We use terms like conservative and liberal, and they're necessary in political dialogue. But it helps sometimes to look at what goes into the term -- what exactly does it mean to be a liberal Senator? As John Kerry was rated the most liberal by the Lefty stalwarts at Americans for Democratic Action, let's use him as our example. I spent some time reading tonight. Here are a few of his votes from recent years:
1. He voted to repeal Reagan's "Mexico City" rule, which outlawed giving foreign aid to NGOs which perform abortions.
2. He voted against exempting religious organizations from laws banning discrimination of sexual orientation in hiring. In other words, churches and religious organizations would be forced to hire homosexuals regardless of their beliefs on the matter.
3. He voted against myriad new weapons systems, and for military spending cuts and freezes.
4. He voted to reduce the maximum penalty for terrorists who kill US citizens abroad from the death penalty to life in prison.
5. He voted against allowing states to refuse recognition of other states' gay marriages.
6. He voted to use federal funds to pay for abortifacient pills for public school clinics.
7. He voted to subject US troops and citizens to the authority of the International Criminal Court, opening them up to frivolous persecution of the type Brussels excels at, and weakening our national sovereignty.
8. He voted to have military clinics offer abortions.
9. He voted to add homosexuality to hate crime laws, and require the federal government to prosecute even when no federal law had been broken.
10. He voted to impose the damaging Kyoto Treaty, which exempted polluters like China and would have severely damaged our economy.
11. He voted repeatedly to keep partial-birth abortion legal.
These are just a handful of his votes, but they do help flesh out what it means to be a liberal.
***Gratuitous cheap-shot alert!*** A nutshell definition seems to be: Someone who wants to spare the lives of terrorists but take the lives of infants.
Posted by Discoshaman at mars 7, 2004 03:23 AM | TrackBack
Very good, sir. I've heard NPR twice discuss the possibility of Kerry being 'charged' as a 'liberal', implying will the President's campaign try to smear or spin Kerry as a liberal when you and I both know he is a decent, upstanding civil leader? I've been listening to liberal news more often lately, and each time I either laugh or yell at the radio.
Posted by: Raindream at mars 7, 2004 04:53 AMYour gratuitous cheap shot would appear to be a fair assessment based on his voting record. Of course we don't know what other measures were attached to some of the bills he voted against, maybe they deserved a nay vote. But his yea votes are questionable.
Posted by: Samantha at mars 7, 2004 04:55 AM