in Iraq. He additionally talked of Geneva convention violations.

For anyone listening, these low key mentions coupled with his 1971 statements should have reassured anyone concerned about it. Even with this there were Bush attacks that he was attacking the soldiers. Kerry actually finessed this well.

they and their speeches remind me of each other now.

The corpo-whores do more cherry-picking than the Bush administration, when it comes to coverage of democratic heart and soul. i respect the man, his words, and more importantly his deeds.

and a decent statesman.

I also think that to be president requires a different kind of character though.

We need a Harry Truman who is as willing to tell his "advisors" where to go as he is to tell the republican party where to jump off, and who gives a damn about the offended school marms and the people who think that being "presidential" and ent-like is a primary qualification to be president.

We need fire to light our way out of this darkness.

But I am nevertheless glad that he IS taking action and bringing the fight to them this time.

to seed into the publics frustrations. Proofs have come to light thanks to topics like Phlame, and those neo-cons speaking out. Kerry has to get mad to perform at all and he has ferreted out the braver Dems to back the move. Getting past the "trance" of the sheeple has taken a long time. Now we have to do our job following through.

the Kerry Camapaign's failures. When Kerry called w out on the Osama is no longer relevant remark and W denied it, the Dems should have made a Video of this and played W saying just that. The Kerry Campaign missed a lot of opportunities to get out the msg. that the Bush Regime is corupt and incompetent.

and the fake terror alerts, and hours of hours of Bush's stump speeches given without interruption compared to the 2 minute sound bite of Kerry's was not the media's fault.

Frankly, there was not any democrat who would have won against a corrupt media--not one!

Look at Dean!
Look at Clinton!
Look at Gore!
Look at Durbin!
(Look at the Calfornia guy who they said killed the intern! Wiped him right out of office!)

The list is endless.

But hey..the media is innocent and it's always some dem's fault.

made it even more powerful.

He called * a liar. Not that he would use the word "liar" at this point, but he put it right out there. And there was a subtext of challenge in this speech. I thought, "Holy Crap! He's going after the Shrub." Senator Kerry just threw down a gauntlet.

The news may ignore this speech but it is going to send administration rats scurrying in all directions. Rats know danger when they see it and I must say, John Kerry without the gloves is very formidable. Watch out Dubya. This is the first day of the rest of your IMPEACHMENT. Only a matter of time. Shrub is going down.

We can at least say that about him. I was very happy to vote for Kerry and I would do so again without any hesitation but I wish he would have fought back just a little harder at the time. I'm mainly referring to those swift boat slime. As a veteran I am still very upset with the Republicans and their purple heart bandaids and their total disrespect for veterans and wished Kerry would have addressed them over it.

swifties, at that time because the media would have been spouting "Kerry vs swifties" propaganda and it would have taken the attention away from "Kerry vs * " . Kerry went on to win by 4.5 million votes, and then had the presidency taken away by the election theft machines and the media.

Mt two cents.

convention. Campaign rules put Kerry at a big money disadvantage. He had to lay back for the month of August so he would have money for the last part of the campaign. Remember, August was when he was Swift-boated.

I know this because even the most loyal sycophants were so devestated with his early concession - that it sort of woke them out of some sort of spell they were under. (Even A-political loyalists knew that voter fraud occurred and deeply angry that he refused to fight for every vote)

Unless Kerry does an amazing transformance back to the soul of the man he was in 1971 - he has very little chance of winning a nomination i think. And also, he has to take the lead on the vote fraud problems in this country - and he can still do that without having to make a case that the 2004 election was stolen even though it was. He can let people draw their own conclusions as he marches down this investigation path, but I don't see him doing that.

So if there are loyal fans here that have a direct line to this chap, perhaps it would do a service for the country to encourage him to take the lead on fixing this problem with the elections.

who were the ones who didn't see deeply enough to appreciate the value Kerry still holds for the Democratic party, and why it would have been utter stupidity and bullshit for him to delay his concession.

Just sayin'.

For my own case, I was more pro-Kerry than ABB, but even on Nov. 2 2004 I didn't know that much about Kerry - not nearly as much as I should have, as a canvasser (therein lies a problem for Dems) - but after the election I've become a much bigger fan. So maybe in place of the sycophants lost, there's a gain of people who have taken a longer, deeper, view and really liked what they saw.

There's nothing much left for me to add about his speech today that hasn't been said. It was awesome, simply awesome, but just what I expect from John Kerry.

On edit - thanks for posting. I wish this speech would be replayed over and over again. But of course it won't be.

at the midnight rally. That was when it finally looked like he'd gotten pissed off enough to tell his handlers to go to hell as he finally talked in short sentences and blasted those who'd proclaimed him "unfit to serve." There was something about those words. He started talking about people who'd never served and people who'd had so many deferments being the one who weren't fit to serve.

I like him when he's angry. If we could just keep him angry for 4 years, and keep advisors who don't believe in angry candidates away from him, we might have something.

I swear last time there were too damn many advisors giving conflicting advice. That had to be disconcerting for someone who'd never run such a large campaign before. Even his kids were negative. When everyone was ordered to stay upbeat, and when he finally got angry enough to break out of his normal gentlemanly ways, he was a wonder.

I just wish it would have happened sooner than September.

I don't discount Gore or Kerry just because they've tried it once and possibly failed. That experience has to be valuable. And both have been angry as hell since their losses to the Shrub.

We will see. I still think it's too early to talk about.

Who has given up... Edwards, Clark, Dean, etc... almost all working to strengthen the party. So, perhaps compared to Gore, Kerry can be given extra points... but I would say that most of the 04 bunch is dedicated to the party.

He epitomizes the archetype of the mind-mannered guy who finally says "enough is enough" and turns into a one-man wrecking crew.

