John F. KerryThe Real Deal! ...A Vision For Tomorrow
John F. Kerry
Why I'm Running For President
"I'm running for president to put America back to work ...
I'm running for president because health care is not a
benefit for the wealthy or the elected or the connected ...
I'm running for president because I know that we could be a
hell of a lot stronger in the world if we were to secure our
freedom ... I'm running for president because I believe we
can build an even more effective military.
Working families all across our country are living by the
oldest and greatest of American values -- hard work, service,
and caring for one another. I'm running for president because
I believe that our government should live by those values, too.
I'm running for president because I want an economy that
strengthens and expands the middle class, not one that
squeezes it
John Kerry
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J 6/15/04
9-11 Commission and Security
"The American people deserve an answer now as to why we had
intelligence failures and what the security needs of our
nation are. Why is this administration stonewalling and
resisting the investigation into what happened and why did
we had the greatest security failure in the history of our
country? The American people deserve an answer now. The
immediate instinct of the Republicans and this administration
was to shut it down."
John F. Kerry, 3-07-04
Source:UPI
America
America is more than a piece of geography, more than the name
of a country. It is the most powerful idea in human history:
freedom and equal opportunity for all. I am running for
president to renew that idea and spirit again.
John F. Kerry
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=16981
Brown Vs Board of Education
"We have not met the promise of Brown when one-third of all
African-American children are living in poverty. We have not
met the promise of Brown when only fifty percent of
African-American men in New York City have a job. We have
not met the promise of Brown when nearly twenty million black
and Hispanic Americans don't have basic health insurance. And
we certainly have not met the promise of Brown when, in too
many parts of our country, our school systems are not separate
but equal -- but they are separate and unequal... For America
to be America for any of us, America must be America for all
of us."
John F. Kerry
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=16981
Bush's Economic Program
"Only George W. Bush could celebrate over a record budget deficit
of $422 billion, a loss of 1.6 million jobs and Medicare premiums
that are up by a record 17 percent, "W stands for
wrong — the wrong direction for America."
John F. Kerry
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer 9/7/4
I'm glad the President finally found an economic development
program. I'm just sad that it's only in Baghdad.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
George Bush is to..
"what Paul Bremer is to peace in Iraq; what George Tenet is to 'slam
dunk intelligence'; ... what George Bush is to 'Mission Accomplished'
and 'Wanted Dead or Alive.' ... The bottom line is simple: The 'we'll
do whatever it takes' administration doesn't have what it takes to get
the job done."
John Kerry
Source:Brown University 9-19-2005
Bush I and Bush II
I promise just to serve two terms. Republicans do it differently. They
just have the son repeat the father's whole first term.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
Bush and WMD
The problem is not just that he is changing his story now --
it is that it appears he was telling the American people stories
in 2002. He told America that Iraq had chemical weapons two
months after his own Defense Intelligence Agency told him that
there was, quote, 'no reliable information on whether Iraq is
producing and stockpiling chemical weapons.'
John F. Kerry
Meet The Press, 02-08-04
Campaign
I have confidence in my campaign. I have assembled a great team
that is going to beat George W. Bush, and any rumors to the contrary
are completely erroneous.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
Cheney
"We all saw the anger and distortion of the Republican Convention.
The vice president even called me unfit for office last night.
I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes
someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty."
John F. Kerry
Source:Associated Press 9-2-4
Citizen Soldier
I'm running for President to make the country we love safer,
stronger, and more secure. I'm asking every American to be a
Citizen Soldier again committed to leaving no American behind.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Compassionate Conservative
"The president is just trying to scare everybody here with
throwing labels around. I mean, compassionate conservative,
what does that mean? Cutting 500,000 kids from after-school
programs, cutting 365,000 kids from health care, running up
the biggest deficits in American history. Mr. President,
you're batting 0 for 2."
John F. Kerry
Source:Second Presidential Debate
Credibility
We need to restore America’s credibility around the world and
the trust of the American people in their government at home.
That’s not going to happen with a sham commission... We need
this President to take responsibility and to finally tell the
truth to the American people.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Defending America
I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it
as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate
to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met
with a swift and certain response. I will never give any
nation or international institution a veto over our national
security. And I will build a stronger American military.
John F. Kerry
Source:Democratic Acceptance Speech
Debt
"He's added more debt to the debt of the United States in four
years than all the way from George Washington to
Ronald Reagan put together. Go figure." The budget
swung from a record $313 billion surplus projected
when Bush took office to a record $422 billion deficit
this election year.
