OldEd
contributor
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 117
Loc: The Great South
|
|
I just checked in on RBR's NCD, and Doug is right, the boys are over the top. Whew. Without my benign, moderating influence, the politics there has gotten truly nutsome & Vicious. Steam and the boys are gnawing on Kerry like a soupbone.
Kerry is an awful candidate, no doubt. Behind the scenes, the Dem professionals (many of them anyway, the ones I traffic with) are just beside themselves over this blown opportunity and looking for a way to ease Kerry out of the picture.
I've known JK for 30-some years now, never liked him. (I was there the day he DID INDEED fling his ribbons over that temporary fence the Park Service erected. Saw it happen, dudes, so end of story. The interesting thing is, he had argued against that particular gesture. We'd had a big row the night before, one of those VVAW 'participatory democracy' shout fests, and Kerry was pompously lecturing us Brahmin-style about being 'too radical and turning people off,' but us hotheads shouted him down. He got in someone's car in a huff and went off the sleep in Georgetown in a soft bed at some rich friends of his parents, while we 'slept,' sort of, in sleeping bags on the Mall, mumbling about what a poseur 'radical' he was ... But I digress.)
Despite what the right wing jackals are baying (do jackals bay? Hmmm.) Kerry's service in Nam was honorable, his medals legit. Those of us in that early circle of VVAW rabble had good intel on Kerry, each other, mutual freinds, all the ways Army guys know who's on the up and up with their story. Kerry's story is, as Hemingway might say, the true gen.
Now, it is indeed true that Purple Hearts rained down on us like summer hail in that war (medals are good PR); you could just about get one for contracting a hostile splinter in the latrine. Kerry's were earned under enemy fire, which (however minor at least one of the wounds was) put him way up at the 99th Percentile of those who deserved PHs. His other medals, there's no question about. The Repubs are full of it on this one, and most of them know it. I bet Karen H is getting her wrists slapped over at the RNC even as I type this.
Still, here's the real problem: JK is an arrogant prik whose ambition exceeds his intellect and pomposity exceeds his heart. I said months ago that if we nominated him, I'd vote for Bush. I have to recant that -- Bush is such a frightening disaster as president that I can't really do that. But I can't vote for John Kerry either. Which leads to some interesting late night phone calls ...
One hopes Kerry has plenty of time to ride some nice centuries this September, let us say. Ho, ho. <<<<<CYCLING CONTENT
Edited by OldEd (04/28/04 03:05 PM)
|
easypedaler
contributor
Reged: 02/08/04
Posts: 149
|
|
You could aways vote for Nader.... 
http://www.votenader.org/
|
Starliner
new member
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 15
Loc: SF Bay Area CA
|
|
Some would call it gossip; I'll call it an interesting and honest assessment of the guy based upon real life contact. Kerry seems to be a soul in conflict, which might offer some explanation as to his reputed flip flops on issues. Sort of a wannabe type, never quite fitting in.... does Nixon come to mind, suddenly? Nah, Nixon was tagged pretty good as an anti-communist..... but he did do some things that went against form such as opening up relations with China...... hmmm.
I'll throw in my own tidbit, from nothing more than my crystal ball, so in other words it's not based upon any evidence other than my intuition.... he's got a difficult marriage, emotionally distant, and his relationship will offer up a distraction during the campaign giving the public an opportunity to check out his heart and humanity vis a vis somebody he's supposedly in love with - does he love her, or is it just a business relationship? It will be his Dukakis moment to make or break himself. I hope he makes good.
I didn't vote last election; Gore disappointed me, and bush was at that pre 9/11 time a rather benign threat. The worrys then didn't seem to me to be unmanageable were bush to be elected. But now that we're into the war on terrorism, Bush has become for me a scary, scary guy; and I feel like a passenger on a bus speeding to disaster with an unbalanced moron full of road rage at the wheel. Yikes.
So, I think we're in an emergency situation, and even though kerry has personal faults, I'd take him over bush just on the basis of where we're at, where we're going, and by going with kerry's resume over bush's performance.
On an emotional level kerry may be an empty shirt, but under him, I don't think we'll be doing any more holy wars which we'll never win and will ultimately play out into an Armaggedon-like scenario. This is no time to have a bunch of holy rollers pushing the buttons. They're nuts. So, think hard about your feelings on not voting this Nov., try to toss aside the personal stuff you have regarding kerry, and then see what you come up with. Will kerry make a difference, or will he not? That's the ultimate question, and I'll be interested in knowing what answer you come up with.
