Signs of the Time: Kerrys Rant Backfires, page 1

Heh, seeker, it is becoming quite obvious me and you are on the opposite sides on quite a few issues. Have I found my arch-nemesis finally? Oh well, may it continue to be fun.

Now, please, as a Bush supporter you have NO room to call Kerry a flip-flopper.

Please refer to: Flip-flopping flip-flopper

Another issue not touched upon here is Bush saying Gay Marriage should be left to the states. My, we've come along way, haven't we?

I think the ultimate flip-flop will be if the Iraqis elect someone who doesn't like America, will Bush allow them to stay in office (assuming Bush himself is still in office when it happens) despite preaching free elections and self-government.

Now in the last post you told me to do my research. In nearly every case something about the circumstances at the time Kerry casted his vote for or against something has changed, which may prompt a change in opinion.

For example: The Iraq War. Kerry voted for the war after being told and basically guaranteed that Saddam had WMDs. I know I was for the war thinking that as I know many people were. However, once it became evident there probably were no WMDs, people's opinions changed. Mine did, so did Kerrys.

And, also, my research has led me to this analysis of John Kerry's alleged "Flip-flops." Credit goes to Matthew Yglesias written in the American Prospect Online

The dubious cogency of this critique is well captured by the line, "For tax cuts, and against them." Yes, it's true, John Kerry believes that it is right to cut certain taxes under certain circumstances and wrong to cut other taxes under other circumstances. Hard to disagree with that. And is Bush really for cutting all taxes, all the time, no matter what? How does he propose to finance the government? When you run your oil company into the ground, your father's Saudi friends can bail you out, but as an approach to the federal budget this method is somewhat flawed.

Is Kerry both for the Patriot Act and against it? Well, he voted for it, and now he criticizes it, so he must be inconsistent. Howard Dean's campaign pioneered this argument; it didn't make sense then and it doesn't make sense now. First off, read the law. You can download it here from a special Department of Justice website dedicated to singing the bill's praises. Kerry voted for the bill because he believed that the law, in all its 132 pages of glory, would do more good than harm. That's what Senators do. Does that mean he thinks each and every word written on each and every page is a good idea? Of course not, and as president he'll have the opportunity to alter the law. Kerry's website offers five proposed improvements to the Patriot Act. I happen to think he's right about only four of them. So would it be inconsistent of me to prefer Kerry to Bush on the question of the Patriot Act? Of course not -- there are two options, and Kerry is the better of the two. He's not perfect, but I'll support him. Just as Kerry supported an imperfect law he regarded as better than nothing.

On NAFTA, a flip-flop is even harder to find. Kerry supported the treaty; nowhere in his trade issues page is there any suggestion that he intends to abrogate it. Rather, "John Kerry will also order an immediate 120-day review of all existing trade agreements to ensure that our trade partners are living up to their labor and environment obligations." One wonders what part of this Bush disagrees with -- does he think our trade partners should evade their obligations, or is he simply opposed to finding out whether or not they are doing so?...

Given a choice between Kerry's nuance and Bush's policy of, well, lying about what he wants to do, I think I'll stick with Kerry.

Of course, I came across an example of Kerry flip-flopping completely during the Gulf War, but every politician flip-flops. Many of the alleged "flip-flops" by Kerry are people reading into things that aren't there and twisting it to support their opinion. Serving in politics 20 years, you're more than likely going to change your mind on things.