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from the washington post:
GOP Prism Distorts Some Kerry Positions
By Glenn Kessler and Dan Morgan
Speakers at this week's Republican convention have relentlessly
attacked John F. Kerry for statements he has made and votes he has taken in
his long political career, but a number of their specific claims --
such as his votes on military programs -- are at best selective and in
many cases stripped of their context, according to a review of the
documentation provided by the Bush campaign.
As a senator, Kerry has long been skeptical of big-ticket weapons
systems, especially when measured against rising budget deficits, and to
some extent he opened himself to this line of attack when he chose to
largely skip over his Senate career during his acceptance speech at the
Democratic convention last month. But the barrage by Republicans at
their own convention has often misportrayed statements or votes that are
years, if not decades, old.
For instance:
? Kerry did not cast a series of votes against individual weapons
systems, as Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) suggested in a slashing convention
speech in New York late Wednesday, but instead Kerry voted against a
Pentagon spending package in 1990 as part of deliberations over
restructuring and downsizing the military in the post-Cold War era.
? Both Vice President Cheney and Miller have said that Kerry would
like to see U.S. troops deployed only at the direction of the United
Nations, with Cheney noting that the remark had been made at the start of
Kerry's political career. This refers to a statement made nearly 35
years ago, when Kerry gave an interview to the Harvard Crimson, 10 months
after he had returned from the Vietnam War angry and disillusioned by
his experiences there. (President Bush at the time was in the Air
National Guard, about to earn his wings.)
? President Bush, Cheney and Miller faulted Kerry for voting against
body armor for troops in Iraq. But much of the funding for body armor
was added to the bill by House Democrats, not the administration, and
Kerry's vote against the entire bill was rooted in a dispute with the
administration over how to pay for $20 billion earmarked for
reconstruction of Iraq.
In remarks prepared for delivery last night, Kerry denounced the
Republican convention for its "anger and distortion" and criticized Cheney
for avoiding the military draft during the Vietnam era.
Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt defended the statements made by
convention speakers, though he declined to address details beyond
supplying the campaign's citations of votes. "Whether it was in the '70s, '80s
or '90s, Sen. Kerry has demonstrated a general pattern of hostility to
a strong national defense," Holt said.
Votes cast by lawmakers are often twisted by political opponents, and
both political parties are adept at combing through legislative records
to score political points. Former senator Robert J. Dole's voting
record was frequently distorted by the Clinton campaign eight years ago --
as well as by his GOP rivals for the Republican nomination.
One document frequently cited by Republicans is a 350-word article in
the Boston Globe, written when Kerry was lieutenant governor of
Massachusetts and battling to win the Democratic nomination for senator in
1984 -- a period of soaring deficits in the wake of a huge defense buildup
by President Ronald Reagan. Calling for a "strong defense," the article
said, Kerry proposed to slow the rate of growth in defense spending by
canceling 27 weapons systems, in part to reduce the deficit and also
restore cuts Reagan had made in domestic programs.
While Cheney said Kerry opposed Reagan's "major defense initiatives,"
the campaign does not cite any votes against such defense programs
while Reagan was president, relying instead on a campaign speech before he
was elected senator.
Six years later, Kerry took part in a complex and serious debate in
Congress over how to restructure the military after the Cold War.
Cheney, at the time defense secretary, had scolded Congress for
keeping alive such programs as the F-14 and F-16 jet fighters that he
wanted to eliminate. Miller said in his speech that Kerry had foolishly
opposed both the weapons systems and would have left the military armed
with "spitballs." During that same debate, President George H.W. Bush, the
current president's father, proposed shutting down production of the
B-2 bomber -- another weapons system cited by Miller -- and pledged to
cut defense spending by 30 percent in eight years.
Though Miller recited a long list of weapons systems, Kerry did not
vote against these specific weapons on the floor of the Senate during
this period. Instead, he voted against an omnibus defense spending bill
that would have funded all these programs; it is this vote that forms the
crux of the GOP case that he "opposed" these programs.