John Kerry 10/08/04
Source:Debate
"The president was handed a $5.6 trillion surplus, ladies
and gentlemen. That's where he was when he came into
office. We now have a $2.6 trillion deficit. This is
the biggest turnaround in the history of the country.
He's the first president in 72 years to lose jobs. He
talked about war. This is the first time the United
States of America has ever had a tax cut when we're
at war."
John Kerry 10/08/04
Source:Debate
Education
In my first one hundred days as president, I will set the
nation on course to achieve unprecedented levels of quality
education, child care, and health care for America’s children.
America should be committed to expanding opportunities for
learning enhancing early childhood development and my
Administration will lead the way. My comprehensive plan to
provide for America’s children is an example of the kind of
leadership America is craving for from its president. It
provides real solutions to the problems are families are
facing every day and it is a real plan to leave no child behind.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Parents shouldn’t be forced to send their children to unlicensed
child care providers because the waiting lists are too long
everywhere else. That’s why I’ll create an ‘Excellence in Early
Care and Education’ fund that will make sure your children will
receive quality care from highly-trained professionals. With your
help, I’ll be a President who will make childcare a priority,
and early childhood education a national way of life.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Edwards
"I have chosen a man who understands and defends the values
of America, a man who has shown courage and conviction as a
champion for middle-class Americans and for those struggling
to reach the middle class, a man who has shown guts and
determination and political skill in his own race for the
presidency of the United States, a man whose life has prepared
him for leadership."
John F. Kerry
Source:UPI 7-6-04
Environment
"Now, when it comes to the issue of the environment, this is one of
the worst administrations in modern history. The Clear Skies bill
that he just talked about, it's one of those Orwellian names you
pull out of the sky, slap it onto something, like No Child Left
Behind but you leave millions of children behind. Here they're
leaving the skies and the environment behind."
John F. Kerry
Source:Second Presidential Debate
Excuse Presidency
"His is the excuse presidency -- never wrong, never responsible,
never to blame ... no, it's not our fault; no, there's nothing
wrong; no, we can't do better; no, we haven't made a single mistake.
The president wants you to believe that this record is the record of
the victim of circumstances, the result of bad luck, not bad decisions.
Well, Mr. President, when it comes to your record, we agree -- you own it."
This president has created more excuses than jobs.
John F. Kerry at the Detroit Economic Club.
Source:(Reuters) 9/15/04
Fit For Duty
"I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned
by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who
have misled the nation into Iraq."
Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading
our nation into war make you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing
while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead
this nation"
John F. Kerry
Source:DAVID ESPO and DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press Writers 9-2-4
Flag
You see that flag up there. We call her Old Glory. The stars
and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did
so many of you here and all across our country. That
flag flew from the gun turret right behind my head. It
was shot through and through and tattered, but it
never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets
of men I served with and friends I grew up with. For
us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are
and what we believe in. Our strength. Our diversity.
Our love of country. All that makes America both great
and good. That flag doesn't belong to any president. It
doesn't belong to any ideology and it doesn't belong to
any political party. It belongs to all the American
people.
John F. Kerry
Source:Democratic Acceptance Speech
Freedom Of Speech
Those who try to stifle the vibrancy of our democracy and
shield policies from scrutiny behind a false cloak of patriotism
miss the real value of what our troops defend and how we best
defend our troops. We will ask questions
and we will defend our democracy.
Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., March 2002 speech
Foreign Policy
Americans deserve a principled diplomacy...backed by undoubted
military might...based on enlightened self-interest, not the
zero-sum logic of power politics...a diplomacy that commits America
to lead the world toward liberty and prosperity. A bold progressive
internationalism that focuses not just on the immediate and imminent,
but insidious dangers that can mount over the next years and decade,
dangers that span the spectrum from the denial of democracy,
to destructive weapons, endemic poverty and epidemic disease.
These are not just issues of international order, but vital issues of
our own national security.
Gas Prices
"We need a new direction on energy policy, For three
years, George Bush and Dick Cheney have bent over
backwards to help their big contributors in the oil
industry. I'm going to stand up for students and
middle class families and all those who need relief
at the pump. Ill use real diplomacy to do what George
Bush hasn't - pressure OPEC to start providing more oil.
