The image of a detached John Kerry standing idly by while the Florida student was arrested and tasered last week illuminated the consistent picture of who John Kerry really is. While the very concept of democracy has been blasted away by a Republican agenda, John Kerry as a United States Senator, has consistently shown a lack of leadership and an inability to respond without calculating his own political image and/or his own political ambitions.
This obsession with political self interest was clearly demonstrated by Senator Kerry’s vote to authorize military action in Iraq and has continued through last month’s lack of participation and interest on the extremely important Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act vote. Even the delayed response to the Swift Boat Veterans attacks can be traced to calculation obsession. Although John Kerry may vote the right way on a particular issue, it is consistently the result of considering what is best for John Kerry.
In many ways, John Kerry epitomizes what is wrong in Washington. He is detached from ordinary people and excessively consumed with political self interest. Senator Kerry’s explanation the following day for his actions/inactions in Florida was convoluted and calculated. His reaction to the defeat of the marriage equality amendment was strikingly similar (I am a firm supporter of marriage equality and Senator Kerry is not).
Last June, John Kerry held a forum in Natick, Massachusetts and the result of that forum came close to the result in Florida. In Natick, it was apparent from the beginning that people were not happy with John Kerry for many reasons. Some of the concerns were John Kerry’s lack of standing with convictions during the 2004 Presidential election, the walking away from Ohio with $15m left of our money in his campaign fund (half of which he has taken and put into the 2008 Massachusetts Senate race) when there was a team of lawyers on the ground to contest the election, and for his vote to authorize military action in Iraq.
As people lined the two aisles waiting to speak in the Natick auditorium, the tone consistently contained disappointment and outrage. After several questions, it was clear that John Kerry was not comfortable answering any more questions and he went on one long diatribe after another in order to fill up the time and avoid having to answer any more questions.
Senator Kerry’s mini filibuster at the Natick forum resulted in extreme frustration and controlled chaos. As the comments grew more intense and the crowd more anxious, I carefully watched the Natick Police Sergeant standing in the back of the auditorium. As a criminal defense attorney for over 25 years, I was tuned in to how he was reacting. Although it was clear that his awareness was very heightened and that he was ready to move if a crime was committed, he stayed back and out of the way of the verbal volleys. This police sergeant demonstrated tremendous professionalism. Nonetheless, most people left the forum exasperated.
Since the Natick forum, John Kerry will only appear in Massachusetts when he is in control of the dialogue. I have been to approximately 35 Democratic events during the last several months where open dialogue was the norm. John Kerry has appeared at none of these occasions.
Senator Kerry, despite having a month off from the Senate, has declined many invitations by local Democratic Committees to appear with me to discuss the War in Iraq, Health Care, Education, Special Interests, the Environment and Renewable Energy.
The people of Massachusetts want Senator Kerry to debate these issues. Unfortunately, after careful calculation, Senator Kerry has come to the conclusion that although debate and dialogue may be in the best interest of the people of Massachusetts, it is not in John Kerry’s best political interest. Isn’t that what politics as usual is all about?
I invite you to visit my website to see where I stand on the issues and thank you in advance for doing so [Ed O'Reilly http://www.edoreilly.com]
If you would like to help end politics as usual please click on [Act Blue http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18072]. Since John Kerry started with over $7m of our campaign contributions left from the Presidential Election of 2004, your help is extremely important and greatly appreciated.
Ed O'Reilly
www.edoreilly.com
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6 comments:
Ed, You're on the right track. The time has come for the change you propose.
Tomas,
Yes, the overwhelming positive reaction I have been getting inside the Democratic Party of Massachusetts is very encouraging.
Most everyone realizes we need bold change and passion to get our country back on track.
Thank you.
Ed
Ed,
I am very interested in your campaign. However, your official web site does not meet accessibility specs, and my talking browser can't navigate it. So, I can't read much of the material there. I was able to click and read your letter to Sen. Kerry asking him to explain his failure to be present for the FISA vote. Have you received an answer to that letter?
I have several more questions for you.
Why doesn't your web site conform to the guidelines set out for usability and accessibility by the W3C?
Do you actively support disability rights? If so, what specific actions have you taken in your professional capacity as a lawyer and/or as a private citizen to promote equal treatment and acceptance of disabled persons in society?
While I share your deep disappointment with our junior senator (I voted for Diane Forsberg rather than Sen. Kerry in the last election), he does consistently support the VA. Now more than ever, with unprrecedented numbers of service members surviving horrific wounds including traumatic brain injury and being left with life-changing, longterm injury and disability, it is essential that the VA be adequately funded and that it be able to modernize and to coordinate fully with the DOD. If elected, will you support our veterans and the agencies that serve them?
