More from MA: Dear John: Come home at once, we miss you

The Berkshire Eagle ran an editorial earlier in the year that pleaded for Sen. Kerry to make an appearance WOW (West of Worcester, MA) so that the natives could see and interact (presumably) with their US Senator. Sen. Kerry spurned their advances and instead took up with foreigners in Texas, Seattle and Louisiana. (To name just a few of those foreign places where Our John has been hanging out with non-Massholes.) The Berkshire Eagle has been getting more and more adamant (and funnier, btw) in their pleas for Kerry to come home straight away and hold a Town Hall meeting in the western part of the state. (Come on, the "Berkshire residents certainly recognize Senator Kerry from seeing him on television so often" line is pretty good.)

See my prior remarks on MA having a hissy fit and demanding that Our John come home right away and cease this incomprehensible trolling for support among the Great American Unwashed. As the Berkshire Eagle points out, you don't see Uncle Ted out there in strange places like Austin pleading for votes and pressuring foreigners to support him. No, he does this out-of-sight in the halls and backrooms Congress where we don't have to know about it. It's undignified, John, don't you see that?
TayTay's old post: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=26578&mesg_id=26590&page=

Oh John see reason. The unwashed don't love you like we do, don't understand you and can't possible comprehend what you are saying. (Yes, this is insulting. Very insulting, IMHO.) We insist that you come to your senses, see that your current path is simply impossible to traverse and come home. (We have tea and cookies waiting, honest!) Ahm, btw, if it's not too much trouble, could we, ahm, take pictures and have autographs. And could you please bring Teresa along. We like her a lot. See, we are only proposing these things for your own good. We just don't want to see you (and us) hurt again.

Honestly, what a bunch of babies!

Rox and I are in agreement on this. Senator Kerry will either re-run for his Senate seat in '08 or run for the Presidency. He cannot run for both in Massachusetts.

Do you guys now see what Rox and I meant?

respond to this garbage.

I admit to ONE brief, wistful moment on election day. I was outside the Union Oyster House in this giant crowd of people who surged forward to greet him, touch him, shake his hand after lunch.

I stood there thinking, wow, he's not just ours anymore. And then I got over it.

It was an odd (and unexpected) moment, but it made me laugh at myself. In my humble opinion it's in the country's best interests that we share our stellar senator with the rest of the country. And it's not like he's ignoring us, for god's sake. Isn't all he's doing for the benefit of MA as well?

I have no patience for this garbage. It's an exponential increase from the old "He doesn't cozy up to us reporters. We hate him." Now it's "He never calls, he never writes. We love him but he doesn't love us back." What a bunch of babies.

I liked the writing in their article. It was punchy and funny. The good people of Western MA have a right to ask their Senator to come and visit them. (Come on, Whome, they do.) It's just the wrapping logic around it that is silly. Of course Kerry needs to go around the country and stump for support for Democratic measures. Duh! The same paper woudld be applauding this if the words "Social Security" were there in place of "KidsFirst."

Fortunately, this is an easy fix. Sen. Kerry arranges in early June to go to Western MA and holds a few gripe sessions in Pittsfield, Great Barrington and Springfield. The people can bitch, complain and also put in praise (which they will do as well.) There, all better now.

(Honestly, I feel like he should come with lollipops and cookies. Now, now, WOW (West of Worcester), calm down. I told you I had important stuff to do and would have to miss some of your softball games and church picnics. It's not that I don't care, I'm just very busy. I promise to send you out more press releases and a video from time to time if you promise to be good. Now, have a lolly and go back to bed.) Well, WOW does have a right to see their Senator. They really do.

I see your point (and missed that earlier editorial). I'm just getting tired and cranky because of this heavy flak jacket I have to wear while watching his back.

I'd miss him - but let's face it, most people - even in the Boston area - only see him on tv too.

My Ron Wyden couldn't get elected as the mayor of Pittsfield. Send him. They will stop bitching about Kerry instantaneously.

and was defeated again, maybe he'd rather do something other than continue to be a senator, anyway. Another GOP administration to bash your head against--how much can one man take of that?

I think he may go for it. But he has time. Also, MA has time to get over it. Losing John Kerry as a Senator would be a great loss indeed. People like him don't just grow on trees. I think MA will get over it. (And grow up.)

BTW, did you read the part of the Berkshire Eagle story after the slam about still campaigning, wherein they praised the KidsFirst idea as excellent and then proceeded to tell the Senator how to get it through Congress. Oh dear, talk about mixed messages. Your work is just excellent Senator, excellent. Now come on home and we'll talk about it.

than not be in public office at all even if he does do "public" type things.

at least in the Senate i can see him regularly because of cspan. and of course i love watching him in committees and i think he loves it also.

unless he decides to take a cabinet or some other position in the administration of a Democratic president. i always thought if Edwards becomes President he would offer Kerry any position he wants.

