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Senator John F. Kerry


Self Description

"April 2004: "John Kerry was born on December 11, 1943 at Fitzsimmons Military Hospital in Denver, Colorado, where his father, Richard, who had volunteered to fly DC-3's in the Army Air Corps in World War II, was recovering from a bout with tuberculosis. Not long after Sen. Kerry's birth, his family returned home to Massachusetts.

A graduate of Yale University, John Kerry entered the Navy after graduation, becoming a Swift Boat officer, serving on a gunboat in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. He received a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his service in combat.

By the time Senator Kerry returned home from Vietnam, he felt compelled to question decisions he believed were being made to protect those in positions of authority in Washington at the expense of the soldiers carrying on the fighting in Vietnam. Kerry was a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America and became a spokesperson for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War -- Morley Safer would describe him as "a veteran whose articulate call to reason rather than anarchy seemed to bridge the call between the Abbie Hoffmans of the world and Mr. Agnew's so-called 'Silent Majority.'" In April, 1971, in testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he asked the question of his fellow citizens, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" Sen. Claiborne Pell, (D-R.I.) thanked Kerry, then 27, for testifying before the committee, expressing his hope that Kerry "might one day be a colleague of in this body."

Fourteen years later, John Kerry would have the opportunity to fulfill those hopes - serving side by side with Sen. Pell as a Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But in the intervening years, he found different ways to fight for those things in which he believed. Time and again, Kerry fought to hold the political system accountable and to do what he believed was right. As a top prosecutor in Middlesex County, Kerry took on organized crime and put the Number Two mob boss in New England behind bars. He modernized the District Attorney's office, creating an innovative rape crisis crime unit, and as a lawyer in private practice he worked long and hard to prove the innocence of a man wrongly given a life sentence for a murder he did not commit.

In 1984, after winning election as Lieutenant Governor in 1982, Kerry ran and was elected to serve in the United States Senate, running and winning a successful PAC-free Senate race and defeating a Republican opponent buoyed by Ronald Reagan's reelection coattails. Like his predecessor, the irreplaceable Paul Tsongas, Kerry came to the Senate with a reputation for independence -- and reinforced it by making tough choices on difficult issues: breaking with many in his own Party to support Gramm-Rudman Deficit Reduction; taking on corporate welfare and government waste; pushing for campaign finance reform; holding Oliver North accountable and exposing the fraud and abuse at the heart of the BCCI scandal; working with John McCain in the search for the truth about Vietnam veterans declared POW/MIA; and insisting on accountability, investment, and excellence in public education.

Sen. Kerry was re-elected in 1990, and again in 1996, defeating the popular Republican Governor William Weld in the most closely watched Senate race in the country. Now serving his fourth term, Kerry has worked to reform public education, address children's issues, strengthen the economy and encourage the growth of the high tech New Economy, protect the environment, and advance America's foreign policy interests around the globe.

John Kerry is married to Teresa Heinz. He has two daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa. Teresa Heinz has three sons, John, Andre, and Christopher. Senator Kerry lives in Boston."

Third-Party Descriptions

May 2010: 'It may have had something to do with what David Halberstam called the “patriotism fault line running through this country.” Writing in Vanity Fair in 2004 about the right’s scurrilous smear on John Kerry’s bravery in Vietnam, Halberstam said, “We require Democrats to work a little harder to prove that they’re really patriotic and not somehow in league with our enemies.”'

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/opinion/23dowd.html

September 2009: "Last year, Reps. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) and Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) introduced a bill that would remove work-issued cell phones from the list of taxable fringe benefits. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) introduced an identical bill. The proposal passed the House but was held up by the Senate. The bills were reintroduced earlier this year."

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/57457

June 2009: "Congress passed a law requiring the value of employer-issued cellphones to be included in workers' gross income, unless an employee kept detailed records showing the phone was used only for work.... Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) have introduced a similar bill [to repeal the law-Ed.] this year."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/11/AR2009061104239.html

May 2009: 'Other American politicians have faced this very threat. The first President Bush lost the White House after he broke his famous “Read my lips: no new taxes” pledge. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democrats’ 2004 presidential candidate, inflicted a mortal wound on his own campaign with his now-infamous line about Iraq war funding: “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.”'

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/weekinreview/24stolberg.html

October 2008: "Not all lawmakers are opposed to voting on the white-space issue. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Chairman Martin urging the Commission to move forward and establish guidelines for the initial use of white-space technology as scheduled."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10075172-94.html

November 2008: 'During the 2004 presidential campaign, in the first televised debate between President George Bush and Senator John Kerry, the moderator asked each candidate, "What is the single most serious threat to the national security of the United States?" In rare agreement, Kerry and Bush both cited nuclear terrorism. As the president said, "I agree with my opponent that the biggest threat facing the country is weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist network." During the 2005 Bratislava summit, President Bush and Russian president Vladimir Putin for the first time accepted responsibility for addressing the threat and for ensuring that their governments secure loose nuclear material in their countries as quickly as possible. They assigned responsibility for securing nuclear materials to individuals (U.S. energy secretary Samuel W. Bodman and his Russian counterpart, the head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency) and held them accountable by requiring regular progress reports.'

