‘Reckless’ and ‘Irresponsible?’ (ABC's version of Kerry's yes/no vote on the $87 million bill)

ABC News ^ | 3-19-04 | Jake Tapper

[Indy Pendance]

2003 Tape Shows Kerry Seemingly Backing $87 Billion in Iraq Funding He Voted Against

March 19 — In an interview several weeks before he voted against $87 billion in funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., seemed to argue that such a vote would be reckless, irresponsible, and tantamount to abandoning U.S. troops.

On the Sept. 14, 2003, edition of CBS's Face the Nation, Kerry spoke at length about an amendment he and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., were offering which would have paid for the $87 billion by delaying some of the recent tax cuts.

Asked if he would vote against the $87 billion if his amendment did not pass, Kerry said, "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible."

Kerry argued that his amendment offered a way to do it properly, "but I don't think anyone in the Congress is going to not give our troops ammunition, not give our troops the ability to be able to defend themselves. We're not going to cut and run and not do the job."

Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said her boss' vote against the funding was a "protest vote."

At the time of the October 2003 vote, "The nation had four months before funds were needed but Republicans were hell-bent on moving this bill through as quickly as possible, before the tough questions could be asked and the president's failures would be discovered," Cutter said.

Cutter went on to say the Bush White House had threatened to veto the entire $87 billion supplemental bill if the Kerry-Biden amendment had passed.

Political observers wondered, however, how effective Kerry's explanation would be.

"John Kerry has years and years of public statements — including recent ones — that the Republicans seem to have more thoroughly catalogued and at-the-ready than the Kerry campaign does," observed ABC News political director Mark Halperin.

The $87 Billion Issue

At the time of the CBS interview, Kerry was facing a strong challenge in the Democratic presidential contest at the time from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean — who rose in polls partly because of his strong stance against the Iraq war.

When the matter finally came up for a vote on October 17, it passed the House by a vote of 303-125, and the Senate by 87 to 12.

Kerry was one of the 12 who voted against the funding. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., also voted against the funding. Dean at the time seemed to support the Kerry approach, saying "if the president doesn't have a sufficient commitment to this operation to get rid of the $87 billion in tax cuts then we should vote no."

But Senate Democrats overwhelmingly took the other side of the issue. Biden, the co-sponsor of Kerry's amendment and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voted for the funding, saying, "the cost of failure in Iraq would far exceed the price of peace." In a Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who also voted for the funding, said, "I don't know how John Kerry and John Edwards can say they supported the war but then opposed the funding for the troops who went to fight the war that the resolution that they supported authorized."

In the last few days, as the presidential race has heated up, President George W. Bush's re-election campaign has put Kerry on the defensive over the issue of the $87 billion, running a TV ad in West Virginia saying that "few votes in Congress are as important as funding our troops at war" and while Kerry voted to authorize war against Iraq, he "voted against funding our soldiers" as well as "body armor for troops in combat," "higher combat pay," and "better health care for reservists and their families."

When Kerry was asked about the ad, he sought to explain his amendment and uttered a line Republican strategists believe sums up what they see as Kerry's propensity to flip-flop and straddle: "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it," Kerry said on Tuesday. The TV ad was re-cut with the Kerry line inserted, and released nationally.

Republican strategists said that the Face the Nation clip from last September may similarly end up being used to benefit the Bush campaign.

Not surprisingly, Republicans expressed shock at the Face the Nation transcript; Bush-Cheney campaign spokesperson Terry Holt called the quote "stunning." "'I don't think any United States senator should abandon the troops'?" Holt asked, quoting Kerry. "That is exactly what he voted to do." He called the quote "another example of John Kerry living in a parallel universe where he thinks he can take two mutually exclusive positions on one issue. I would love for these two Kerrys to meet some day."

"John Kerry's own words seem to be making the most powerful case about his own vote against funding our troops," said Jim Dyke, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, which is exploring ways to get the Face the Nation clip out to the public.

Stephanie Cutter says John Kerry has, "fought in a war and understands the importance of shared sacrifices when our troops are risking their lives overseas." She says that's why Kerry "has tried to repeal the Bush tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans to pay for the supplemental funds."

The Kerry spokeswoman went on to say, "If the president and his Republican attack machine were serious about protecting our troops they wouldn't have invaded Iraq under false pretenses without our allies or without a plan to win the peace. And they wouldn't have sent the troops into battle without the equipment they needed in the first place."

