March 16, 2004
SENATOR YEA/NAY:
Kerry takes on GOP head-on in swing through pivotal Va. (Ken Fireman, March 17, 2004, Newsday)
John Kerry took his presidential campaign to the small but potentially pivotal state of West Virginia yesterday -- and the Republicans were waiting.Before Kerry even arrived in Charleston, W.Va., for an event showcasing his support for veterans, President George W. Bush had unveiled a new ad on local TV accusing him of undercutting U.S. troops in Iraq by voting against war funding.
"John Kerry: Wrong on defense," said the ad, which focused on the presumptive Democratic nominee's 2003 vote against an $87 billion appropriations bill to fund military operations in Iraq.
Kerry reacted with asperity. "The Republican attack machine has welcomed me to West Virginia today with another distortion," the Massachusetts senator told the veterans, adding that he voted against the bill because Bush refused to pay for it by rescinding some of his tax cuts.
Can't find it in a print story yet, but Carl Cameron played the tape on Fox News Special Report and Senator Kerry, in defending himself, said: "I voted for this bill...before voting against it." Posted by Orrin Judd at March 16, 2004 8:06 PM
If nothing else, he'll keep the pundits at the mainstream media outlets busy trying to interpet the nuiances of what he said each day during the campaign and putting them in their proper context for the regular folks, who would otherwise think the nominee was talking gibberish and equivicating on the issues.
Posted by: John at March 16, 2004 8:39 PM
Yeah, "I voted against this bill because Bush wouldn't raise your taxes" is going to fly...
Posted by: Timothy at March 16, 2004 9:44 PMIn order to overcome the problem of his having voted for and against every bill, he has now stopped voting at all.
Posted by: Peter at March 17, 2004 3:07 AMCan the headliner writer be so stupid as to mix up Virginia and West Virginia? Where is the editor? Can he not know the difference?
Posted by: D. Woolwine at March 17, 2004 8:32 AM