Relatives in France keep distance from Kerry

Chicago Sun Times ^ | March 30, 2004 | JOCELYN GECKER

[Cincinatus' Wife]

SAINT-BRIAC-SUR-MER, France -- John Kerry's relatives in France bristle at jabs from across the Atlantic that the presidential contender has a French connection.

They say Kerry has no link to France other than the home his grandparents bought here.

''John Kerry is incredibly American,'' says Brice Lalonde, Kerry's cousin and mayor of this seaside Brittany village. ''He has absolutely nothing French about him.''

For another cousin, Christopher Curtis: ''John is an all-American guy with the benefit of having spent some time overseas.''

With the race for the White House turning nasty -- and France-U.S. ties not quite mended from the Iraq war -- Kerry's Gallic clan, when questioned, talks up his American-ness. Some are keeping a low profile, saying too much talk about France could be political arsenic.

As Lalonde, 58, puts it: ''I'm afraid to hurt him.''

But that hasn't stopped the Frenchman from pasting Kerry bumper stickers on his car.

Saint Briac is a place of rugged seascapes and cobbled lanes that inspired Renoir and other Impressionists. It was here the Massachusetts senator spent boyhood summers.

But nowhere on Kerry's Web site does he mention his summers in France or the family estate, known as Les Essarts, a sprawling property on a bluff over the sea.

''Monsieur Bush is angry with France,'' says Ian Forbes, an 85-year-old Kerry uncle who lives at Les Essarts. ''We don't want to accentuate the connection between Johnny and France.''

Kerry's maternal grandparents, James Grant Forbes and Margaret Winthrop, bought the estate in the 1920s. They had 11 children, including the mothers of Kerry, Lalonde and Curtis, a British American who lives in Paris. The home served as a summer hub for their cosmopolitan clan.

In his youth, Kerry joined the family gatherings while his father, a U.S. diplomat, was posted in Europe. Young Kerry also attended a Swiss boarding school and brought a touch of America to this corner of northwestern France.

''He introduced us to games like capture the flag. We still play something called kick the can,'' said Lalonde. AP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

[Richard Kerry] Kerry's World: Father Knows Best***These conferences reinforced Kerry's belief that the preservation of the Atlantic alliance and the creation of a new Europe should be the overriding priorities of U.S. foreign policy. But the reality of U.S. policy was far different. For most of the Eisenhower administration, America's prime objective was containing communism. And, unlike the administration he served, Kerry believed that cooperation and diplomacy, rather than militarism, should resolve these tensions. In The Star-Spangled Mirror, he condemns the United States for "lecturing" European allies about the horrors of communism and accuses it of "bad manners" and "spoiled behavior." He writes, "At times we expected the allies unquestioningly to follow our leads; sometimes we failed to consult them in advance before reversing policies; at other times we ignored their requests."

Even at the time, Kerry wasn't quiet about his disagreement with the hard-line anti-communists. Although he had initially viewed Secretary of State John Foster Dulles as a kindred spirit and cultivated a relationship with him, Kerry felt uncomfortable with his rhetoric about "godless communism." (In his book, Kerry spends several pages arguing against Dulles's "intensely moralistic outlook.") According to Brinkley, Kerry bluntly told Dulles the shortcomings of his increasingly hawkish approach, undermining their relationship in the process. This was typical behavior for Kerry, who had a growing reputation for outspokenness. John Kerry's friend and former aide Jonathan Winer says, "[Richard Kerry] was a dissident in a time of conformity." ***

[onyx]

Damn. This is rich.
Better than fiction.

[cardinal4]

''John Kerry is incredibly American,'' says Brice Lalonde, Kerry's cousin and mayor of this seaside Brittany village. ''He has absolutely nothing French about him.''

What?? Everything about Kerry screams France..

[Cincinatus' Wife]

What?? Everything about Kerry screams France..

He's a real puff pastry.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

''Monsieur Bush is angry with France,'' .....