‘That’s Irresponsible’

In the interview, Kerry never clearly stated whether he would or would not vote for the $87 billion funding bill, a fact that may offer him some sort of exculpation. But one of the few press outlets to cover his remarks on the subject, the Washington Times, wrote the next day that "Mr. Kerry said he would still vote to authorize the $87 billion. Not doing so, he said, would be 'irresponsible.'"

Conducting the interview on CBS, Los Angeles Times D.C. bureau chief Doyle McManus asked Kerry, if his amendment "does not pass, will you then vote against the $87 billion?"

Kerry's full response is as follows: "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to — to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running," he says. "That's irresponsible. What is responsible is for the administration to do this properly now."

Kerry says he is "laying out the way in which the administration could unite the American people, could bring other countries to the table, and I think could give the American people a sense that they're on the right track. There's a way to do this properly."

"But I don't think anyone in the Congress is going to not give our troops ammunition, not give our troops the ability to be able to defend themselves," he says. "We're not going to cut and run and not do the job."

"Look, we could — we could do this job over a period of time at greater loss, at greater risk, and with much loss around the world with respect to the United States," Kerry concludes. "The question is will we do this the best way possible so that we do the best to protect our troops and the best to advance the safety and security of the United States?"

Vacationing in Idaho today, Kerry issued a statement commemorating the one-year anniversary of the war in Iraq. "Before the war started, I repeatedly called on the President to build a genuine coalition to reduce the military and financial burden on the United States, to go to war only as a last resort, and to have a plan to win the peace," he said. "I voted to give him the authority to go to war only when he promised me and other members in Congress that he would do these things. He broke those promises." He criticized the president, saying it was time for Mr. Bush "to take the target's [sic] off the backs of U.S. soldiers, reduce the burden on America's taxpayers, and finish the job in Iraq."

[zarf]

Kerry literally has a "nuance" problem and I don't mean that as a pun.

He plays it WAY too cute for his own good.

[cyncooper]

I was thinking that statement deserves its own thread and I looked and of course someone started one hours ago.

Statement from (Socialist) John Kerry on One Year Anniversary of Invasion of Iraq

[jwalsh07]

Impossible, I heard O'Reilly on the radio today saying Bush was on the defensive.

O'Reilly and Sabato need a refresher course in punditry.

[Liberty Valance]

What a POS Kerry is. He was trying to play "gotcha" with Bush tax cuts by endangering the lives of our troops. I fail to see how any thinking American could vote for such a miserable opportunist.

[razorback-bert]

A Rising Star

The Kerrys' youngest child, Richard, would also achieve success, but unlike his father, would sustain it. He served as an Army pilot during World War II; married Rosemary Forbes, a descendant of two wealthy Massachusetts families, the Forbes and the Winthrops; and became a U.S. diplomat, holding posts in Oslo, Berlin, and Paris.

Richard and Rosemary's first son, John Forbes Kerry, was born on December 11, 1943. Though he attended exclusive boarding schools in Europe as well as an elite private school in New Hampshire, John later would tell interviewers that somehow he always felt disconnected from his peers, like an outsider. He attended Yale at about the same time as President George W. Bush--both belonged to the elite secret Skull & Bones society--but while Bush lived the fraternity life, Kerry, an admirer of John F. Kennedy, found his niche in politics and became president of the Yale Political Union, a nonpartisan group providing a forum for a wide range of political debate. Upon graduation in 1966,

[aruanan]

John later would tell interviewers that somehow he always felt disconnected from his peers, like an outsider.

WARNING!

[RJayneJ]

Quote of the Day by wny

[Indy Pendance]

Thanks, love what you do!

[NYCVirago]

Kerry literally has a "nuance" problem and I don't mean that as a pun. He plays it WAY too cute for his own good.

I don't think he's all there, mentally. Frankly, it seems like being a bit insane seems to be a job requirement for these Democrats -- you have Dean with his anger problems, Kerry with his narcissism, Clark with his paranoia, etc.

[RJayneJ]

Thank! };^D)

[GailA]

Kerry I'm for the death penalty for terrorist, but I'll declare a moratorium on the death penalty at the federal level...yep just like dukakis soft on crime, soft on terrorist.

[q_an_a]

fish in a barrel. first you call a secret service agent a "son of a ____", then you have an Irresponsible Senator comment on TV and in print. This guy is a gift, in addition the President is going to paint RATS as leftists, we may still win Illinois and other middle of the road states.

