Mangled Statement Caught on Tape
31 October 2006 9:27 am by Taylor Marsh
Mangled Statement Caught on Tape… Kerry Pushes Back
–updated below–
cross-posted on Huffington Post
Not pretty and caught on tape.
Below is what Kerry actually meant to say.
“I can’t overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq.” – Senator John Kerry (via Kerry spokesperson)
He screwed it up. Period. Hey, but the wingnuts don't care. And now it's on tape!
Mis-statement or not, you've just seen footage of the first negative ad
in the '08 campaign, if Kerry runs.
Below is Kerry's statement responding to all the wingnuts going wild, which can be found
here, here,
here,
here … … He's
right about one thing. While U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq, the wingnut brigade
prefers distractions.
Statement of John Kerry Responding to Republican Distortions,
Pathetic Tony Snow Diversions and DistractionsWashington – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response
to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and
right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about
President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record:“If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000
heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're
crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these
despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never
can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House
mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt
today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s
disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts
me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country
lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick
Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy
that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened
the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid
to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the
empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without
body armor.Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re
afraid to debate real men. And this time it won’t work because we’re
going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of
light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration
that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy
in Iraq.”
Okay. But it still doesn't unwind the tape.
Kerry should just admit he screwed up his statement. It may be ugly, but it's the truth.
UPDATE (10:10 a.m.): St. McCain chimes in.
Senator Kerry owes an apology to the many thousands of Americans serving in Iraq, who answered their country's call because they are patriots and not because of any deficiencies in their education. Americans from all backgrounds, well off and less fortunate, with high school diplomas and graduate degrees, take seriously their duty to our country, and risk their lives today to defend the rest of us in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
They all deserve our respect and deepest gratitude for their service. The suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq, is an insult to every soldier serving in combat, and should deeply offend any American with an ounce of appreciation for what they suffer and risk so that the rest of us can sleep more comfortably at night. Without them, we wouldn't live in a country where people securely possess all their God-given rights, including the right to express insensitive, ill-considered and uninformed remarks.
UPDATE II (12:55 p.m.): Round two. Kerry pushes back.
