Kerry’s Indefensible Voting Record on Defense

Senator Kerry wants us to believe that his service in Vietnam makes him the best qualified on issued of national defense and security. Never mind the fact that he claimed in 1991, when Bill Clinton was running for President that the Vietnam War should play no role in modern day politics ( click here for transcript of his speech ). Never mind that if he and the rest of the Democrats really believed that military service and heroism were important, they would have voted for President Bush in 1991, and Bob Dole in 1996, BOTH bonafide World War II hero’s, instead of a unapologetic draft dodger with nothing but contempt for the military. Never mind the fact that after Kerry returned from Vietnam, and as a radical anti-war activist, betrayed his comrades who were still fighting over-seas by calling them “ baby killers, “ “ murderers, “ “ and “ war criminals. “

Or that North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Min stated that people like John Kerry, Hanoi Jane Fonda

and the anti-war left were worth more to the Communist victory than entire divisions of soldiers.

( It shouldn’t be at all surprising these same leftists don’t see how their protests of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq equally embolden our enemies and thus, put our current crop of soldiers at much greater risk…just as it did in Vietnam..but I digress… )

While all of this exposes Kerry’s hypocrisy and his attempt to exploit a war he had nothing but contempt for, it is more relevant to focus on his record as a U.S. Senator.

After all, his voting record is the only true indication of where he stands on the U.S. Military and Defense, not what he did, or didn’t do in Vietnam 30 years ago. The following is a brief list of Kerry’s votes in his decades of “ service “ in the U.S. Senate. As my research continues, and as the election nears I will be updating this list

Kerry has voted AGAINST:

1. B-1 bomber, B-2 stealth bomber

2. Apache helicopter

3. Patriot missile system

4. F-15, F-14A, F-14D jets

5. AV-8B Harrier jet

6. Trident missile system

7. M1 Abrams tank

8. Bradley Fighting Vehicle

9. Tomahawk cruise missile

10. F-16 jet.

Note that ALL of these implements have been used

to successfully win wars in Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq

Kerry has voted in favor of:

1. Near elimination of the CIA in the 1970’s

2. Draconian cuts to the CIA budget in 1993 even

AFTER the first Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center

2. Freeze ALL Defense Spending

for 7 years beginning in 1996 and

transfer Funds to Social Programs

3. Placing all US forces under U.N. command

and to be used only at U.N discretion

4. Introduced Senate Bill #1580 on 2/29/96

that would have slashed Defense Dept. budget by 6.5 Billion dollars

5. Voted NO on the 1991 Gulf War to Liberate Kuwait

( yet chose to vote YES on the war to Remove Saddam Hussein in 2002…..go figure )

Kerry's desire to deplete the military is a long one. One has to go all the way back to 1972 to find his first plan to take funding from the military and redistribute it to social programs. In his failed race for the Congress, his speeches centered on a simple theme--he promised to vote against all military appropriations. In an interview with Harvard's Crimson he stated that he would "almost eliminate CIA activity and have U.S. troops dispersed throughout the world only at the directive of the United Nations."

Kerry indicated that he felt the war on terror was more a legal problem than a military one. Did convicting some of those who were responsible stop any of the terror attacks leading up to 9/11? "I think there has been an exaggeration," Mr. Kerry said when asked whether President Bush has overstated the threat of terrorism. "They are misleading all Americans in a profound way." Apparently the vision of those jets crashing into the Twin Towers was not imprinted on Senator's Kerry's mind as it was for most Americans. That attack was not just a crime; it was an act of war.

In the 1980's, the Associated Press reported that Kerry sat on the board of the radical liberal group "Jobs with Peace Campaign," whose main objective was to "develop public support for cutting the defense budget."

Senator Kerry voted to reduce the defense spending levels for weapon projects by $8.8 billion in fiscal 1993. (Senate Congressional Resolution 106)

When questioned on defense funding, he said: "I have voted for almost all weapon systems that we have today with few exceptions. Unfortunately, these are people who've never met a system they didn't like. I have."

If these are the "unimportant" items he voted against, what on earth were the important ones he did vote for? Even non-military-minded folks easily recognize most of these vital pieces of American technology that helped us to win the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom with swiftness that shocked the world. It's unimaginable that our armed forces wouldn't have these weapons and weapon systems at their disposal. What new weapons would President Kerry block?

The senator believes innovative weapons only encourage other countries to come up with their own. Does he believe our enemies will be idle just because we do nothing? It is typical liberal thinking that if we disarm so will the enemy.

Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, added an amendment to the Fiscal 1996 Budget Resolution that would freeze defense spending for seven years and transfer the $34.8 billion in savings to education and job training. Kerry Voted Yea (Senate Congressional Resolution 13, CQ Vote #181: Rejected 28-71) If that amendment had passed in 1996, what condition would our military have been in by 2001?

The Senator introduced a bill to slash Department of Defense funding by $6.5 billion. Kerry's draconian bill had no co-sponsors and never came to a floor vote. (Senate 1580, Introduced 2/29/96)

An amendment introduced by Harkin and supported by Kerry was to Senate Bill 2057: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999.

This amendment would have transferred $329 million from the Department of Defense to the Veterans Affairs Department for veteran's health care programs. The transfer would be conducted by the secretary of defense in a manner which ''causes the least significant harm'' to military readiness and to the quality of life of military personnel. While it is imperative to take care of our veterans, making those presently wearing the uniform suffer is not the answer. Many in uniform were already struggling and on food stamps. Taking more from them would have been criminal. The Harkin amendment was defeated.

John Kerry ignored the growing threat to this country. We had had several terrorist attacks including the first attack on the WTC in 1993, but with blinders on, Kerry had one vision-weaken the military, cut the CIA, and use the money for his ever-growing social giveaway programs. His total ignorance of what America would need for defense in the new century is shocking. Kerry had twice placed in the Congressional Record that America had no enemies or threats to her security. Did he ignore the threats or was it that he just didn't care?

As an interesting sideline, Kerry referred twice to the downing of TWA Flight 800 as a terrorist attack. In light of such statements, one has to wonder why he continued his hack-and-slash policies of the very forces that would be called upon to protect us from such attacks.

Kerry wants us to ignore that if he had been successful in his quest, we could very well be in an all out war on American soil. Had we followed his vision, our soldiers would not have the high-tech equipment they have and use so effectively. If bills Senator Kerry supported had passed, our military readiness would be nonexistent. Had John Kerry been in charge, our soldiers would be under U.N. control.

Kerry wants us to remember that he served in Viet Nam and won a Silver Star, although he wants us to forget that he came home and called his fellow soldiers war criminals. He later admitted that he never saw any of the atrocities he testified to in front of Congress. The basis of his testimony--the Jane Fonda sponsored ''Detroit Winter Soldier'' event--has long been questioned and some say many of the ''veterans'' who testified at that event, were not veterans at all. Many Viet Nam vets were outraged at being described as vicious animals.

Kerry can't say his words were twisted or taken out of context. These votes and comments are well documented and demonstrate that John Kerry's newfound love and support of the military is strictly political, phony, and false. He still doesn't see the terrorist threat to this country. On the basis of that alone, Senator Kerry as President Kerry would be a threat to this country.

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