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Kerry / Commander in Chief? - RushOnline.com Posted
with the permission of Gary
Aldrich. Deftly, the Democrats have managed to exclude hard truth from
their political campaigns. The most recent presidential campaigns are the best
evidence. Nowhere can we find any real evidence upon which to make our judgements.
Is this because we think presidential politics is less important than simple
small claims court cases heard before Judge Judy? I helped enforce the
law for 26 years, and I worked in the White House. During that time, I helped
three presidents screen their important appointees for character flaws so that
the president would at least have the option to keep men and women of low character
out of the White House. The process was formal, and we developed real, honest
to goodness legal evidence on the road to deciding character issues. We
are a nation of laws, but in 1992, when Bill Clinton declared that he would not
release his medical records to the media so that the nation would know if he suffered
from some debilitating illness, the mainstream media didn’t even whimper. His
claims of good health were all that was required. Looking back at the Kennedy
presidency, we knew after the fact that Jack Kennedy had terrible health and took
heavy doses of serious prescription drugs. Was it fair to the nation to hide important
information about his health? Perhaps after election, but before? Where is the
rationale for failing to get important information from the candidates? If
a candidate fails to produce evidence of good health, shouldn’t the mainstream
media take the position that his health is unknown because the candidate refuses
to talk? When Bill Clinton’s convoluted financial matters became a scandalous
issue, once again, the mainstream media looked the other way. As scandal after
scandal emerged, it became obvious that if the public had known about the many
serious questions of his moral character, they might have chosen a different commander-in-chief.
Eight years of chaos and messy revelations were the reward for deciding
that politics deserved less attention than the most routine family law case. But,
who decides what the public gets to know? These days the public assumes somebody
is checking, but they are dead wrong. I am always amazed when I hear somebody
say that the “government” or a political party knows all about the candidate.
The recent campaign in Illinois is stark evidence that candidates can hide serious
secrets about their poor character. Not convinced of that? Why not ask
voters in the state of New Jersey? There is no FBI background check conducted
on candidates at any level because there is no constitutional requirement for
that. So, what you know is either what the candidate tells you or what the mainstream
media is able to dig up. In the case of John Kerry, many issues swirl
around his service in Vietnam and his activities after he returned and became
engaged with an anti-war, anti-American group known as Vietnam Veterans Against
the War. Kerry could make hard evidence available to the general public through
the mainstream media by just filling out a few simple forms and submitting them
to the federal government. But Senator Kerry refuses to do that. Kerry
will not release his medical records. Kerry will not release his military records.
Kerry will not release records of the investigation conducted about his anti-war,
anti-American activities, and Kerry will not release his IRS records which would
show the source of his wealth, suggested as enormous. In short, Kerry will not
produce any real evidence about his true character. He is suggesting, I suppose,
that we should take his word for it. Or perhaps we should just guess. If
Judge Judy heard Kerry’s flimsy case, not only would she throw it out, she probably
would fine Senator Kerry fifty dollars for annoying the court and wasting its
precious time. In view of the absence of any real evidence, I think voters must
assume Senator John Kerry’s true character is highly questionable. Gary
Aldrich is president and founder of The
Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, a Townhall.com member group.
******************************************************* More
Thoughts On John Kerry - As Commander & Chief Dear Senator
(JF) Kerry: Since it has become clear that you will probably be the Democratic
Nominee for President, I have spent a great deal of time researching your war
record and your record as a precord and your record as a professional politician.
The reason is simple, you aspire to be the Commander in Chief who would
lead my sons and their fellow soldiers in time of war. I simply wanted to know
if you possess the necessary qualifications to be trusted in that respect. You
see, I belong to a family of proud U.S.veterans. I was a Captain in the
Army Reserve, my father was a decorated Lieutenant in World War II; and I have
four sons who have either served, or are currently serving in the military. The
oldest is an Army Lieutenant still on active duty in Afghanistan after already
being honored for his service in Iraq. The youngest is an E-4 with the
military police. His National Guard unit just finished their second tour of active
duty, including six months in Guantanamo Bay. My two other sons have served
in the National Guard and the Navy. In looking at your record I found myself
comparing it not only to that of my father and my sons, but with the people they
served. My father served with the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion in Europe.
They landed on Utah Beach and fought for 317 straight days including the Cherbourg
Peninsula, Aachen, the Hurtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. You
earned a Silver Star in Vietnam for chasing down and finishing off a wounded and
retreating enemy soldier. My father won a Bronze Star for single handedly
charging and knocking out a German machine gun nest that had his men pinned down.
