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Undertoad · 09-02-2004, 09:26 AM

Well they are making the various arguments for their sides too.

I gotta say I am unmoved by the notion that Kerry voted against weapons systems during a time when it seemed like military overextension was a big American problem. What I would like to know is in what ways 9/11 changed that, if any.

Also, I am unmoved by the notion that Kerry is the most liberal Senator or one of the most liberal Senators. He was representing the most liberal state so in one sense he was doing what he was elected to do. And from what I've seen, a lot of those rankings are bizarrely constructed and very selective about various votes.

The flip-flop thing - well there's no denying that the guy is a Clintonesque politician who sometimes bases his policy on the shifting winds of the day. You could say this means he lacks the resolve of true leadership; on the other hand this means he will roughly mirror the population's desires, which is not such a terrible thing, especially if the complaint is that he's actually too liberal.

Also, I think being in the Senate means that, if you're savvy enough, you take different positions on things in order to score political points.

09-02-2004, 09:26 AM	#7
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Well they are making the various arguments for their sides too. I gotta say I am unmoved by the notion that Kerry voted against weapons systems during a time when it seemed like military overextension was a big American problem. What I would like to know is in what ways 9/11 changed that, if any. Also, I am unmoved by the notion that Kerry is the most liberal Senator or one of the most liberal Senators. He was representing the most liberal state so in one sense he was doing what he was elected to do. And from what I've seen, a lot of those rankings are bizarrely constructed and very selective about various votes. The flip-flop thing - well there's no denying that the guy is a Clintonesque politician who sometimes bases his policy on the shifting winds of the day. You could say this means he lacks the resolve of true leadership; on the other hand this means he will roughly mirror the population's desires, which is not such a terrible thing, especially if the complaint is that he's actually too liberal. Also, I think being in the Senate means that, if you're savvy enough, you take different positions on things in order to score political points.