Part of me would like him to get revenge on the ABBers, biased media, and people who bitterly/badly hated on him and believed the spin. But I would like for him to stay in the spotlight. Would he have more power as a Senator or president? I hope he does what is not only best for himself, but for his family as well.

it it doesn't look like he could win then it would be best to stay in the Senate.

i think he will look at all the factors involved and see what his chances are in a Primary AND a General Election . if he doesn't think he could win then he will stay in the Senate. if he thinks he can he will probably go for it.

Some people think that a senator has more power than the president.

Seriously, you take my Dem Senator. He can be oh so completely devoted to Massachusetts.

We'll take Kerry, and share him with the country. Some states have such low self-esteem that we will do anything for a little national notoriety!!

John Kerry, the Senior Senator from Oregon. Can you not see the powerhouse he would be in the northwest???

Not only is Mass spoiled, the entire northeast is spoiled. Kennedy, Kerry, Clinton, Biden, Leahy, Tip O'Neil, Bella Abzug, oh man, the list is just endless.

We have Ron Wyden.

:cry:

does he get along well with Democrats ? i saw Kerry give him a hug about a couple weeks ago on the Senate floor.

He's mushy too. A Mormon Lincoln Chaffee, if you will, although he sticks with the party line more often. He comes off as sincere and moderate, I could see a hug if you didn't know him well. Kerry might not know a couple of the zingers he lobbed locally last year. And I will personally never forgive his comments about people not really being hungry, that he made at a food bank for chrissake. And that maybe giving people food was enabling them to not work so hard. He's a real piece of work. Rich asshole.

I was proceeding from a presumed common background that I probably shouldn't have (overly) presumed. I tend to write kind of lightly of these recent annoyances in the paper. Perhaps a little more seriousness in one post (only) might clarify this a bit.

Massachusetts deeply respects both her Senators. Sen. Kennedy is a master legislator and has done an absolutely amazing amount of work for both the country and for the state. He is loved for who he is, a true champion of the rights of working people. Kennedy is perceived as someone who has unbending principles that he will not sell out. He is given a lot of leeway to interact with Repubs in the Senate, because that is how legislation is made, often with horse-trading. (See Teddy is very good at what he does, give him some slack when dealing with guys like Hatch, it'll turn out all right.)

The Junior Senator from Massachusetts is no less respected and well-regarded in the State. Kerry does have a reputation as one of the smartest men in government (anywhere in government.) This is important and goes to the heart of how he is seen in the state. Massachusetts prides itself on being a 'smart place' and we have some world-class intelligence in this area. (This is a self-perception thing. Massachusetts loves brains. We have them, attract them from all over the world and deeply appreciate them. Okay, we also tease them a lot, but hey, we mean well.) There are numerous Nobel Prize winners and other academic award winners at our various world-class universities and colleges.

John Kerry moves easily in that world. Easily. His reputation in-state is as a 'powerhouse' intellect who is second to none in his academic and reasoning abilities. This matters back in the old home state. (We don't send dummies to DC.) We send smart, accomplished, intelligent people who can think on their feet, sift through all that intel and extract relevant facts and process those quickly into a good legislative or investigative causes. Also, they need to be prepared to defend this stuff to both ordinary constituents and heads of Universities, Medical Centers, think tanks, broad-based charities and so forth. There is absolutely no doubt at all that Kerry is quite qualified to do that. The reason that I have said that he has his Senate seat for life is because he does. There is no one who could challenge him on his strengths. That challenge is past. (The '96 Senate race involved two brilliant men. Former Gov. Weld is one of the smartest pure intellects to ever occupy public office in the history of Massachusetts. Kerry destroyed him in that Senate race.)

Some of the in-state critiques of Kerry got back to that silly aloof charge. This also stems from his perceived strengths. How can someone so smart relate to ordinary people. This is a sort of academic prejudice and is unfair and untrue. Kerry has won every working class city in Massachusetts in all 4 of his races. I don't think anybody but a few cranky Globe writers actually believes this aloof crap. Kerry communicates just fine with people. The stereotypes about him have been disproved time and again. (That doesn't mean I don't find them deeply amusing from time to time, though.)

As much as I joke about neurotic Mass liberals, I also do know what I have and deeply appreciate it. Sen Kerry is a unique man with amazing and unique gifts that make him a wonderful Senator. I believe MA is lucky to have him. That doesn't mean that we can't tease him from time to time or ask him for more. (That's what New Englanders do, we want more, especially in the academic realm.) If you read between the lines of the recent MA press stories, you will also discern a deep respect for Kerry. The Berkshire Eagle story is basically saying, Senator, wonderful excellent program you got there. Could you promise to tell MA folks first about it before you do others in other parts of the country? This is not that serious a charge. (And it has some merit. He is their Senator.)

