[eDebate] Kerry's miserable legislative record

[David Rhaesa]

But Legislative ACHIEVEMENT is only part of the responsibilities of office for a Senator.  We have a head-to-head between 2 senators at the moment  What are the responsibilities of that office and what does it mean to be Senatorial?  Is it fair to judge Edwards on an equal standard?  How do Kerry's first years in the Senate compare with Edwards?  Can we compare across historical periods like that; is that type of comparison fair?  This is no battle royal, but it looks like a good match since Sonny Liston isn't around anymore.

David in Denver
----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Cooper
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 1:58 PM
To: 'j-lux at northwestern.edu'; edebate at ndtceda.com
Subject: RE: [eDebate] Kerry's miserable legislative record

Lux:  
The question is legislative **achievement**.  A nice number of things proposed that never went farther than a Kerry Senate Office press release.  In 4 terms in the senate, wanna know how many pieces of Kerry legislation have become a reality for the lives of real people?
3.  
"Look, Kerry may not have his name on every piece of legislation that the Senate has produced, but he is someone who knows how to get things done."
Yeah....about that....  
Coop   
-----Original Message-----  
From: j-lux at northwestern.edu [mailto:j-lux at northwestern.edu]  
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 2:22 PM  
To: edebate at ndtceda.com  
Subject: [eDebate] Kerry's miserable legislative record  


John Kerry has spent 17+ years in the Senate doing absolutely nothing of  
note. Fargo staff member couldn't name anything, must be true.  
Apparently, that staff member missed the memo:  
- Kerry co-sponsored ENDA in 1994.  
- Voted against DOMA, only person about to be re-elected who did so (a  
Parch argument, I must admit)  
- Authored the 1985 Civil Rights Amendments that first proposed expanding  
civil rights protections to GLBTs  
- If you do a quick online search (no need to even steal a lexis code)  
you will find a variety of hits for "Kerry Bill" including such trivial  
things as expanding high-speed internet access to disadvantaged areas of  
the country and the 2000 AIDS prevention bill that authorized the largest  
increase in AIDS prevention funding the United States ever paid (in  
addition to severing the House's abstinence-only provisions)  
- Scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign's ratings of  
congresspeople on GLBT issues since 1995 (even in spite of his marriage  
stance, which the HRC takes into account)  
- Sponsored the Innocence Protection Act authorizing federal defendants  
in capital cases to use DNA evidence to demonstrate their innocence.  
- Author or sponsor of several pieces of early-90's deficit reduction  
legislation that was credited with helping to bring the budget back into  
surplus.  
The list goes on, but that would be beating a dead horse...  
I'll go ahead and send her another copy of that memo. Grreeeeeat.  
Look, Kerry may not have his name on every piece of legislation that the  
Senate has produced, but he is someone who knows how to get things done.  
The country hasn't had a President with federal legislative experience in  
a long time, and say what you will about the politics of Nixon or LBJ,  
one thing that is true about them is that they knew how to get things  
done. Kerry may not be the visionary that will save the Democratic Party  
and re-vitalize progressivism in America, but if it ain't him, at this  
point, it's the big W - and we've all seen where that goes.  
Lux  
PS - Sex scandals aren't fatal. Some of Clinton's biggest debacles came  
out during the '92 campaign, he still won. Scandals only ensure that  
social conservatives won't vote for Kerry - but most of them want to have  
like a million of Bush's babies anyway, so no votes lost there.  


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