The George Bush and the Kerry Bush
Been reading John Pilger's latest article Pilger: Bush Or Kerry? Look Closely And The Danger Is The Same. Pilger takes issue with the myth that John Kerry offers a world view different to George W. Bush. Pilger warns that this lie could grow as the 'anyone but Bush' movement gains steam towards the election
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" A close examination of Kerry’s record reveals that he:
- announced that his first campaign promises to cancel weapons systems and reduce defense spending were ill-advised;
The American military complex is more about delivering pork to constituencies than actual weapons for the battlefield. Spending is driven by whose congressional district the company receiving the contract is in and how powerful that member is his party/Congress. Reformers like Republican Sen. McCain, Lugar and Hagel have often joined forces with Democratic reformers like Sen. Kerry, (B) Kerrey and Nunn to make sure American taxpayers are paying for effective systems that help the troops, not just wasting taxpayer monies.
- voted for the Gramm-Rudman Act of 1985 resulting in dramatic cuts in domestic social programs;
Gramm-Rudman was a great start to try to reduce deficits and Kerry should be praised for it. However, I’m unsure who you could say it “resulting in dramatic cuts in domestic social programs.” The Act was declared unconstitutional and never implemented. The Act simply moved the debate on whether balance budgets were important (later adopted by Clinton), but had no direct effect.
- voted against Gulf War I only to soon reverse himself saying he was ill advised;
True, at the time he voted against it, he thought we could get Saddam to withdraw through economic pressure. I think watching Bush the First build a true international coalition and effectively use international bodies to enforce security council resolutions was an eye-opener for him. He would later look back on the first Iraq war as a model of international cooperation.
- voted for the 1996 Telecommunications Act facilitating media monopolies;
Too simplistic. The Act was good in many areas where it opened up competition and consumer choice. What has been facilitating media monopolies has been the SEC watering down the existing laws against media monopolies.
- supported Clinton’s “welfare reform;”
A good move to end the long-term cycle of dependency while still protecting the short-term safety net. Temper this with the fact that Kerry is one of the strongest advocates of early childhood education, food and health programs to make sure children are cared for, but also have an opportunity to become successful.
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