You received three purple hearts for what appears to be three minor scratches.
In fact you only missed a combined total of two days of duty for these wounds.
The men of my father's unit, the 87th, had to be admonished by their commanding
officer because: "It has been brought to our attention that some men are
covering up wounds and refusing medical attention for fear of being evacuated
and permanently separated from this organization..." It was also a common
problem for seriously wounded soldiers to go AWOL from hospitals in order to rejoin
their units. You used your three purple hearts to leave Vietnam early.
My oldest boy came home from Iraq with numerous commendations and then proceeded
to volunteer to go to Afghanistanand from there back to Iraq again. My sons and
father have never had anything but the highest regard and respect for their fellow
soldiers. Yet, you came home to publicly charge your fellow fighting men
with being war criminals and to urge their defeat by the enemy. You even wrote
a book that had a cover which mocked the heroism of the U.S. Marines who raised
the flag on Iwo Jima. Our current crop of soldiers has a philosophy that
no one gets left behind; and they have practiced that from Somaliato to the battlefields
of the Middle East. Yet, as Chairman of a Senate Committee looking into
allegations that many of your fellow servicemen had been left behind as prisoners
in Vietnam, you chose to defend the brutal Vietnamese regime. You even went so
far as to refer to the families of the POWs and MIAs as Professional malcontents,
conspiracy mongers, con artists, and dime-store Rambos. As a Senator you
voted against the 1991 Gulf War, and have repeatedly voted against funds to supply
our troops with the best equipment, and against money to improve our intelligence
capability. I find this particularly ironic since as a Presidential Candidate
you are highly critical of our pre-war intelligence in Iraq. However, you did
vote to authorize the President to go to war, but have since proceeded to do everything
you can to undermine the efforts of our government and our troops to win. Is this
what our fighting men and women can expect of you if you are their Commander in
Chief? Will you gladly send them to war, only to then aid the enemy by
undermining the morale of our troops and cutting off the weapons they need to
win? Our Country is at war Senator, and as has been the case in every war since
the American Revolution, a member of my family is serving their country during
the war. Now you want me to trust you to lead my sons in this fight for the presidency?
Sorry, Senator, but when I compare your record to those who have fought
and died for this Nation, and are currently fighting and dying, the answer is
not just no, but HELL NO! Sincerely, Michael Connell *
* * http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/
Nuanced?
Kerry's story just doesn't add up - By Mark Steyn (Filed: 10/08/2004)
John Kerry is too strange to be president. I don't mean "strange" in the way of
his predecessor. Al Gore, the first Android-American to run for president, was
weird. But Kerry's strangeness is of an entirely different order. ....
*
* * Open Letter Signed By 121 Retired Flag Officers
On John Kerry's Political Expediency Regarding The War On Terror - October 20th,
2004 (http://www.GeorgeWBush.com/KerryMediaCenter/Read.aspx?ID=3991)
To Interested Parties: There is nothing more important than
supporting troops at war. We understand that because we have commanded Soldiers,
Sailors, Marines and Airmen. We know that President Bush understands this obligation
to the men and women of our armed forces. He increased pay and military funding
prior to September 11th and has given our troops the support they need in the
War on Terror. In contrast, Senator Kerry has a record of votes against
military spending. In his first Senate race at the height of the Cold War, Senator
Kerry advocated a comprehensive reduction in our armed forces, and his record
since has reflected that priority. Senator Kerry has repeatedly voted against
military spending and support for troops, but no vote was as egregious as his
vote against the troops currently fighting in the War on Terror. In October of
2003, after voting to send troops to war, Senator Kerry was given a chance to
vote to support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq with supplies like body armor
and ammunition. He voted no. Just weeks earlier, Senator Kerry said that
a no vote on the funding would be "irresponsible" and would amount to a vote to
"abandon our troops." And yet, that is exactly what Senator Kerry did. We
now know from Senator Biden and from Senator Kerry's own staff that this vote
against the troops was cast out of political expediency as a way to stall the
momentum of Governor Dean. Senator Kerry voted against troops in combat for his
own political benefit. A candidate who sends troops into harm's way and
then denies them the supplies they need to do the job cannot lead our nation in
the War on Terror. Sincerely, Rear Adm. John Adams, Rear Adm. Donald
S. Albright, Jr. Lt. Gen. Teddy Allen, Brig. Gen. Dwayne Alons, Lt. Gen. Charles
Bagnal, Brig. Gen. John Bahnsen,Rear Adm. Stephen Baker, Maj. Gen. John Barry
Rear Adm. Timothy Beard, Rear Adm. Frances Buckley, Brig. Gen. Richard Bundy,
Brig. Gen. Carl Butterworth, Rear Adm. Joseph Callo, Jr., Vice Adm. Kent Carroll,
Brig. Gen. Robert Chadwick, Vice Adm. Edward Clexton, Jr. Lt. Gen. John Conaway,
Maj. Gen. Boyd Cook, Lt. Gen. Charles Cooper, Rear Adm. Frank Corley, Rear Adm.