What union(s) did you belong to? I ask because I am myself a union member, and therefore have great interest in union issues.
The Bush administration has actively worked to undercut unions. If elected, would you work to restore a union-friendly environment in the Federal government?
Do you have the support, or are you courting the support, of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO?
Do you support or oppose Gov. Patrick's proposal to locate "destination resort casinos" in Massachusetts?
You mention Gov. Dean in your posts. Would you identify yourself as a Dean Democrat?
Thank you.
Cat
Hi Cat,
I am sorry about the accessibility issues and we are working on correcting these.
FISA--JK said he left to go to the Pan Mass Challenge which is a very important charity event. However, the event was the day AFTER the vote and he could have given up the photo ops at the evening before festivities, but apparently felt they were more important than preserving the Constitution.
JK still has not said what time he left the Senate on the day before the vote.
There is also speculation that JK did not want to vote on this legislation for fear of something happening while the Senate was on vacation and then being blamed for making it too difficult to eavesdrop on terrorists.
As a former firefighter, I worked with disabled people quite often and as a lawyer, I was very specialized in the field of criminal defense. I would refer disability issues to others who specialized in the field.
While on the School Committee, I supported Chapter 766 and other programs for the disabled.
Although not technically disabled by many people's standards, I work with alcoholics on a daily basis in helping them to achieve sobriety. I believe alcohol is a disease and I have a deep understanding and commitment to this area of health and have for nearly 20 years.
I was a member of the North Shore AIDS Health Project Board of Directors.
I visited Marines and a Navy Corpsman and his family at Bethesda Naval Hospital this week and I am not only a big supporter of our VA hospitals, but am concerned with the long term effects from war relative to careers, education, personal life and mental health. We need to consistently care for our veterans on a long term basis.
I was a member of AFSCME and the International Association of Firefighters. My uncle was a union leader and so are my two cousins. I am a strong supporter of organized labor and have never forgotten my Irish roots.
The casino resort issue is difficult.. I have a libertarian streak in me and believe in "live and let live". I even flirt with the idea of de-regulating gambling further. We already have one of the largest gambling operations in the country--the lottery.
The problems I have with large resorts are the impact upon the environment and surrounding communities, the dependence upon low wage employees and issues of crime.
In many ways a large resort is like an all inclusive resort in a lower income country. It provides low paying jobs, but never fully integrates into the community and most of the profits are taken by outsiders.
I am not a gambler myself, but I do believe in live and let live and aren't many people going to Connecticut and increasing global warming in order to have gambling entertainment?
I would like to see smaller projects in more areas that meet with local community standards.
Lastly, I have seen firsthand, the effects of gambling addictions and there is no need to glorify what often is a very depressing event.
We should not be relying on casinos to pay for our schools, roads, etc.
I was a huge Dean supporter and attended fundraisers for him and donated money to his campaign. I am a Dean Democrat!
Howard Dean was the only candidate speaking about the issues that I found important and he had the courage of convictions!
I am one step further than Howard as I am a gay marriage proponent.
Thank you for your comments and I look forward to more dialogue.
I'll pass your disability access concerns over to the tech team.
Ed O'Reilly
Ed,
Thanks for your consideration of my questions and for your thorough responses.
I oppose casinos myself, but understand that the issue is complicated. I live in Springfield, and am particularly concerned about the proposal to locate a casino complex in Palmer, a quiet country town that would, I feel certain, be adversely impacted by such a complex.
I regard LGBT rights, including equal marriage rights, as part and parsel of Civil Rights. As such, I favor equal marriage rights and am proud to live in a state that recognizes and honors these rights. In other words, I'm with you on this one.
When you say you love Howard, you say the magic words, my friend! Anyone who loves Howard is someone I can support!
Ed,
two suggestions for this blog:
1) rearrange the sidebar so your blurb is directly below your photo, the blog archive below that.
2. Include a link to your campaign site and a link to your ActBlue (contributions) page in the sidebar, maybe right below the photo and right above the blurb. People who read the Internet, especially people who read blogs, expect links to be obvious, like in a blog sidebar. They don't have the patience or attentionspan to go searching.
ActBlue page: https://actblue.com/contribute/entity/18072
I'd also suggest that, if you're not already on democrats.org's PartyBuilder, you should open an account. It's a good way to get visibility. You can send and accept invitations to be an online friend, join groups of interest, list events...
I've just blogged about your candidacy there. The link to the post is: http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/catinspringfield/CZRC. My handle there is Cat*in*Springfield*MA.
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