[norwaypinesavage]

"Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., seemed to argue that such a vote would be reckless."
And, in Idaho, this week, Sen. Kerry seemed to fall while skiing. It remains to be seen, though, whether or not these events actually happened.

[Cboldt]

Kerry I'm for the death penalty for terrorist, but I'll declare a moratorium on the death penalty at the federal level...

Kerry voted against death penalty for terrorists that kill Americans abroad. The bill passed the Senate by a wide margin, just like the Iraq funding did.

On Passage of the Bill (S.1798), October 26, 1989 <-- Link

Measure Title: A bill to provide for the imposition of the death penalty for the terrorist murder of United States nationals abroad.
Vote Counts: YEAs 79
NAYs 20

[lepton]

bookmark bump

[handy]

I totally agree; every word from Kerry's mouth about our soldiers having targets on their backs is simply despicable.

I find it ironic Kerry complains about our soldiers having targets on their backs. If the $87B vote had gone Kerry's way, our soldiers would have less body armor on their backs. What a loser. Dem politicos have got to be just sick about this guy. He is not at all easy to like, boring stump speaker, and has this terrible record of past statements.

[Skywarner]

"If you don't like John Kerry's position on an issue, just wait a minute."

Actually, John Kerry will change his position before he even has a position. And, that's his position. Unless, of course, he decides to change his position. But make no mistake about it, he does have a clear and concise position. At least until he changes his position.

[GailA]

I read somewhere that he now supports the dp for terrorist. My Rant

Hanoi John has flipped flopped on every issue of importance, last year he was against the death penalty for terrorist who kill Americans. Now he's for it.

One thing he had been steadfast on is his stance on the death penalty. He says he supports a moratorium on the death penalty at the federal level. Which means there would soon be a national moratorium on the death penalty, because of the liberal social engineering judges and Supreme Court Justices he'd appoint.

Hanoi John says he's now for the death penalty for terrorist, but he's declaring a moratorium on the death penalty at the federal level thus negating it's use against terrorist. This is much like his vote on the $87 billion that would have provided body armor for our troops. "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it," Kerry says. Straddling the fence once again to gain a vote.

He is OPPOSED to the death penalty for non-terrorist who would murder an American child, even a 5-year-old.

As the mother of a murdered 16 year old son, Jeremy Peter Flachbart, who was brutally murdered by a sociopath wanting to see what it felt like to kill, I am alarmed and APPALLED by this man who would be our president soft attitude toward crime, who would eliminate a form of punishment for a horrific crime. http://keasl5227.tripod.com/

He says HE FEELS MY PAIN.

Horse Feathers! he can't feel my pain, he hasn't had a child brutally murdered. He only was a junior prosecutor from 1976-78. He didn't loose a Loved One to a sociopathic killer.

There is a hole in my heart and in my life created by the brutal murder of my beloved child.

To me he is soft on crime just as Mike Dukakis who furloughed that brutal killer Willie Horton was.

Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Kerry was irresponsible in blindly accepting the fraudulent claim that 111 innocents have been released from death row. As has been repeatedly proven, this innocent claim is a fraud pushed by the anti death penalty movement.

This does not speak well to his ability to be responsible on major policy issues.

"Kerry say 111 were found innocent from death row via DNA. If so, that is even more absurd. It is 12." But, for solid evidence of actual innocence, my evidence and that from others indicates its from 17-30. I use 30 to be on the safe side." Dudley Sharp, Resource Director with Justice For All 713-935-9300.

Sincerely,
In memory of Jeremy Peter Flachbart

Gail Keasling Millington, TN

KING: I've done a lot of shows recently dealing with the death of little children. A person who kills a 5-year-old should live?

KERRY: Larry, my instinct is to want to strangle that person with my own hands. I understand the instincts, I really do. I prosecuted people. I know what the feeling of the families is and everybody else.

But we have 111 people who have been now released from death row -- death row, let alone the rest of the prison system -- because of DNA evidence that showed they didn't commit the crime of which they were convicted.

After spending -- I myself worked to get a person out of jail who had been there for 15 years for a murder that person did not commit.

Now, our system has made mistakes, and it's been applied in a way that I think is wrong.

Secondly, I don't believe that, in the end, you advance the, sort of, level of your justice and the system of your civility as a nation -- and many other nations in the world, most of the other nations in the world, have adopted that idea, that the state should not engage in killing.

(APPLAUSE)

Because they have very bad memories of what happens when the state engages in killing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10722-2004Feb26_2.html

[UltraKonservativen]

Weasels wobble but they don't fall down