We'll stop diverting oil to the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve until gas prices get back to normal. We'll
simplify the patchwork of rules on gas all over this
country so that we can reduce costs and make fuel
supplies last while keeping our air clean. And instead
of a secret energy meetings and drilling in the Alaskan
wilderness, we're going to have a real energy plan for
America. We'll create 500,000 new jobs in renewable
energy and building the vehicles of the future. Under
my plan, America will be energy independent from Mideast
oil in 10 years, the fuels of the future will be less
expensive, cleaner, and our young men and women will
never have to fight and die for foreign oil."
John F. Kerry
Source:UPI 3-30-04
Health Care
My plan covers 96 percent of Americans, including nearly all kids and
their families. It lets people buy into the same plan as Members of
Congress and gives small businesses a tax credit to make it affordable.
My plan also gives people 55 to 65 a subsidy to buy into the
Congressional Health Care Plan. It also provides a 75% subsidy for
workers who lose their job.
I will take on insurance companies to cut spiraling costs. And the
government will cover a portion of catastrophic health costs for
companies that insure their workers and lower premiums for everyone.
John F. Kerry
Source:AARP
Homeland Security
When Americans turn on the news and are told to be ‘vigilant,’ we
must make sure they know that means. A Kerry Administration will
launch a Citizen Preparedness Initiative that empowers Americans
with the right information and the right responses to terrorist
threats.
Budget cuts have also left our first responders stretched far too
thin. Threats like these demand that we have more cops on the beat,
and more who are trained how to respond to homeland security needs.
I’ll fight for more resources for today’s cops and we’ll start a
Homeland Security Corps that provides cities and towns with the
resources to hire 5,000 more law enforcement officials who are
trained to provide homeland security.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter offered this country truth and honesty and decency at a
time we needed it the most - and in his actions as well as his words,
this decent man from Plains still honors his faith, stays true to his
values, and sets the standard of how an ex-President ought to behave.
John F. Kerry
Georgia Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner
March 1, 2001
Jobs
Under President Bush’s watch, this country has lost 3 million jobs
and our manufacturing workforce is at a more than fifty year low.
We've gone from the biggest surpluses to the biggest deficits in
our history. He inherited the strongest economy in the world - and
brought it to its knees. This President promised that his tax cuts
would create 3.9 million new jobs. So far he’s lost 3 million.
Now, after promising to create 2.6 million jobs this year, even his
own Cabinet is telling us not to believe him.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
I'm not insensitive to the jobs. I'm desperately concerned
about those jobs. But you don't fix them by pandering to
people and telling them you're going to shut the door.
You have to grow jobs.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
At this rate the Bush administration won't create its first
job for more than 10 years. Americans have a clear choice in
this election. They can either suffer with more and more job
losses that rip the heart out of our economy or they can give
George Bush a new job.
John F. Kerry, Mar 5, 2004
Source:UPI
Labor
When given the chance to compete, American workers
are the best. There’s no question. But George W. Bush
is undercutting the value of American workers and
denying our generation the chance to bring
America up to her potential
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Medicare
I look forward to standing up and holding George Bush accountable for
pushing seniors off of Medicare into HMOs.
John F. Kerry
Source:BC
Middle Class
Real Democrats don't abandon the middle class.
John F. Kerry
Source:BC
Under this Administration, America’s middle class has
been abandoned – its dreams denied, its Main Street
interests ignored and its mainstream values scorned by
a White House that puts privilege first. Middle class
Americans don’t ask for special favors,
they just want basic fairness,
and a President who fights for that ideal.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Military
When I was in Vietnam I learned a lot about the promises that
soldiers make to each other. The Marines have a promise to
never leave behind their dead. In this country, as citizen soldiers,
we need to make the commitment to each other that we will never
leave our veterans behind.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
I'm proud to be doing the work in the United States Senate today
to ensure we have a military second to none, that our troops are
taken care of when we send them into harm's way, and that when we
bring them home we give them the respect they're due. That's a
statement about American values, it's what my Dad taught me by
example when he volunteered for the Army Air Corps during
World War II, and it's a statement about how we can and must
measure our nation.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
NAACP and NRA
I would rather be the candidate of the NAACP than the NRA.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
Oil
"I want an America that relies on its ingenuity and innovation,
not the Saudi royal family."
John Kerry
Source:http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=User
DisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=25098&docId=l:224761519&start=1
Pat Robertson
It is beyond shocking to think that as Prime Minister Sharon fights
for his life, Pat Robertson would attack his character and disparage
the risks Ariel Sharon took to bring peace and security to Israel.
