Posted on 06/14/2004 5:34:32 PM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Teresa Heinz Kerry says anger, not ideology, prompted her to become a Democrat. The wife of Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, says her emotion stemmed from the way the Republican Party, to which she had pledged allegiance, treated Democratic Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia in 2002.Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm as an Army captain during the Vietnam War, lost his re-election bid in a bitter campaign against then-Rep. Saxby Chambliss. The GOP had raised questions about Cleland's patriotism because of his position on legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security. Cleland supported the concept behind the department, but insisted that a workers' rights provision be part of the bill.
Heinz Kerry, in an interview to be broadcast Tuesday on the "CBS Evening News," says Cleland's status as a triple amputee is enough to prove his patriotism.
"Three limbs and all I could think was, 'What does the Republican party need, a fourth limb to make a person a hero?' And this coming from people who have not served. I was really offended by that. Unscrupulous and disgusting," she said, her reference being an indirect one to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Neither Republican served in Vietnam. Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard, and Cheney received five student deferments from service during the war.
Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam and earned three Purple Hearts, and Silver and Bronze stars for his efforts commanding a swift boat on the Mekong Delta. Earlier in the campaign, opponents of Kerry had raised questions about his military service and whether he deserved the military honors.
Heinz Kerry had been a registered Republican until Kerry, her second husband, announced his bid for the White House. Her first husband, Republican Sen. John Heinz of Pennsylvania and the Heinz prepared foods heir, was killed in a plane crash in 1991. She inherited a fortune estimated at more than $500 million.
In the interview, John Kerry is asked about criticism of his wife, who has a reputation for being blunt and outspoken.
"When it's silly stuff, and a lot of it is incredibly unfactual, I get angry about it," he said.
Asked for three words to describe his 65-year-old wife, who is five years his senior, Kerry said: "Saucy, sexy, brilliant."
She responded: "I'm cheeky, I'm sexy, whatever. You know, I've got a lot of life inside."
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A liberal interest group will begin airing a new television commercial Tuesday in four battleground states that calls President Bush "a failure of leadership" and criticizes Vice President Dick Cheney's ties to Halliburton.
MoveOn.org's political action committee will spend about $1 million over a week, a hefty amount, to run the 30-second ad in Missouri, Nevada, Ohio and Oregon.
The ad accuses Bush's administration of giving Cheney's former company no-bid contracts to work in Iraq "on a silver platter."
"Then," the ad says, "the Pentagon caught Halliburton overcharging $61 million for gasoline. Worse, they billed over $100 million dollars for meals for our troops that they never delivered. And George Bush is still doing business with them."
Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for Bush's re-election campaign, said: "This is another incredibly misleading ad from an organization completely outside of the mainstream of American politics."
Separately, The Media Fund, another Democratic group, ran new radio and newspaper ads in Kansas City, Mo., criticizing his record on health care and prescription drug costs. Bush visited the state Monday.
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Associated Press Writer Liz Sidoti contributed to this report.
No, but a fourth Purple Heart is required.
Teresa is going for the 70's actress Jill Clayburgh look with the same results.
WOW..what a compendium.
Per Kerry - He will be introduced by former US senator Max Cleland, a Georgia Democrat who lost both legs and an arm while fighting in the war.
Thanks!
This is so disgusting. Max Cleland is being USED by the democrats. However, he's letting them say he was injured on the battlefield .. and he wasn't. The accident was a tragedy, and certainly Max has done a wonderful job of creating a good life for himself .. but that's doesn't exclude him from ACCOUNTABILITY just because he was injured in Vietnam.
Actually, Kerry is using the same excuse for his service in Vietnam.
I'm not aware, nor do I care. A man who loses three of his limbs while serving has paid a huge price for us. Would you say the men who died in WWII D-day training didn't sacrifice for their country?
I can't stand this witche's accent. Who the hell wants a First Lady that sound like that? She's despicable in every way.
Cleland got exactly what he deserved in the 2002 election. The people of Georgia came to their senses.
She shared her bed with a liberal democrat. She certainly funds a lot of leftist organizations. She didn't "just suddenly change" as a result of a campaign in 2002.
Deep down, that's probably true of all of them.
Sounds a lot like X42!
Since you don't even know how Max C. lost three limbs,what difference does it make that he lost them in Nam? I haven't trashed his service and neither has anyone else here,nor GOP politicians.It's damned Dem lunatics and they alone,who claim that's what was done to him.And bringing up our brave boys,who died on D Day,is a pathetic ruse;YES...a ruse and a straw man argument,which signify less than nothing. :-)
TerAYsa has Kerry on his knees, crawling, 24/7. He's an arrogant, narcissistic, womanizing gigilo with no integrity, She's what, 9 years older, and deluding herself that he loves her for herself, not the money. They are indeed an incredibly unattractive pair, living in a world of their own. Come Nov., the real world will intrude. I'd love to see TerAYsa lose all her money and see how long Kerry stays with her. I'd like to see TerAYsa have to work for a living, preferably with her hands, Botoxboy, too.
Dying in training and being injured through one's own stupidity are two very different things, especially when Cleland allows people to assume that his injuries were received in combat. That is not only dishonest, it also diminishes the genuine sacrifices of others.
RULE #1. NEVER touch UXO! Let EOD handle it.
UXO = Unexploded Ordnance
EOD = Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Cleland was never even qualified for his VA job. He was just a nice prop for the 'toon.
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