KERRY vs. KERRY

2004-04-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

KERRY vs. KERRY: BUDGETS & DEFICITS

"Succinct agenda: We're going to balance the budget. We're going to cut the deficit in half in four years."

--Sen. John Kerry, April 2004 [Emphasis added]

Source: Washington Times, April 24, 2004, Editorial page

[Editorial note: If you cut the deficit in half, you have not balanced the budget. A balanced budget has no deficit.]

2004-04-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

KERRY vs. KERRY: DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ

"We need a reasonable plan and a specific timetable for self-government [in Iraq]. That means completing the tasks of security and democracy in the country."

-- Sen. John Kerry, December 2003 [Emphasis added]

"With respect to getting our troops out, the measure is the stability of Iraq. [Democracy] shouldn't be the measure of when you leave. I have always said from day one that the goal here . . . is a stable Iraq, not whether or not that's a full democracy."

--Sen. John Kerry, week of Apr. 11, 2004 [Emphasis added]

Source: Washington Post, April 21, 2004, Page A22

2004-03-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

KERRY vs. KERRY: CASTRO & CUBA

"I'm pretty tough on Castro, because I think he's running one of the last vestiges of a Stalinist, secret-police government in the world. [...] I voted for the Helms-Burton legislation to be tough on companies that deal with him."

-- Sen. John Kerry, March 13, 2004 [Emphasis added]

Helms-Burton Act
Measure Number: H.R. 927 (Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996)
Measure Title: A bill to seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba, to plan for support of a transition government leading to a democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other purposes.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
Vote: Nay
March 5, 1996

Source: Miami Herald, March 14, 2004 (Quote)
Source: U.S. Senate roll call vote, H.R. 927, 104th Congress

[Editorial note: The bill passed with wide bipartisan support 74-22. Pres. Bill Clinton signed it into law one week later.]

2004-03-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

KERRY vs. KERRY: ISRAEL'S SECURITY BARRIER

"We do not need another barrier to peace. Provocative and counterproductive measures only harm Israel's security over the long-term."

-- Sen. John Kerry, Oct. 17, 2003 [Emphasis added]

"Israel's security fence is a legitimate act of self defense. No nation can stand by while its children are blown up at pizza parlors and on buses. [...] Israel has a right and a duty to defend its citizens."

-- Sen. John Kerry, Feb. 24, 2004 [Emphasis added]

Source: Speech at Arab American Institute (Quote 1)
Source: Jerusalem Post, Feb. 25, 2004, Page A2 (Quote 2)

[Editorial note: Sen. Kerry is quite literally on both sides of the fence.]