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/21535/?a=f

August 2008: "Hence, the Net can be used to create a smear campaign and augment a questionable series of more formal assertions like the Swift Boat campaign used against John Kerry. This can be done by the public at large, and neither party really has an advantage."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2328863,00.asp

June 2008: "This is hardly the first time a Democratic candidate has faced such a challenge -- Al Gore lost white voters by 12 points in 2000, and John F. Kerry lost them by 17 points in 2004 -- but it is a significantly larger shortfall than Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton encountered in their winning campaigns."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/21/AR2008062101825.html

June 2008: 'In 2004, President Bush charged that his opponent for reelection, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), was advocating a pre-Sept. 11 mind-set after Kerry compared Islamic terrorism to other global scourges such as drug trafficking and said it is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation that requires cooperation around the world." The charge appeared to help Bush sway security-minded voters on his way to reelection.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/17/AR2008061702819.html

August 2007: Some political analysts harshly criticized Kerry in 2004 for failing to counter Bush's charismatic style with an equally attractive appeal of his own. Many, like Slate's Chris Suellentrop, complained that Kerry lacked vision. 'Vision without details beats details without vision,' Suellentrop wrote. Others, like Thomas Frank, wrote that Kerry should have countered Bush's 'cultural populism' with 'genuine economic populism.' But, if Solomon, Greenberg, and Pyszczynski are right, it would have been very difficult for any politician--not just the stolid Kerry--to overcome Bush's built-in advantage from being the nation's leader at a time when many voters feared another attack. In 2004, Bush, as the commander-in-chief, still had the unconscious on his side. And that advantage may have proven insuperable.

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070827&s=judis082707

March 2007: After the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush chose a radically different approach. He declared the fight against al-Qaeda to be a 'war' -- even comparing it to World War II and the Cold War -- and labeled suspects 'combatants' who were subject to military detention. He ridiculed Sen. John Kerry for suggesting that terrorists should be fought primarily by law enforcement means. With the 2001 attacks, he said, 'the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States of America, and war is what they got.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031601993.html

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Member of (past or present) Democratic Party / Democratic National Committee (DNC) Organization Feb 6, 2006
Organization Executive (past or present) Massachusetts (State Government) Organization Feb 6, 2006
Member of (past or present) US Senate Organization Feb 6, 2006
Student/Trainee (past or present) Yale University Organization Feb 6, 2006
Colleague/Co-worker of (past or present) Supervisor of (past or present) Senator John Edwards Esq. Person Jan 19, 2006
Family Member Teresa Heinz Kerry Person Feb 6, 2006
Advised by (past or present) Joe Lockhart Person Sep 23, 2004
Financial Recipient from (past or present) Mary O. McCarthy Person May 15, 2006
Advised by (past or present) Prof. Robert A. Pastor Ph.D., M.P.A. Person Jan 10, 2009

Articles and Resources

67 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Previous 20] [Next 20]   [End]

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Jun 29, 2007 House votes to ban FCC on ‘fairness’

QUOTE: The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from using taxpayer dollars to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters who feature conservative radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
Jun 27, 2007 This Is Your Brain On Politics

QUOTE: Ever wonder why fear-mongering seems to work so well at the polls—while appeals to reason often leave the electorate cold? A new book applies neuroscience to politics to figure out why the Democrats struggle to push the buttons in voters’ brains.

 Newsweek
Jun 26, 2007 Recess Appointment: Ambassador Move Lawful, GAO Says

QUOTE: President Bush did not violate the law when, using his power to make recess appointments, he named Sam Fox, a GOP fundraiser who helped bankroll a controversial ad campaign against Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) during the 2004 presidential campaign, as ambassador to Belgium, government auditors said.

 Washington Post
May 04, 2007 Banned From YouTube?: Conservatives Perceive YouTube Bias, Launch New Video-Sharing Site

QUOTE: Railing against YouTube, two Republican White House veterans have launched QubeTV as a conservative alternative. ... [They insist] YouTube banned a video by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin about radical Islamists.
Mar 18, 2007 When Terrorists Become 'Warriors'

QUOTE: Not a single Sept. 11 planner has been held accountable for his crimes, but they can all crow that America sees them as they see themselves: as soldiers, not criminals.

