John Kerry on Principles & Values Jr Senator (MA), Democratic nominee for President

Sub-sections under Principles & Values:
• Campaign Themes
• Personal
• Other issues under Principles & Values

FactCheck: No, Kerry is 11th most liberal, not 1st in Senate

CNN FACT CHECK:National Journal's Feb. 2004 rankings did list Kerry as the most liberal member of the Senate in 2003, but the result was based only on his votes in the year 2003, and may have been artificially inflated by Kerry's unusually high absentee rate last year. National Journal based its ratings on 62 key Senate votes cast in 2003 in three issue areas: economic policy, social policy and foreign policy. Kerry's rating was based only on the 20 votes he cast in the economic policy area. His votes in social and foreign policy were not counted because he missed more than half of the votes in those categories. Had he missed four more economic votes, Kerry would not have been included in the 2003 ratings at all. Kerry's lifetime liberal rating is 85.7 out of 100, making him the Senate's 11th most liberal senator.

We need to do more to link good work with faith

BUSH: My faith plays a big part in my life. Prayer and religion sustain me. When I make decisions, I stand on principle, and the principles are derived from who I am. I believe we ought to love our neighbor like we love ourself, as manifested in public policy through the faith-based initiative. I believe that God wants everybody to be free. And that's been part of my foreign policy. In Afghanistan, I believe that the freedom there is a gift from the Almighty.

KERRY: I went to a church school and I was taught that the two greatest commandments are: Love God, with all your mind, your body and your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.I think we have a lot more loving of our neighbor to do. We have an unequal school system. And the president and I have a difference of opinion about how we live out our sense of our faith. I talked about it earlier when I talked about faith without works being dead.

Late Night: "Top 10 Bush Tax Proposals"

Kerry's "Top 10 Bush Tax Proposals" are:
• 10. No estate tax for families with at least two U.S. presidents.
• 9. W-2 Form is now Dubya-2 Form.
• 8. Under the simplified tax code, your refund check goes directly to Halliburton.
• 7. The reduced earned income tax credit is so unfair, it just makes me want to tear out my lustrous, finely groomed hair.
• 6. Attorney General (John) Ashcroft gets to write off the entire U.S. Constitution.
• 5. Texas Rangers can take a business loss for trading Sammy Sosa.
• 4. Eliminate all income taxes; just ask Teresa Heinz Kerry to cover the whole damn thing.
• 3. Cheney can claim Bush as a dependent.
• 2. Hundred-dollar penalty if you pronounce it "nuclear" instead of "nucular."
• 1. George W. Bush gets a deduction for mortgaging our entire future.

Bush & Cheney unfit to serve because they misled us into war

The vice president even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.

Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change.

Bigotry and hatred should never steal our hope and future

And now it's our time to ask: What if? What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's and AIDs? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives? What if we do what adults should do-and make sure all our children are safe in the afternoons after school? What if we have a leadership as good as the American dream - so that bigotry and hatred never again steal the hope and future of any American?

The flag represents who we are and what we believe in

Reject politics that divide people

Pray humbly that we are on God's side

Will lead an America where all are in the same boat

Urban Legend: Kerry did not disparage Reagan at funeral

"This moment in Simi Valley is a moment of truth," Kerry said. "Not just for my campaign, but for the future of my party as well. For some of us, this may be our only chance to confirm the demise of the man who is solely responsible for turning the American people away from liberal philosophy. As Democrats, we need to put small differences aside and be certain that this man is truly gone. Next, we must reclaim our country from the church-goers, the middle America folks and the uneducated conservative masses."

Clear separation of church and state

Revoke every Bush order that favors special interests

My first major bill to Congress will be national health care reform, taking on the insurance industry to hold down costs and cover all Americans. I will repeal Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy so we can invest in education and health care. I will take on the oil industry and make energy independence a national priority while creating 500,000 new jobs. I will attack corporate corruption and end the special interest feeding frenzy in Washington. And I will declare an end to the Bush policy of unilateralism and pre-emptive war.

I have spent my entire career standing up to special interests and fighting for the American people. I am running for president because we need a President who is ready and willing on day one to make tough stands and fight the hard battles.

