Posted on 04/04/2003 11:41:56 AM PST by kattracks
Kerry Doesn't Shy From Anti-Bush Comment
By NEDRA PICKLER .c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry came under fire from top congressional Republicans for saying the United States, like Iraq, needs a regime change. Kerry is not backing down.
``The Republicans have tried to make a practice of attacking anybody who speaks out strongly by questioning their patriotism,'' Kerry said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press Friday. ``I refuse to have my patriotism or right to speak out questioned. I fought for and earned the right to express my views in this country.''
In a speech Wednesday in Peterborough, N.H., Kerry said President Bush so alienated allies prior to the U.S.-led war against Iraq that only a new president can rebuild damaged relationships with other countries.
``What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States,'' said Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and Massachusetts senator.
Those comments drew an angry rebuke from the top Republicans in the House and Senate. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said Kerry's statement amounted to ``petty, partisan insults launched solely for personal political gain'' and were inappropriate with U.S. troops fighting in Iraq.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said that in the midst of war, the nation should pull together to support the troops and commander in chief. ``Once this war is over, there will be plenty of time for the next election,'' he said in a statement.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, called Kerry's words ``desperate and inappropriate.''
``America before New Hampshire,'' DeLay said.
Kerry dismissed the criticism Thursday at a meet-the-candidates dinner in Atlanta, saying, ``I don't need any lessons in patriotism or in caring for America from the likes of Tom DeLay.'' He rejected the criticism in stronger terms on Friday.
``If they want to pick a fight, they've picked a fight with the wrong guy,'' he said.
Kerry criticized Republicans for their campaign last year against former Georgia Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in the Vietnam War. Republican Saxby Chambliss unseated the first-term Cleland, based in large part on a national GOP campaign that faulted Senate Democrats for holding up a homeland security bill over a labor provision and suggested that Democratic lawmakers were not concerned about national security.
``I watched what they did to Max Cleland last year,'' Kerry said. ``Shame on them for doing it then and shame on them for trying to do it now.''
Neither Hastert, Frist nor DeLay served in the military.
After speaking to the New York State United Teachers convention in Washington Friday morning, one of Kerry's Democratic rivals, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, said he probably would not have used the words that Kerry did, but, ``I have not criticized Senator Kerry for that, nor am I going to.
``It certainly would be unusual for me to line up with Tom DeLay, and I don't intend to start now,'' said Dean, who in recent weeks has assailed Kerry, suggesting that the lawmaker has waffled on the issue of the war.
Kerry backed a congressional resolution last fall giving Bush the authority to use force to oust Saddam, but he repeatedly has criticized the president for failing to give diplomacy more time.
Leading congressional Democrats generally have avoided criticism of Bush since U.S.-led forces began attacking Iraq.
On March 17, when Bush announced that military strikes would begin against Iraq unless Saddam left the country, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Bush's diplomatic efforts had failed ``miserably'' because he didn't secure a U.N. resolution for the war.
Daschle's remarks drew a sharp rebuke from Hastert and DeLay. This week, Daschle said he was satisfied with Bush's strategy.
Associated Press Writer Mike Glover in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
04/04/03 14:31 EST
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