Senator Kerry has always been the reasonable one, the one who is disciplined and rational, the one who never, ever looses his cool. I've listened to him for 30+ years and I've never heard him this angry before. He's made scathing speeches before, but now there is something different in his voice. It sounds like he wants to take Dubya outside and go knuckle-to-knuckle.

:rant:

And ah...it would do my heart so much good to see that. Brings out the animal in me. The hell with diplomacy and protocol. Just lock Dubya in a big cage with John Kerry and let the distinguished Senator beat the ever-loving crap out of the smirking chimp. Sorry for the rant, I just needed to get that out. My secret fantasy is to see Senator Kerry punch that little weenie right in the nose.

his campaign. What he did not do was to fight for that win. It does not matter how many votes a candidate gets when votes can be flipped on vote tabulating computers across the US --

The edition of Harper's Magazine with this article on its cover sold more copies than any other edition since Norman Mailer's 1972 issue:

None Dare Call It Stolen. Ohio, the election, and America's servile press By Mark Crispin Miller

the REAL democratically elected President be moved into the White House and that imposter kicked out?

I mean, couldn't we just get about 5 million people, walk up and have a sit in until our demands were met?

In a related story, Michael Dukakis had string beans for lunch today.

...So he can throw it again.

Talk is cheap. He had the chance to be President, and he blew it. Skull and Bones loyalty comes before country with these people.

We need a non-Senator
We need an "outsider"

Wesley Clark

Do you have any idea how ridiculous an exclamation "Skull and Bones! Skull and Bones!" is? It's not based on anything but the fact that they were both in a frat together. Since it's sorta secret, people think they can tack any number of weird ideas to it. But if he cared about such things, Kerry would have left BCCI alone, as Poppy was involved.

And it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the man to boot. Did you ever give him a good hard look? I would guess not.

I hope those who expouse such things aren't using the same sort of logic in their research of this administration. It would be nice if we kept that sort of thing reality-based, if you know what I mean.

Meanwhile, Kerry is reminding me of Gore now. Both came out of their shells AFTER their loss to Shrub. I think you are dead wrong in thinking that when he gives a fiery speech, it's positioning for 2008. He's not that good an actor, frankly. If he's showing fire, it's becaused he's angry.

Also, what the Sam Hill do you think Clark is doing. Of course Kerry is keeping his options open. So is Clark. You don't get a leadership PAC, and visit Iowa and NH this early unless you're thinking about such things. Both have done all of these things. However, neither has announced yet though. And I refuse to look at every one of their actions through that filter. It's too easy to say, too hard to prove conclusively, and distorting to boot.

Just like calls of "Skull and Bones!"

S & B = B & S

...unless the candidate is so indistinct that he shouldn't be running in the first place. The only person to be held responsible for the Kerry campaign's problems is John Kerry.

I say this as someone who put over $10,000 into the Kerry campaign, and who flew down to Florida to work on his voter rights team, and who has had a chance to chat with him afterwards. He couldn't clearly frame a reason to vote for him then, and I have no expectation he'll be any different in 2008.

I think the answer is the same as why Gore turned into such a fireball after his loss to Shrub. That's what losing to the Shrub does to you.

I also think his campaign was convinced that people would be sick of negative campaigning. It's said that this was part of what killed Kilgore's campaign in Virginia. So people are getting sick of it, but just now.

for today, and for the past 40 years.:patriot:

Maybe he should have timed it for last year when it really mattered....

you weren't paying attention last year. Guess you were to busy listening to the corporate media.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

:)

said and backs it up with proof. I am proud to continue to support John Kerry.

Kerry laid it out today, no holds barred. He flat kicked butt.

Why can't we all give him credit for doing a great thing without being grudging about it? As radio4progrssives said, let's urge him on.

This is getting good!

Kerry kicked ass with that speech. totally rocked.

speeches and at the debates.

The problem was that the media would not budge from their Rove-given storyline that the Democrats have no plans on Iraq.

speeches - and i would call his staff, and camapaign offices and write letters and tried to convey that he wasn't saying what needed to be said - his staffers were frustrated too.

he needed to deliver yesterday's speech last year, over and over again. but that was then, and this is now, and now he's doing it.

elections in Iraq, and it would have been irresponsible to claim that a plan could even be put together without knowing what the governing body makeup would be and what the Iraqi people would vote for in their constitution.

Kerry was WAY more forceful about the permanent bases and the appearance of occupation and the use of our allies throughout the campaign, but the media made a DELIBERATE CHOICE to downplay that aspect of his campaign.

Unfortunately, in today's media-controlled society, this kind of speech can only be given by someone who has nothing to lose. The media didn't cover the speech, but Senator Kerry's condemnation of George W. Bush's lies are now part of our Congressional record.

Watching Senator Kerry on the Senate floor and listening to the contempt and anger in his voice, it felt like I was listening to a remarkable moment in history. My daughter and I caught the speech by accident (channel surfing) and we were stopped cold. My comments were, "Holy Shit!" My daughter asked, "What the hell is he doing?" I replied, "Looks like he's calling Shrub out." "Let's hope they make Kevlar business suits," was her response.

would C-Span have archived it?

Check http://www.kerry.senate.gov

the speech and other posts here.

But from the OUTRIGHT nastiness that is being reported I can't help but wonder just HOW LONG these corrupt people will keep PLAYING their games!!!

This person, or chimp who claims "rights" to the WH (NEVER ELECTED) does NOTHING but keep on lying and throwing fuel onto a flame that's getting out of control!

Each citizen of these United States should really be afraid of these mongrels because as they keep striking back and bellowing about how CORRECT they are, We The People suffer!!

Unfortunately, it's not ONLY the Repukes who will suffer... we are down in a hole and I don't see ANY light!! I try very hard to be optimistic, but I've totally lost my way!!!