Honors the separation of church and state

A: No, I think I agree completely with Dean. I think that we can be people of faith, and we are. But as Kennedy made clear to the nation in Houston in 1960, we cherish as a country the separation of church and state. I think many of us turn to God in our private moments and also when we go to church or mosque or synagogue. But we recognize that the beauty of America respects the divisions.

Despite Zell Miller, Dem Party does speak to southerners

A: I disagree with Senator Miller. I respect him but I disagree with him. People below the Mason Dixon line don't have adequate health care, their water is polluted and they are losing their jobs overseas under this administration. Every time I've been down there -- people have responded very positively. I think everyday Americans understand that I will be the president to stand up to special interests and fight for them. And last time I saw Zell, he told me that he liked my speech and that what I was saying would resonate in Georgia.

Bush broke his three biggest campaign promises

• First, he pledged to "change the tone" in Washington-to reach out to Democrats & all Americans and overcome the partisan bitterness of the late 1990s. But since then the president has done the very opposite, presiding over the most partisan administration I have experienced.
• Second, Bush pledged frequently to temper the harsh ideology of his party with a "compassionate conservatism." [But Bush's approach has been] a rhetoric of compassion and concern accompanied by policies that are compassionate primarily toward the most comfortable members of our society.
• Bush pledged many times to usher in a "responsibility era," to exercise brave leadership whatever the political costs. He has reneged by refusing to deal with global climate change, the impending crisis in retirement programs, the culture of corporate corruption, our vulnerability to energy blackmail, [and many other dangers.].

Persecuted Catholics rely on church-state separation

Need a president who won't write laws only for contributors

Contest between common sense values and extreme ideologues

I'm talking about things that matter to people

KERRY: Well, probably I ought to just disappear and contemplate that by myself.

You know, I've heard that for a long time, but I'm attracting support all across the country and it's because I'm talking about things that matter to people. I'm the only person running for this job who's actually fought in a war.

I believe I bring strength to this ticket: strength about how we maintain a military that is strong, but make ourselves stronger in the world. And I think I know what our vision is for this country at home: health care, really leaving on child behind, putting people back to work and I have a proven record of fighting the tough fights that will give people trust that I will do that for America.

I'm a good person to be in the foxhole with

Service is what brought America peace and prosperity

Restore trust and credibility to the White House

Seeing complexities of complex issues is not flip-flopping

Shutting one's eyes and ears to the truth is not patriotism

America can do better and help is on the way

Ready to lead America: I was there and I led the fight

Campaign built around a call to service

Redeem promise for a better America for our children

I am running for president in no small part to redeem that promise for the America to come. While we are living today in the most extraordinary and powerful nation no earth, I believe not only that America's best days are still to come but that our best work is yet to be done. We have the capacity to lift the life of our own land as well as lead the world to a safer and more hopeful future. But doing so will require equal measures of strength, vision, and resolve, embodied in a leadership that grasps both the breadth of our potential and the great legacy of our past.

It is time for this country to ask again, why not?

I'm running for presiden because I believe it is time for this country to ask again, why not? Why not in the richest country on the face of the planet, health care for all of our citizens accessible and affordable? Why not early childhood education so that all of our children get the best start in life? Why not invest in our future and our jobs by creating energy independence for America? Why not have a military that is strong but at the same time advances our ideals around the globe? And why not have a president who understands the truth that the flag and patriotism do not belong to any one party, they belong to all Americans?

I believe we can achieve these ideals, and I ask you to join me in the effort to make America safer, stronger and more secure.

My faith affects everything that I do

My mother was the rock of our family

Saw the fear in the eyes of people who were not free

Grandfather committed suicide; John never told he was Jewish

Spent summers on Cape Cod and hometown in Millis MA

Attended boarding school in Europe; fluent in French

Despite aristocratic roots, a Catholic outsider at schools

Political heroes: Max Cleland, FDR, JFK, Lincoln

A: Max Cleland is an extraordinary example-he's a triple amputee and a veteran. He's an excellent example for us all. Other heroes of mine are: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, & John Kennedy- they were leaders that took extraordinary risk. That's what political leadership is supposed to be all about. It's hard to pick just one-there are a lot of leaders in their communities who are doing amazing work. We can all learn from their examples.