Michael Coyle Maj. Gen. John D'Araujo, Jr. Gen. John Davis Vice Adm. George Davis
VI Gen. John Deane, Jr. Maj. Gen. Gene Deegan Rear Adm. Jeremiah Denton, Jr. Maj.
Gen. Neil Eddins Rear Adm. Ernest Elliot Rear Adm. Paul Engel Maj. Gen. Merrill
Evans Rear Adm. Edward Feightner Rear Adm. Kenneth Fisher Maj. Gen. John France
Maj. Gen. Joseph Franklin Rear Adm. J. Cameron Fraser, Jr. Rear Adm. Alan Gemmill
Lt Gen William Ginn, Jr. Maj. Gen. Harold Glasgow Maj. Gen. Richard Goddard Rear
Adm. Fred Golove Rear Adm. William Gureck Rear Adm. Wallace Guthrie Rear Adm.
Frank Haak Lt. Gen. Robert Hails Maj. Gen. Jack Hancock Vice Adm. Patrick Hannifin
Rear Adm. Whitney Hansen Vice Adm. Peter Hekman, Jr. Rear Adm. Grant Hollett,
Jr. Rear Adm. Bobby Hollingsworth Lt. Gen. John Hudson Brig. Gen. Oscar Hurt Lt.
Gen. James Johnson, Jr. Gen. P.X. Kelley Adm. Robert Kelly Adm. George Kinnear
Rear Adm. J. Koenig Brig. Gen. Peter Lash Rear Adm. Paul Lautermilch Maj. Gen.
James Livingston Rear Adm. Walter Locke Rear Adm. Noah Long Jr. Rear Adm. Joseph
Loughran Rear Adm. Thomas Lynch Maj. Gen. William Lyon Adm. James Lyons Maj. Gen.
Clark Martin Rear Adm. Fredrick Metz Brig. Gen. Thomas Mikolajcik Rear Adm. John
Moriarty Rear Adm. Thomas Morris Maj. Gen. James Mukoyama Lt. Gen. Carol Mutter
Brig. Gen. Michael Neil Maj. Gen. Stanley Newman Vice Adm. John Nicholson Lt.
Gen. John Norton Brig. Gen. Thomas O'Brien Jr. Rear Adm. Robert Owens Lt. Gen.
Dave Palmer Vice Adm. John Parker, Jr. Maj. Gen. Jeremiah Pearson III Vice Adm.
Douglas Plate Rear Adm. Don Primeau Brig. Gen. John Quinn Rear Adm. Conrad Rorie
Lt. Gen. Donald Rosenblum Vice Adm. Robert Schoultz Rear Adm. Luther Schriefer
Jr. Brig. Gen. Dennis Schulstad Rear Adm. Jud Scott Rear Adm. Kenneth Sears Rear
Adm. Joel Sipes Rear Adm. Robert Smith III Adm. Leighton Smith Jr. Maj. Gen. Frank
Smoker Jr. Brig. Gen. William Spruance Gen. Carl Stiner Vice Adm. Edward Straw
Lt. Gen. Gordon Sumner, Jr. Maj. Gen. Larry Taylor Lt. Gen. David Teal Rear Adm.
William Thompson Vice Adm. Howard Thorsen Vice Adm. Nils Thunman Brig. Gen. William
Tiernan Rear Adm. Ernest Tissot Rear Adm. Paul Tomb Brig. Gen. Guy Townsend Vice
Adm. Jerry Tuttle Maj. Gen. Glen Van Dyke Brig. Gen. Guy VanderLinden Rear Adm.
Lloyd Vasey Maj. Gen. Russell Violett Rear Adm. Edward Walker, Jr. Rear Adm. Lemuel
Warfield Maj. Gen. Gary Wattnem Rear Adm. Harvey Weatherson Maj. Gen. William
Webb Adm. Steven White
* * *
  
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