And then I got to thinking about ALL the great Dems from the northeast, and felt sorry for myself again.

But seriously, can't you see how much love he'd get up here? Fighting for our forests, rivers and oceans; education, health care, veterans...

Maybe we could just have a one year exchange program, send our Dems to Massachusetts for a year and let you guys work them over real good. Let our people see what it's like to have larger-than-life politicians!

It can be tough on pols up here. There was a longish article in the Boston Globe today about which Congressional folk have taken junkets on someone else's dollar. The MA delegation comes up pretty squeaky clean. Teddy K took one trip to Paris on L'oreal to speak at a conference on his late sister-in-law, Jackie Kennedy. John Kerry had one expense trip that he billed to a think tank, (I think) back in 2001 when he went to Davos, Switzerland to speak at the Economic Council. There are no improprieties here. The Globe acknowledges that and quotes a watchdog group that agrees. It still got on page one. These folks are under constant watch and scrutiny. Constant. MA believes in clean Federal government. (Local is another story, sigh!) We had a Cong. Rep. put in prison not too long ago for bad finance decisions. (Rep. Peter Mavroules D-Peabody.)

Hey, I like Wyden. He's been so much better this term. Buck up, you got the Washington State Dems above you and the CA Dems below you. This is better than, say, Kleeb in VA or poor FIRE in MS.

I posted the love letter above because I have been very cavalier about JK recently. I really do love the guy and respect him for his giant, throbbing, pulsing brain cells. (Yeah, really!) I just should say it plainly once in a while. (I am too silly sometimes.)

But still, compare your pols to Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell even. You still come out leaps and bounds ahead. Maybe Wyden is finding his sea legs, we'll see how it goes when things get stormy!

Ahm, at the risk of being fatally provincial (and a terminal Northeasterner) what's wrong with them? I remember Murray from her "Mom in Tennis Shoes" campaign and I know that Cantwell partnered with Kerry earlier to try and save the Artic Wildlife Refuge.

Ahm, are they ahm, bright enough? Chuck Schumer is very bright, as is Hilary. I guess there are a lot of brighter NorthEasterners. But you guys must have good Dems too, right?

How shall I put it. Starbuck's Dems? :shrug:

You guys have ballpark Dems.

Kerry just rocked. Go here and click on the web video feed. http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1491

The guy from (evil) ChoicePoint it skimming along and then Kerry starts questioning him (about 1:20 into the hearing, btw.) The Poor ChoicePoint bastard is just hosed by my esteemed Junior Senator. (The witness just starts admitting that he doesn't know what Kerry is asking him. Lots of "no, Sir" responses to questions from Kerry about how freely info gets out from ChoicePoint.)

This is what I mean, Just awesome. It's like Kerry comes in and the witness suddenly realizes that he can't coast anymore because the one questioning him knows what the hell he is talking about. You can't bullshit him. "Yes, Sir", "No, Sir" "Yes, I agree, Sir."

Loved it. :loveya: :loveya: :evilgrin:

Hey, FIRE, Listen to Kerry on this. He is getting at something on the 'selling info to political action committees' thing. Just pull this up at the time stamp i have and go for about 20 minutes or so. The political action committee thing came up at 1:37

It says the link is outdated. :cry:

Hosed. Ha. That is not a word you would regularly hear connected to northwest Dems. Well, my Rep DeFazio is pretty darned good. He also won with the widest margin in the state, in a district with several red counties. He's a VERY smart guy, and I've never seen him get snookered in a hearing either. He doesn't keep his pay raises, he set up a scholarship fund with them. I really wish he'd run against Smith.

http://commerce.senate.gov/archive.idtheft051005.ram

:loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

One tough hombre. :evilgrin: Thanks, TayTay!

He really was incredible. I think he threw the guy for a loop when he asked about whether people should have a proprietary interest in their own information that the company was selling for a profit. I think he caught the interest of the entire committee when he asked about selling the data for political uses. It was a really great question.

In the fall, there was a NYT article that described how the Republicans were using Marketing techniques to target potential swing voters. It may not have been related to these data bases but it did use data mining - where you try to see if any information you have can predict the variable you are looking for (in this case a likely Republican or swing voter). I read it because years ago, the group I was in did similar work identifying people who were good candidates to market telephone calling plans to - although we didn't use purchased data. Aggregating all these data sources until you are essentially able to know a lot about each person is scary - using this aggregate data for political purposes is scary. I was shocked when they were describing the data available.