U.S. President George W. Bush (C) speaks during a ceremony at the White House marking the expansion of NATO's membership from 19 countries to 26, March 29, 2004. Representing the new member nations from left are Latvia's Prime Minister Indulis Emsis, Slovenian Prime Minister Anton Rop, Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, Slovak Republic's Prime Minister Mikulus Dzurinda, Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxi-Coburg, Estonian Prime Minister Juhan Parts and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

[Lancey Howard]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Boston Globe: On eve of shoulder surgery, senator is deemed fit specimen***.....With Senator John F. Kerry set for minor shoulder surgery in Boston tomorrow, his campaign yesterday released portions of his medical records that detailed a robust, if somewhat accident-prone, 60-year-old man with no threatening long-term health problems.

..... But the records detailed a series of sporting mishaps: A 1992 bike accident broke his collarbone and some ribs, while another sports-related injury necessitated three knee surgeries. The documents also showed almost undetectable levels of prostate antigens, evidence the prostate gland removal procedure Kerry underwent last year vanquished his prostate cancer. He will, however, continue to require regular cancer screening tests, his physicians have said..........***

[Ruth A.]

This is the stuff that makes Scrappleface so much fun: the absurdity of Kerry.

[heleny]

''He introduced us to games like capture the flag. We still play something called kick the can,'' said Lalonde.

I played Capture the Flag in elementary school, but I don't think I've ever heard of Kick the Can.

[Roy Tucker]

Maybe it's a New England thing, but we used to play it for hours with the kids in the neighborhood. It's like Hide-and-Seek. Haven't thought of that game in years.

Somebody is It, everyone else goes hides. When you are caught (by It calling your name and jumping over the can) you must hover around the can. One of the uncaught can free everybody by rushing up to the can and kicking it. Everyone goes and hides again. Repeat as many times as you like.

[goldstategop]

They don't dare play up the connection for America's not gonna elect any time soon a French thinking (and looking) President named Jean F. Cheri.

[Tamzee]

The following is from the Green Left Weekly Home Page but I can't find a date for the article... It states Kerry's cousin Lalonde was under the Socialist Party and that he is also one of the most "popular politicians in France".



http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1992/52/52p10b.htm

French Greens divided
In the March 22 regional elections, France's two green parties polled 14.6% between them in the context of a large protest vote against the main parties of both left and right. The green vote surpassed the 13.9% of the neo-fascist National Front led by Jean-Marie Le Pen.

While the green movement has been slow developing in France, it now appears well established, if fractured. The two green parties, which seem evenly matched, are called the Greens (Les Verts) and Generation Ecologie.

The latter, founded 18 months ago, is led by Brice Lalonde, former leader of Friends of the Earth and now environment minister in the Socialist Party government. Lalonde is one of the most popular politicians in France. Generation Ecologie describes itself as a club, and is a cross-party alliance of green-minded politicians and public servants. It captured a little less than half of the green vote.

Les Verts, led by Antoine Waechter, is a more democratic grouping mainly responsible for current surge in support for green politics. Lalonde dismisses Les Verts as a group of “archaic leftists, unrealistic ecolos and delirious ayatollahs”, while Waechter says Generation Ecologie is an opportunist operation to recapture the votes of disillusioned Socialist Party supporters.

Les Verts say Lalonde cost them representation in the European Parliament in 1984 when the fledgling party failed to win the necessary 5% of the vote, largely due to a competing ticket run by Lalonde.

[cyncooper]

They say Kerry has no link to France

Well, in addition to vacationing there and the "family estate" (lol), there IS that little matter of meeting with the North Vietnamese in Paris back in '71 or was it '70...

I'd call that a "link".

[onyx]

It states Kerry's cousin Lalonde was under the Socialist Party and that he is also one of the most "popular politicians in France".

Kerry belongs in France.

[onyx]

Well, in addition to vacationing there and the "family estate" (lol), there IS that little matter of meeting with the North Vietnamese in Paris back in '71 or was it '70...

I'd call that a "link".




Me too.
You are fabulous.
Great memory and a great researcher.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[EQAndyBuzz]

It's a sad day when even the French don't want Kerry.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Sad for Kerry, good for us. But it really shows the two-faced attitude they have and that Kerry has acquired and demonstrated his entire life.