Raised Catholic, but family history includes Jews

One thing that hasn't changed for me as a result of this revelation is my Catholic heritage. I am a believing and practicing Catholic. And being an American Catholic at this particular moment in history has three particular implications for my own point of view as a candidate for the presidency.

Favorite song: Bruce Springsteen, "No Surrender."

This is for the Gen X crowd, and it's very personal. What's your favorite song?
• MOSELEY BRAUN: What's my favorite song? "You Gotta Be."
• SHARPTON: My favorite song is James Brown's song on the Republican Party, "Talking Loud, Saying Nothing."
• KERRY: Bruce Springsteen, "No Surrender."
• DEAN: One you've never heard of, Wycliffe Jean, "Jaspora" [Creole for "Diaspora"]
• LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, like a good politician, I'm going to take two. Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, remember that one? And the classic Frank Sinatra, "My Way." We're going to do it our way in 2004.
• KUCINICH: John Lennon, "Imagine," as in imagine a new America.
• GEPHARDT: Bruce Springsteen, "Born In The USA."
• GRAHAM: Jimmy Buffet, "Changes In Attitude, Changes In Latitudes." We're going to change some attitudes and latitudes.

Religious affiliation: Catholic.

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What’s an adherent?

Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using.

Supports Hyde Park Declaration of "Third Way" centrism.

As New Democrats, we believe in a Third Way that rejects the old left-right debate and affirms America’s basic bargain: opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and community of all.

We believe:
• that government’s proper role in the New Economy is to equip working Americans with new tools for economic success and security.
• in expanding trade and investment because we must be a party of economic progress, not economic reaction.
• that fiscal discipline is fundamental to sustained economic growth as well as responsible government.
• that a progressive tax system is the only fair way to pay for government.
• the Democratic Party’s mission is to expand opportunity, not government.
• that education must be America’s great equalizer, and we will not abandon our public schools or tolerate their failure.
• that all Americans must have access to health insurance.
• in preventing crime and punishing criminals.
• in a new social compact that requires and rewards work in exchange for public assistance and that ensures that no family with a full-time worker will live in poverty.
• that public policies should reinforce marriage, promote family, demand parental responsibility, and discourage out-of-wedlock births.
• in enhancing the role that civic entrepreneurs, voluntary groups, and religious institutions play in tackling America’s social ills.
• in strengthening environmental protection by giving communities the flexibility to tackle new challenges that cannot be solved with top-down mandates.
• government must combat discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation; defend civil liberties; and stay out of our private lives.
• that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
• in progressive internationalism -- the bold exercise of US leadership to foster peace, prosperity, and democracy.
• that the US must maintain a strong, technologically superior defense to protect our interests and values. Source: The Hyde Park Declaration 00-DLC0 on Aug 1, 2000

  Member of Democratic Leadership Council.

  Kerry is a member of the Democratic Leadership Council:

  Mission

  The DLC’s mission is to promote public debate within the Democratic Party and the public at large about national and international policy and political issues. Specifically, as the founding organization of the New Democrat movement, the DLC’s goal is to modernize the progressive tradition in American politics for the 21st Century by advancing a set of innovative ideas for governing through a national network of elected officials and community leaders.

  Who We Are

  The Democratic Leadership Council is an idea center, catalyst, and national voice for a reform movement that is reshaping American politics by moving it beyond the old left-right debate. The DLC seeks to define and galvanize popular support for a new public philosophy built on progressive ideals, mainstream values, and innovative, non bureaucratic, market-based solutions. At its heart are three principles: promoting opportunity for all; demanding responsibility from everyone; and fostering a new sense of community.

  Since its inception, the DLC has championed policies from spurring private sector economic growth, fiscal discipline and community policing to work based welfare reform, expanded international trade, and national service. Throughout the 90’s, innovative, New Democrat policies implemented by former DLC Chairman President Bill Clinton have helped produce the longest period of sustained economic growth in our history, the lowest unemployment in a generation, 22 million new jobs, cut the welfare rolls in half, reduced the crime rate for seven straight years, balanced the budget and streamlined the federal bureaucracy to its smallest size since the Kennedy administration.