At a time like this, you'd expect bigoted tin-horn dictators and
petty thugs like President Ahmadinejad of Iran to attack Sharon, but
no American who claims to be a leader should stoop so low. Perhaps
we shouldn't be surprised to hear such venom from someone who
claimed Hurricane Katrina was punishment for the people of New Orleans."
source:http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Kerry_demands_apology_for_Robertson_
remarks_0106.html
Prescription Drugs
I will cut prescription drug costs by exposing drug company kickbacks,
ending artificial barriers to generic drugs, and allowing states to
follow the Maine example of using their bargaining power to negotiate
better drug prices. I will work to fix the gaps in the prescription
drug plan and improve protections for low-income seniors and those
with retiree coverage.
John F. Kerry
Source:AARP
Regime Change
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.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
Republican Critics
"Let me tell you, we've just begun to fight. We're going to keep pounding.
These guys are the most crooked, you know,
lying group I've ever seen. It's scary."
John F. Kerry, Mar 10, 2004
Source:AP
Social Security
I am opposed to privatizing or partially
privatizing Social Security because it would
leave people vulnerable to the whims of the
financial markets and without a secure
retirement. The cost of privatizing Social
Security and paying promised benefits is
$1 trillion - an impossibility given our
skyrocketing deficits.
Instead of investing in an expensive and
risky gamble that jeopardizes the livelihood
of millions of Americans, I will invest in
the long-term solvency of Social Security.
One of the most important things we can do
to strengthen Social Security is to grow
the economy, create jobs, and increase
revenues into the program.
John F. Kerry
Source:AARP
Special Interest
From the moment I take office, I will stand up to the special interests
and stand with hardworking families so that we can give America back
its future and its ideals.
John F. Kerry
Source:BC
This president has created an economy that feeds the special interests,
the powerful and the corporate power, and he has not helped the average
American worker advance their cause. I will.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
"Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still is. And I still
carry the shrapnel in my leg from a wound in Vietnam.
More than 30 years ago I learned an important lesson. When you’re under
attack the best thing to do is turn your boat into the attack.
That’s what I intend to do today.
Of course, this group isn’t interested in the truth and they’re not
telling the truth. ...
But here’s what you really need to know about them. They’re funded by
hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of
Texas. They’re a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the
President won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you
need to know. He wants them to do his dirty work.
Of course, the president keeps telling people he would never question
my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded
attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about
our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: ‘Bring it on.”’
John Kerry
Source:The Associated Press
Updated: 10:34 a.m. ET Aug. 19, 2004
Taxes
"I'm pledging I will not raise taxes; I'm giving a tax cut to the people
earning less than $200,000 a year. Now, for the people earning more than
$200,000 a year, you're going to see a rollback to the level we were at
with Bill Clinton, when people made a lot of money."
John F. Kerry
Source:Second Presidential Debate
Terrorism
When the threat of terrorism is increasing I’ll do more than
simply issue an Orange Alert. As President, I’ll make sure
that towns and cities don’t have to bear all the burden of
increasing security – a price tag that can weigh in at several
million dollars a day. I will create an ‘Orange Alert Fund’
that pays for police overtime and other security enhancements.
John F. Kerry
Source:KFP
Values
For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But
values spoken without actions taken are just slogans.
Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're
about the causes we champion and the people we fight for.
And it is time for those who talk about family values to
start valuing families.
John F. Kerry
Source:Democratic Acceptance Speech
Vietnam
The race for the White House should be about leadership,
and leadership requires that one help heal the wounds of Vietnam,
not reopen them.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
We do not need more division. We certainly do not need something
as complex and emotional as Vietnam reduced to simple
campaign rhetoric.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
We do not need to divide America over who served and how.
I have personally always believed that many served in many
different ways. Someone who was deeply against the war
in 1969 or 1970 may well have served their country with equal
passion and patriotism by opposing the war as by fighting in it.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam?
How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?
John F. Kerry
April, 1971
Vision
George Bush's vision does not live up to the America I enlisted in the
Navy to defend, the America I have fought for in the Senate, and the
America that I hope to lead as president.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
War
I will never conduct a war or start a war because we want to; the
United States of America should only go to war because we have
to. And if you live by that guidance, you'll never have veterans
throwing away their medals or standing up in protest.
John F. Kerry
Source:BQ
view my guestbook sign my guestbook free guestbook
John F. Kerry Speeches, Statements, and Interviews
John F. Kerry Acceptance Speech
Howie's Great Democratic Quote Page
