Posted on 10/20/2004 6:09:01 AM PDT by jhigh
Did you catch John Kerry's gaffe in the third debate?
No, not the one about Mary Cheney being born a lesbian. That abusive and cynical outburst produced gasps in living rooms around the nation and certainly cost Kerry votes.
But there was a more serious gaffe in the debate. It revealed how Kerry's vision of government is at odds not just with that of George Bush but with that of America's founders. In answer to a question about gay marriage, Kerry said: "Because we are the United States of America, we're a country with a great, unbelievable Constitution, with rights that we afford people, that you can't discriminate in the workplace. You can't discriminate in the rights that you afford people."
"A gaffe," as columnist Michael Kinsley once wrote, "is when a politician tells the truth." In this case, Kerry's gaffe is an inadvertent statement of what he--and many on the left--believe is the truth but is actually false and dangerous.
The key phrase was "rights that we afford people." This was no mistake. He said it twice.
Kerry believes that the United States government, through the Constitution, "affords" rights to Americans. My dictionary defines "afford," in this context as "give, grant, confer." In other words, we fortunate, benighted Americans have a country, a government that grants us rights.
That's an utterly inaccurate reading of the great documents of the founding of this nation. Our government does not grant us any rights at all. On the contrary, Americans start off with rights, and it is we who grant the government certain limited powers to protect those rights.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Wow. What a commercial this would be.
Wow. What a commercial this would be.
Exactly. . .they are "endowed by our creator."
By god you're right. Very very good!
ping!
This has been churning for a while now between both this statement and later when he said the Constitution gives us rights. I'm really glad we're not the only ones to see it. Let's hope more people are made aware of this.
Seriously man, this should be sent right to the leaders of the Bush campaign. You know anyone with a direct line?
I in fact did notice that and it wsa discussed here briefly, but it would be good if more were made of it.
It shows that he doesn't understand the Constitution of the US.
"That's an utterly inaccurate reading of the great documents of the founding of this nation. "
What Kerry said is right on par with socialist documents though. hmmmm...
Given the current state of education in this country not too many people would understand why it's a gaffe.
Its no surprise actually.
The left has always thought that the government should control their lives.
From affirmative action to religion, the left looks to the government for support.
It is the right, the Conservatives that think we the people should lead the government, and in doing so take responsibility for our own position in life.
Maybe this is why the majority of business owners are Republicans.
Leaders look to themselves to do what is needed.
Followers look to the leaders to tell them what to do.
ping
I'll get back to this later (I hope I remember). I have video of the entire debate.
I watched Jay Sekulow the other night on TV and he said that the whole idea behind the Constitution is that at the very begninning it acknowledges mans rights and freedoms are given to us by our Creator, something Bush has said over and over (that should make the "true conservative" and "constitutionalist conservative" crowds happy!), and that the Governments job is to "protect those rights
Then he said Kerry wants to change it so that it is the Government that supplies those right and determines them for us.
"You shall have no other Gods before me", and I think that includes the Government.
If I can find text of Sekulow's interview I will post it.
Yeah, I with TigersEye on this one. Most people are quite comfortable with the notion that the government affords them rights. Nine out of ten people will just look at you funny when you bring this up. Those musty old historical figures who wrote the Constitution just didn't understand what it would be like today, don'tcha know?
a glance into a liberals heart and brain. Government provides for US. The founders and conservatives know it is US that give government the power.
Bush emphasized several times with crowd enthusiasm that we were endowed by our Creator - not by our Government leaders in his stump speeches- apparently he caught the arrogant gaffe as well!
People like Kerry, Kennedy, Schumer, Fine-Swine, Barney Franks, Janet Reno and Clintons sees it as their birthrights to take it away piece by piece and to have the USA kowtowing to the like of blackman and Christian Mass Murderer Kofi Annan.
I'm not going to appoint a judge to the Court who's going to undo a constitutional right, whether it's the First Amendment, or the Fifth Amendment, or some other right that's given under our courts today -- under the Constitution. And I believe that the right of choice is a constitutional right.
He is truly a DANGEROUS man!
"Because we are the United States of America, we're a country with a great, unbelievable Constitution, with rights that we afford people, that you can't discriminate in the workplace. You can't discriminate in the rights that you afford people."
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