 Washington Post
Aug 31, 2006 Ohio to Delay Destruction of Presidential Ballots

QUOTE: preliminary results from their ballot inspections show signs of more widespread irregularities than previously known. The critics say the ballots should be saved pending an investigation. They also say the secretary of state’s proposal to delay the destruction does not go far enough, and they intend to sue to preserve the ballots.

 New York Times
Aug 15, 2006 Vote for Control of Heinz Keeps Pittsburgh on Edge

QUOTE: Many people here fear that if the investors win enough seats they will eventually move the company’s headquarters from this city, where it has been for more than a century...the current fight is as much about pride as money and jobs.

 New York Times
Jul 18, 2006 IRS Warns Churches to Stay Neutral on Politics: Opponents of the policy say that by threatening groups' tax-exempt status, the government is interfering with their 1st Amendment rights.

QUOTE: The Internal Revenue Service is warning churches and nonprofits that improper campaigning in the upcoming political season could endanger their tax-exempt status. The agency also launched a program to expedite investigations into claims of improper campaigning, prompting an advocacy group to charge this month that the program could restrict the free speech of nonprofit groups and churches.

 Los Angeles Times
Jul 10, 2006 Massachusetts weighs criminal charges in Big Dig collapse: Such a move would set a new legal precedent and might encourage other prosecutors to bring similar charges in structural failures.

QUOTE: Massachusetts' attorney general is mulling whether to press criminal charges against the state authority that oversaw the [Big Dig] project and some of the contractors.

 Christian Science Monitor
Apr 25, 2006 A New Round of McCarthyism

QUOTE: Whether McCarthy is ultimately found to be one of Priest's sources is beside the point in terms of the larger debate. Priest assembled that story from sources with access to classified information, and they are all vulnerable to firing or prosecution

 Washington Post
Jun 13, 2005 Take God to Work Day: Why the law shouldn't bend over backward for religious employees

QUOTE: "Last month, the Supreme Court upheld a 2000 federal law that requires prisons to make exceptions to rules that conflict with the religious practices of inmates."

 Slate
Apr 14, 2005 Broadcasters Must Reveal Video Clips' Sources, FCC Says

QUOTE: Television broadcasters must disclose to viewers the origin of video news releases produced by the government or corporations when the material runs on the public airwaves, the Federal Communications Commission said...

 Washington Post
Feb 01, 2005 Balancing Nevada, National Interests: Reid Protects Gaming and Mining Industries While Advancing Democratic Agenda

QUOTE: Like former Democratic leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), Reid at times has had to balance his party's national political agenda against his state's more parochial economic interests.

 Washington Post
Dec 15, 2004 Several Factors Contributed to 'Lost' Voters in Ohio

QUOTE: Electoral problems prevented many thousands of Ohioans from voting on Nov. 2. In Columbus, bipartisan estimates say that 5,000 to 15,000 frustrated voters turned away without casting ballots.

 Washington Post
Nov 11, 2004 Latest Conspiracy Theory -- Kerry Won -- Hits the Ether

QUOTE: Even as Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign is steadfastly refusing to challenge the results of the presidential election, the bloggers and the mortally wounded party loyalists and the spreadsheet-wielding conspiracy theorists are filling the Internet with head-turning allegations.

 Washington Post
Oct 20, 2004 No Flu Vaccine Shortage at Capitol

QUOTE: While many Americans search in vain for flu shots, members and employees of Congress are able to obtain them quickly and at no charge from the Capitol's attending physician...

 Washington Post
Oct 20, 2004 Ads Push the Factual Envelope: Misleading Claims Have Candidates Battling Caricatures

QUOTE: In their stump speeches and attack ads, the candidates have moved beyond assailing -- critics would say distorting -- their opponents' positions and are setting up straw men that they enthusiastically knock down.

 Washington Post
Oct 11, 2004 Sinclair Stations to Air Anti-Kerry Documentary

QUOTE: Sinclair Broadcast Group of Maryland, owner of the largest chain of television stations in the nation, plans to preempt regular programming two weeks before the Nov. 2 election to air a documentary that accuses Sen. John F. Kerry of betraying American prisoners during the Vietnam War.

 Washington Post
Sep 24, 2004 Tying Kerry to Terror Tests Rhetorical Limits

QUOTE: President Bush and leading Republicans are increasingly charging that Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry and others in his party are giving comfort to terrorists and undermining the war in Iraq ...

 Washington Post
Sep 23, 2004 Despite Bush Flip-Flops, Kerry Gets Label

QUOTE: One of this year's candidates for president...has a long history of policy reversals and rhetorical about-faces -- a zigzag trail that proves his willingness to massage positions and even switch sides when politically convenient.

 Washington Post

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