On the Senate floor, Kerry cast his vote in terms of fiscal concerns,
saying the defense bill did not "represent sound budgetary policy" in a
time of "extreme budget austerity." Much like Bush's father, he singled
out the B-2 bomber for specific attention, saying it is "one of the
most costly, waste-ridden programs in a long history of waste, fraud and
abuse scandals that have plagued Pentagon spending."
Asked why the campaign was attacking Kerry for having similar
positions as Cheney, White House communications director Dan Bartlett
responded: "I don't have the specifics of [when] then-Secretary of Defense Dick
Cheney was in charge of the Pentagon, but I think we'd be more than
willing to have a debate on whether Dick Cheney or John Kerry was stronger
on defense."
Appearing on CNN, Miller said he had "gotten documentation on every
single one of those votes that I talked about."
Cheney, in his own speech, skipped over that period, going directly
from Kerry's vote against authorization for the first Persian Gulf War
to the post-Sept. 11, 2001, period.
Republican documents also cite a long list of Kerry votes against
various weapons systems, including the B-2 bomber. But Kerry's opposition
in the 1990s often hinged on his concerns about the impact on the
budget deficit of congressional efforts to add money for the plane.
"We are going to build B-2 bombers even though the Pentagon does not
want the B-2 bombers, even though the Pentagon never submitted a
request for the B-2 bombers," Kerry said during a budget debate in October
1995.
Kerry's vote last year against the administration's $87 billion
proposal to fund troops in Iraq and pay for Iraqi reconstruction has also
been the focus of Republican attacks. "My opponent and his running mate
voted against this money for bullets, and fuel, and vehicles, and body
armor," Bush said last night.
Kerry actually supported all those things, but as part of a different
version of the bill opposed by the administration. At the time, many
Republicans were uncomfortable with the administration's plans and the
White House had to threaten a veto against the congressional version to
bring reluctant lawmakers in line.
In a floor statement explaining his vote, Kerry said he favored the
$67 billion for the troops on the ground -- "I support our troops in Iraq
and their mission" -- but faulted the administration's $20 billion
request for reconstruction. He complained that administration "has only
given us a set of goals and vague timetables, not a detailed plan."
Yesterday, the State Department said that only $1 billion of that
money has been spent in the 11 months since the bill was passed.
GOP Prism Distorts Some Kerry Positions
By Glenn Kessler and Dan Morgan
Speakers at this week's Republican convention have relentlessly
attacked John F. Kerry for statements he has made and votes he has taken in
his long political career, but a number of their specific claims --
such as his votes on military programs -- are at best selective and in
many cases stripped of their context, according to a review of the
documentation provided by the Bush campaign.
As a senator, Kerry has long been skeptical of big-ticket weapons
systems, especially when measured against rising budget deficits, and to
some extent he opened himself to this line of attack when he chose to
largely skip over his Senate career during his acceptance speech at the
Democratic convention last month. But the barrage by Republicans at
their own convention has often misportrayed statements or votes that are
years, if not decades, old.
For instance:
? Kerry did not cast a series of votes against individual weapons
systems, as Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) suggested in a slashing convention
speech in New York late Wednesday, but instead Kerry voted against a
Pentagon spending package in 1990 as part of deliberations over
restructuring and downsizing the military in the post-Cold War era.
? Both Vice President Cheney and Miller have said that Kerry would
like to see U.S. troops deployed only at the direction of the United
Nations, with Cheney noting that the remark had been made at the start of
Kerry's political career. This refers to a statement made nearly 35
years ago, when Kerry gave an interview to the Harvard Crimson, 10 months
after he had returned from the Vietnam War angry and disillusioned by
his experiences there. (President Bush at the time was in the Air
National Guard, about to earn his wings.)
? President Bush, Cheney and Miller faulted Kerry for voting against
body armor for troops in Iraq. But much of the funding for body armor
was added to the bill by House Democrats, not the administration, and
Kerry's vote against the entire bill was rooted in a dispute with the
administration over how to pay for $20 billion earmarked for
reconstruction of Iraq.
In remarks prepared for delivery last night, Kerry denounced the
Republican convention for its "anger and distortion" and criticized Cheney
for avoiding the military draft during the Vietnam era.
Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt defended the statements made by
convention speakers, though he declined to address details beyond
supplying the campaign's citations of votes. "Whether it was in the '70s, '80s
or '90s, Sen. Kerry has demonstrated a general pattern of hostility to
a strong national defense," Holt said.
