Posted on 07/19/2004 12:31:43 PM PDT by PhiKapMom
In today’s Reads, Kerry doesn’t know rural America, and it shows in his policies. Plus, why people on either side of the marriage debate can’t trust Kerry to take a consistent position.
When it comes to the issues that matter to small town and rural America, John Kerry is trying hard... to lose the training wheels. A number of recent stumbles demonstrate that Kerry's recent discovery of rural America is far from complete -- and while the Senator from Massachusetts may dismiss rural communities as flyover country as he jets from campaign stop to campaign stop, President Bush has consistently shown a real person's understanding of the real concerns of rural America.
Start with yesterday's advice to Kerry from Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the Senate's longest serving Democrat:
"I've talked with him. I've told him he should go to West Virginia. He should shake hands with the people. He should be at their level and get a little coal dust on his hands. Get some of that dirty dust on his hands and on his face and live in spirit with the working people of this country, the coal miners. And always, always remember that sovereignty rests, John Kerry, sovereignty rests with the people of this country."
Why should anyone think John Kerry would have trouble relating to the concerns of coal miners? Perhaps because he voted with a minority of Senators against Senator Byrd's amendment to save mountaintop mining in West Virginia -- and missed the vote on the energy bill that provides $1.8 billion for clean coal technology.
Or take a look at Kerry's record on hunting -- where he was given a near-perfect score by an extreme group dedicated to ending all hunting in America.
Today's Boston Herald notes that Kerry has been all over the map on issues important to dairy farmers, changing positions for political advantage:
For years Kerry was a staunch supporter of the Northeast Dairy Compact, which regulated milk prices in the six New England states. Essentially it protected dairy farmers, but at the expense of consumers, who were forced to pay higher prices in this non-competitive environment. ...
Ah, but the new and improved John Kerry, the man who hopes to be president of all the people, now sees the error of his ways, especially as he passed through the toss-up state of Wisconsin, which had long opposed the now expired Northeast Dairy Compact.
Kerry's lack of attention to small town America shows in his campaign's priorities -- with comparatively few advertising dollars spent to introduce Kerry to rural voters, according to this report in the Los Angeles Times.
Today's Washington Times notes that the Senator from Massachusetts can't be relied upon to take a consistent position on the issue of marriage. In 1996, Kerry was one of just 14 Senators to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act signed by President Clinton -- a position that could have compelled all 50 states to redefine marriage. Today, he straddles the issue, writing a letter to the Massachusetts legislature in 2002 urging them to reject a state constitutional amendment defending marriage, but implying he would support such a measure today.
Turning to the growing economy, an AP report yesterday suggests that Kerry/Edwards may be taking a risk by talking down the economy in a time of rising economic optimism:
Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards are gambling that there is enough lingering uneasiness about pocketbook issues that their message about a struggling economy and loss of jobs will resonate despite rising public optimism. ...
Kerry and Edwards have a bigger selling job than Reagan had in 1980 when he defeated President Carter or Clinton had in 1992 when he beat the first President Bush.
In June 1980, three-fourths of Americans disapproved of Carter's handling of the economy at a time of rising inflation and little growth.
In June 1992, three-fourths disapproved of the elder Bush's economic performance when the economy was just starting to revive.
An AP-Ipsos poll this month found that voters were about evenly divided about the current president's handling of the economy, with 49 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving. Also, consumer confidence has been on the rise.
In fact, this survey shows consumer confidence at a six month high.
Will do and thanks!
Prairie
John Kerry is a damned liar.
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