Hearing him speak about people's rights and privacy here and his comments about worsening the conditions of the poor in the third world via trade agreements at the Portman hearings, it's clear how genuinely liberal he is.

They are the company that made up the felon voting lists for the State of Florida in 2000. (They may have had a name change.) They are dirty as hell. They have big Rethug fingerprints all over them. Reporter Greg Palast did the initial reporting on ChoicePoint and you can get a recap here: http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=55&row=1

I will see if I can find a transcript. I thought I detected something else in Kerry's questioning, but I was at work and not able to give it my full attention. My spider sense (oh gawd, how cliche) ahm, inner tea-leaf reader (marginally better) just got all tingly. (Majorly tingly. ChoicePoint = election fraud player.)

Maybe a separate thread for this. I don't yet know what I am looking for, but oh boy, do I feel seomthing funny is going on and Our John knows it.

Anybody else get this strong feeling?

I jumped to a far more innocent conclusion - that they would buy people's personal data to use to more efficiently find voters they could sway. The troubling part would be that this would be a use people never intended their information to be used for. (This would also relate to Kerry's earlier comments on whether people should "own" their own information and some comment on the data almost describing their whole life. As computers can hold and process more information, this becomes a huge issue. Poindexter wanting to work on this with Axciom has BIG BROTHER overtones.)

It was clear that there was a very strong reaction from others - and that the ChoicePoint guy looked somewhat agitated and tried to evade the question (I think by saying who their customers USUALLY were). Kerry pushed him on it.

I guess the ChoicePoint guy considered the Florida felon's list for the government rather than for politics or he lied. Weren't most of the listed felons black and almost none Cuban? It explains why Kerry kept asking which law enforcement people. So I think you are right.

Well, I think I again see why you say Kerry is one of the smartest people in government. Is he ever not impressive? This is not helpful in getting over him not being President.

ChoicePoint recently.

http://www.technorati.com/tag/ChoicePoint

http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/ChoicePoint


Hmmmmm, interesting stuff. I think Sen. Kerry did not bring that reference up randomly.

This is fascinating, albeit kind of wonky, stuff. But I think it's important. (I am asking to copy your posts into another thread and ask for more comments.)

I think this is good stuff and maybe LUTD and other blogs might want to open a file, so to speak. i think Kerry was referring, but sort of obliquely, to the whole Florida fiasco and the voter intimdation uses of this info. I want to know aht FIRe thinks as well.

And thanks again for your having posted the original link to the the committee, It was interesting - I will read some of the stuff on the blog links tomorrow. For me it's weird because I remember vaguely discussions years ago where some people were concerned with these issues (but the concern was way in the future).

I forgot about that Choicepoint connection too, but now that you mention it it makes total sense.

It was weird the way he started that line of questioning - almost like an afterthought, but then it got real prosecutorial. You got the impression that the guy thought he was home free, and then uh oh. My ears pricked up, and I caught Kerry's intensity. I didn't get what he was after, but now I understand. Very, very sharp.

I hope he and Teresa do schedule something there. It has to be hard to have an official who is YOURS who you only see on TV and you really like him. Also, as he hasn't been there for a long time, if they had some big outdoor thing, it wouldn't hurt that he might get a near campaign size crowd. The Berkshires are really pretty in the summer.

If he went he could probably explain that he is talking to Republicans (I hope) in DC, in addition to trying to get people to lobby their own Senators.

The Senator could try, oh, I don't know, logic. That might work.

Dear Massachusetts:

Please calm down. I have not forgotten you. How could I, you are pretty vocal and hard to shut up. As you may or may not have noticed, I am a UNITED STATES Senator. As such it is sometimes important to me to consult on issues that have things to do with the whole of the UNITED STATES. This involves, from time to time, making speeches beyond the Senate and beyond the hallowed ground of Massachusetts. (I am not the only one who does this. Honestly, you should see Sen. Reid's travel itinerary. That man is barely ever in Nevada.)

Perhaps you should review your own history and remember Massachusetts' own role in establishing a strong FEDERAL government. (Perhaps you should start lobbying Gov. Romney about restoring Education funds so that a proper history of FEDERAL vs. STATE government responsibilities can be taught in our Commonwealth's public schools. And, just so we are clear, he has much less reason to go out of state than I do. He is only a Governor. I am a UNITED STATES Senator and have national business.)

BTW, I still love you. I am totally and completely head-over-heels in love with Massachusetts. I plan on being in Nantucket for the whole of August for goodness sakes. (Did you get the flowers and the chocolates I sent?) Seriously, I just adore Massachusetts, particularly anything West of Worcester and I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Love and Kisses

John

him"

Somehow I missed the part where Kerry did that. ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What the hell is the writer talking about?

'talking out of your butt'