Votes cast by lawmakers are often twisted by political opponents, and
both political parties are adept at combing through legislative records
to score political points. Former senator Robert J. Dole's voting
record was frequently distorted by the Clinton campaign eight years ago --
as well as by his GOP rivals for the Republican nomination.
One document frequently cited by Republicans is a 350-word article in
the Boston Globe, written when Kerry was lieutenant governor of
Massachusetts and battling to win the Democratic nomination for senator in
1984 -- a period of soaring deficits in the wake of a huge defense buildup
by President Ronald Reagan. Calling for a "strong defense," the article
said, Kerry proposed to slow the rate of growth in defense spending by
canceling 27 weapons systems, in part to reduce the deficit and also
restore cuts Reagan had made in domestic programs.
While Cheney said Kerry opposed Reagan's "major defense initiatives,"
the campaign does not cite any votes against such defense programs
while Reagan was president, relying instead on a campaign speech before he
was elected senator.
Six years later, Kerry took part in a complex and serious debate in
Congress over how to restructure the military after the Cold War.
Cheney, at the time defense secretary, had scolded Congress for
keeping alive such programs as the F-14 and F-16 jet fighters that he
wanted to eliminate. Miller said in his speech that Kerry had foolishly
opposed both the weapons systems and would have left the military armed
with "spitballs." During that same debate, President George H.W. Bush, the
current president's father, proposed shutting down production of the
B-2 bomber -- another weapons system cited by Miller -- and pledged to
cut defense spending by 30 percent in eight years.
Though Miller recited a long list of weapons systems, Kerry did not
vote against these specific weapons on the floor of the Senate during
this period. Instead, he voted against an omnibus defense spending bill
that would have funded all these programs; it is this vote that forms the
crux of the GOP case that he "opposed" these programs.
On the Senate floor, Kerry cast his vote in terms of fiscal concerns,
saying the defense bill did not "represent sound budgetary policy" in a
time of "extreme budget austerity." Much like Bush's father, he singled
out the B-2 bomber for specific attention, saying it is "one of the
most costly, waste-ridden programs in a long history of waste, fraud and
abuse scandals that have plagued Pentagon spending."
Asked why the campaign was attacking Kerry for having similar
positions as Cheney, White House communications director Dan Bartlett
responded: "I don't have the specifics of [when] then-Secretary of Defense Dick
Cheney was in charge of the Pentagon, but I think we'd be more than
willing to have a debate on whether Dick Cheney or John Kerry was stronger
on defense."
Appearing on CNN, Miller said he had "gotten documentation on every
single one of those votes that I talked about."
Cheney, in his own speech, skipped over that period, going directly
from Kerry's vote against authorization for the first Persian Gulf War
to the post-Sept. 11, 2001, period.
Republican documents also cite a long list of Kerry votes against
various weapons systems, including the B-2 bomber. But Kerry's opposition
in the 1990s often hinged on his concerns about the impact on the
budget deficit of congressional efforts to add money for the plane.
"We are going to build B-2 bombers even though the Pentagon does not
want the B-2 bombers, even though the Pentagon never submitted a
request for the B-2 bombers," Kerry said during a budget debate in October
1995.
Kerry's vote last year against the administration's $87 billion
proposal to fund troops in Iraq and pay for Iraqi reconstruction has also
been the focus of Republican attacks. "My opponent and his running mate
voted against this money for bullets, and fuel, and vehicles, and body
armor," Bush said last night.
Kerry actually supported all those things, but as part of a different
version of the bill opposed by the administration. At the time, many
Republicans were uncomfortable with the administration's plans and the
White House had to threaten a veto against the congressional version to
bring reluctant lawmakers in line.
In a floor statement explaining his vote, Kerry said he favored the
$67 billion for the troops on the ground -- "I support our troops in Iraq
and their mission" -- but faulted the administration's $20 billion
request for reconstruction. He complained that administration "has only
given us a set of goals and vague timetables, not a detailed plan."
Yesterday, the State Department said that only $1 billion of that
money has been spent in the 11 months since the bill was passed.