  Now, the DLC is promoting new ideas -- such as a second generation of environmental protection and new economy and technology development strategies -- that is distinctly different from traditional liberalism and conservatism to build the next generation of America’s leaders.

  Source: Democratic Leadership Council web site 01-DLC0 on Nov 7, 2000

  New Democrat: "Third Way" instead of left-right debate.

  Kerry adopted Third Way principles of the Democratic Leadership Council:

  America and the world have changed dramatically in the closing decades of the 20th century. The industrial order of the 20th century is rapidly yielding to the networked “New Economy” of the 21st century. Our political and governing systems, however, have lagged behind the rest of society in adapting to these seismic shifts. They remain stuck in the left-right debates and the top-down bureaucracies of the industrial past.

  The Democratic Leadership Council, and its affiliated think tank the Progressive Policy Institute, have been catalysts for modernizing politics and government. The core principles and ideas of this “Third Way” movement [began with] Bill Clinton’s Presidential campaign in 1992, Tony Blair’s Labour Party in Britain in 1997, and Gerhard Shroeder’s Social Democrats in Germany in 1998.

  The Third Way philosophy seeks to adapt enduring progressive values to the new challenges of he information age. It rests on three cornerstones:
  1. the idea that government should promote equal opportunity for all while granting special privilege for none;
  2. an ethic of mutual responsibility that equally rejects the politics of entitlement and the politics of social abandonment;
  3. and, a new approach to governing that empowers citizens to act for themselves.
  The Third Way approach to economic opportunity and security stresses technological innovation, competitive enterprise, and education rather than top- down redistribution or laissez faire. On questions of values, it embraces “tolerant traditionalism,” honoring traditional moral and family values while resisting attempts to impose them on others. It favors an enabling rather than a bureaucratic government, expanding choices for citizens, using market means to achieve public ends and encouraging civic and community institutions to play a larger role in public life. The Third Way works to build inclusive, multiethnic societies based on common allegiance to democratic values. Source: Democratic Leadership Council web site 01-DLC1 on Nov 7, 2000

  Member of the Senate New Democrat Coalition.

  Kerry is a member of the Senate New Democrat Coalition:

  The Senate New Democrat Coalition (SNDC) [is analogous to] the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) in the House. Members of both groups are moderate Democrats who advocate a new centrist, progressive approach to governing and who often reach across party lines to get things done.

  Established in 1997, the House New Democrat Coalition (NDC) grew to 64 members between 1998 and 2000, making it the largest caucus in the House. With the success of NDN’s top House candidates on Election Day, the NDC has grown to 72 members in the 107th Congress. The Senate New Democrat Coalition (SNDC), established in 2000, is already 20 members.

  In announcing the establishment of the SNDC in February 2000, Sen. Landrieu stated, “The American people are tired of the same old proposals and are demanding that we work together in a more creative way on the many problems facing our nation. Too often here in Washington, the loudest voices are the ones on the far left and far right. That is why this group was formed, to give voice to those in the sensible center.” The SNDC has already made its voice heard on critical issues ranging from education to trade to health care and, with the Senate evenly divided, the Senate New Dems are increasingly determining the balance of power.

  Source: Senate New Democrat Coalition web site 01-SNDC0 on Jan 1, 2001

  Fund the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program.

  Kerry sponsored the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act
  • Mandates redesign of quarter-dollar coins issued during the ten-year period beginning 1999, with the reverse side emblematic of five of the 50 States each year during such period, selected in the order of their ratification of the U.S. Constitution or their admission to the Union.
  • Mandates that the dollar coin shall be golden in color, have a distinctive edge, with tactile and visual features making it readily discernible.
  • Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to place into circulation $1 coins that comply with such mandate upon depletion of the Government's supply of $1 coins bearing the likeness of Susan B. Anthony.
  Corresponding House bill is H.R.2414. Became Public Law No: 105-124. Source: Bill sponsored by 28 Senators and 1 Rep 97-S1228 on Sep 26, 1997

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  Adv: Avi Green for State Rep Middlesex 26, Somerville & Cambridge Massachusetts