BTW, i always like your posts and am happy you've shown up here. Sorry to hear about your dog; was it a she?
|
OldEd
contributor
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 117
Loc: The Great South
|
|
A really good guy.
|
OldEd
contributor
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 117
Loc: The Great South
|
|
I blame Nader for Bush in the first place.
|
Gregario
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 6
Loc: Kalamazoo, MI
|
|
Is there a chance in hell that the Dems will pull a stunner and end up nominating someone else? Who would it be Ed? ...I wish John McCain would be his running mate...
|
OldEd
contributor
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 117
Loc: The Great South
|
|
some heavy hitters are working on it.
Hell, what if McCain were on TOP of the ticket? Ho, ho.
|
The_Walrus
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 19
|
|
Not the Democratic ticket, surely--every Republican who might have been on the fence would scream "Traitor!" and fall into jackbooted lockstep behind President Cheney.
Was bourbon the only thing you were using this weekend?
|
OldEd
contributor
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 117
Loc: The Great South
|
|
The fence sitters would appreciate the chance to vote for a moderate Repub on a 'national unity ticket.' Good God. It's a dream come true. The jackboots are already lost to Herr Cheney.
|
The_Walrus
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 19
|
|
...that would have to be H.R.C., not W.J.C. You would have to go back to the Non-Cycling forum, just for the sheer pleasure of observing bill105 having the worst meltdown ever. There'd be a neo-con exodus to Paraguay... I can dig it!
|
Gregario
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 6
Loc: Kalamazoo, MI
|
|
I trudged over there earlier this morning and he's posting more stuff about HRC, bringing up the billing records, people disappearing, etc. He truly is a kook. He has been strangely silent (I guess it's not so strange) about the prisoner abuse (good PR THAT is!) in Iraq. I guess to get folk's minds off of it he has to bring up Hillary again. Personally, I don't like Hillary but I'd sure as hell vote for her over Shrub and I'd watch with glee as Bill's head exploded.
|
The_Walrus
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 19
|
|
I'd be willing to bet he's one of the ones who never posts on any of the other RBR forums. Definitely not an asset--about like Radical Ron would be after ingesting some sort of neo-con psychotropic substances.
|
TJeanloz
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 20
|
|
Senator Kerry can't even keep his bike right-side up, how do we expect him to run a country? A patch of sand was all it took to make him look like a fool last weekend...
|
ColnagoFE
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 22
|
|
whattya think of this idea re: Nader Ed? Could it work so I could vote for Nader with a clear conscience or is Nader's ego too big to consider it? On second thought...I don't like Nader either! AAGGGHHHH!!!! http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/opinion/05ACKE.html?ex=1084751494&ei=1&en=757abf8c477b8ed3
|
OldEd
contributor
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 117
Loc: The Great South
|
|
Besides, I really hate to feed old Ralph's ego.
Good to see you here! Welcome!
|
RWBadley
new member
Reged: 02/05/04
Posts: 3
|
|
Hello,
Testing 123...
ehem, So anyway, it looks like quite a crowd here. It seems to be picking up nicely. I'm happy to see all youse guys.
Speaking of J. Kerry. I wonder if the SS agents grabbed the sand and wrestled it to the ground after the incident ;-)
I really have missed you Old Ed. Your inside info on the workings of the Dems is priceless.
I too wonder if he is able to sew the thing up. Do you think at the convention somebody will come out of the woodwork and steal the show? It seems unlikely, but I can think of two scene stealers off the top of my head.
Whaddya think?
|
sn69
friend
Reged: 04/03/04
Posts: 28
Loc: San Diego, CA
|
|
the normal RBR gang comes a-snoopin'. It's a tactic (akin to the antelope freezing in place while the visually challenged lions try to spot them in the savannah) that our Solemn Leader and Spiritual Advisor Ed taught us--same derned one he uses when the revenuer man comes a'calling to check on his still.
In any case, having been a long-time lurker here in this board's previous format, I can assure you that this place is not without political commentary. More importantly, it's far more civil. I'd love for those of you with patience and open minds to come on over--or I'd also love for some folks to simply leave RBR. Alas...things are what they are. Thus, some of us have gravitated over here.
What's more, the actual biking discussions are far more eloquent over here, with folks like dbrk, jerk and dnovo treating us to essays about the sublime qualities of their many frames. ...The common theme here is biking, after all.
Welcome aboard, shipmate.
Scott
--------------------
Scott Needle,
nobody of particular importance
|
Previous
Thread Index
Next
Threaded
Speaking of RBR and Cyclist John Kerry ...
Edit
Reply
Quote
[Re: