You know one thing that bugs me? (I know, I know “one” thing?) One thing that really gets under my nerve is the underlying emptiness of so much of John Kerry’s campaign. Bush haters rally to everything he says, but fail to grasp that so much of what he says makes no sense when taken in context of his beliefs, policies, and platform. Allow to rant a bit on the subject.
One obvious example, and one that I have pointed to numerous times, is his constant stress on allies, coalitions, and personal diplomacy. His claims not only ring hollow because everyone knows that there are real and significant disagreements about national interest at the heart of our problems with France and German not merely a clash of personalities, but they also ring hollow because Kerry’s entire career screams “dove.” He regularly tries to sound tough and forceful about the war on terrorism and protecting American national interest but he simply lacks credibility on this issue because he has absolutely no record of taking tough stands when they were needed. He often mention the First Gulf War coalition in the debates but, as a multitude of people have pointed out, when given the chance to stand with a strong and international coalition against an obvious menace who invaded another country, Kerry voted no. If Kerry couldn’t see the necessity of defeating Sadamn when he invaded Kuwait, and when the US President had convinced the UN and a host of other countries that it was necessary, how can he possibly be trusted to take action when consensus is laking but our security is at stake? See Bill Kristol for more on this issue.
Another empty symbol is Kerry’s trumpeting of his faith. I am not judging Kerry on his personal faith nor upset that he talks about it. What is so infuriating about his faith talk is how it is really just a shallow attempt to project more conservative values without taking a political stand that matches them. Kerry is plainly trying to use his faith as a way to reach out to the Catholic vote and to other “people of faith.” He is trying to say I am like you. There are two problems with this. One, he trumpets his faith but then rejects the doctrinal issues of his own church. He has the unmitigated gall to talk about how his faith instills in him a respect for the sanctity of life and in the next sentence state that he is prohibited from legislating that faith in any way. He can somehow believe that life begins at conception but that the constitution demands federally funded abortion on demand. He wants to have it both ways. To be a man of faith and yet have a record of complete liberal secularism. The only area where his faith is allowed to impact his politics is universal health care and massive government spending. Faith means the government can forcefully take money from one group and give it to another. This is love and charity. When it comes to abortion everything is private (between a women and God) but when it comes to health care, welfare, and education everything is public and the government must do everything.
The second problem with this faith talk is that it is all symbol and no substance. He really isn’t like most people of faith. Oh sure there are religious people who think like he does, but they are already voting for Kerry most likely. The people he is trying to reach with this tactic are the one who might not vote for him because of their faith. That is what makes this tactic empty, it is just for show. It is an attempt to soften the edges of Kerry’s full fledged liberalism. Rather than take courageous stands un-popular with his party (on affirmative action for example) Kerry wants to stay with the base of his party on substance but shift toward the center on style.
Another perfect example of this is his recent hunting exhibition. Again, Kerry’s entire record is standard liberal anti-gun. He launches into a diatribe on the assault weapons ban every chance he gets and yet he can turn around and act as if he is some kind of moderate on the issue. He goes hunting, he goes to a shooting range, he talks about his belief in the nineteenth amendment, but when push comes to shove he votes like the liberal he is in his heart. Again, he wants to send signals that he is not an elite, east coast, liberal in favor of gun control but he refuses to change any of his actual positions. Does anyone actually believe that Kerry would in any way step outside the liberal line on guns? No, he just wants to try and trick a few moderates into thinking that he is a sensible and independent guy instead of a rather run of the mill liberal Senator.
Another thing that drives me crazy is his constant praise of “science.” “I will be a president who believes in science,” says Kerry. Oh great! I always wanted one of those. Kerry pushes stem cell research like it is the end all be all of medical research. His running mate talks as if embryonic stem cell research can make the blind see and the lame walk. Oddly, enough for a man of faith he never once mentions any potential ethical qualms about what might be possible in “science” but nevertheless might not be right. His belief in the unmitigated good of science and the unending triumph of progress shines through. I guess this another area where his faith is prohibited from having any impact. This is combined with the belief that only the federal government can truly solve problems. Where is all the vaunted nuance and complications? There are none in the world of “science.”
But again, the real issue has nothing to do with the merits or the facts. This issue is all about portraying the President as a religious fanatic, anti-science troglodyte who wants people to suffer and die because of his misguided faith. Kerry often tries to tie this in with issues like the Kyoto Treaty and global warming despite the fact that President Clinton did nothing to further the Kyoto Treaty and that the Senate voted against the idea unanimously. Forget for the moment that the Bush administration has poured billions of dollars into science whether in the Department of Energy on issue likes hydrogen fuels or clean coal technology or into the National Institute of Health or the National Institute of Science. For a man who doesn’t believe in science President Bush spends an awful lot of time and money on it. The difference is Bush correctly views science and technology as tools not an all encompasing worldview.
What the above indicates is that there is a fundamental emptiness to Kerry’s campaign. At the heart of this is the fact that Kerry is a mediocre liberal Senator who is trying to bluff and bluster his way to the Presidency as if he were a tough talking, socially moderate, and fiscally conservative average joe. I could respect him if he had a coherency to his beliefs; if he was willing to take a hard stand on them. But, as I have pointed out before, the reason the flip-flop charge sticks is because it rings true. The incoherence and emptiness is the result of his inability to take a principled stand and stick with it; he shifts tactics endlessly and lacks a clear strategy. In trying to have it both ways, in failing to reconcile his beliefs and his changing statements, and in choosing style over substance Kerry reveals himself to be unfit for the presidency.
