What? You mean a lot of Democrats think little of Sen. John Kerry? I know people had problems with Kerry, but surely we can get over them and appreciate the good, right? A friend informed me the other day that in fact, no, Kerry is still on quite a few folks' s--t list; or at least on their meh list. Come now, homies. I am certainly biased in my opinion; after all, I do have quite a few man-crushes on the men of Massachusetts, such as John Adams and the dead Kennedys. Regardless, I feel it's my duty as a native to remind everyone of some of the accomplishments Kerry has achieved in his lifetime.
Honestly, I don't want to spend too much time dwelling on Kerry's past. The 2004 U.S. presidential election was the most embarrassed I've ever felt to be an American. Bad memories ... ugh! Alas, I must dwell, for there is important stuff to be discussed. As the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth told us, Kerry is a Vietnam veteran and voluntarily served his country in arguably one of the least patriotic wars in our history; Dick Cheney and George W. Bush pulled strings to dodge that bullet. What many folks do not know is that Kerry was actually a prominent anti-war activist following his military service; perhaps he was also on Richard Nixon's enemies list, like John Lennon. He was so well-known for his activism that he was featured in a bunch of Doonesbury comics. If that doesn't mean fame, I don't know what does.
Fast forward a few decades. We now have Kerry, perpetually occupying the Bay State's junior U.S. Senate seat. In 1985, Kerry traveled to Nicaragua to speak with the Contras and the Sandinistas in hopes of negotiating peace. Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega offered a cease-fire to Kerry if the United States withdrew their support for the Contras. Despite Kerry's insistence, President Ronald Reagan did not accept. Enter the Iran-Contra affair. It was the Kerry Committee report that concluded that the United States Department of State had delivered about $806,000 to known drug traffickers as humanitarian assistance to the Contras, and exposed the current host of Fox New Channel's "War Stories with Oliver North" as the criminal he is. Score one for justice.
The year is 2004. It's the loco post-Sept. 11 world of the Decider, where the government must spy on the books you take out of the library for national security purposes and Katrina is still just a nice name for a baby girl. I was 15, so perhaps I was naïve. Still, I believed so deeply that the American public would understand the disaster that was Bush's first term and bail out at the first chance. I was wrong. People claim that Kerry ran a terrible campaign or doesn't answer questions well or was boring. To them, I say this: Tell me with a straight face that he wasn't the best choice in 2004. Sure, John Edwards would have been a bit embarrassing, but I can deal with that.
It's hard to get over the loss of a presidency, as Al Gore's therapy session with Stuart Smalley has shown us. Still, Kerry has managed to squeeze his way into some of the most essential aspects of U.S. policy. Following the passage of a companion bill in the House of Representatives, Sen. Barbara Boxer and Kerry have introduced a cap-and-trade proposal, climate change legislation which when passed, will be the first action taken by Congress to combat global warming. We have a legion of officials we could have sent to Afghanistan to negotiate a runoff election with Afghan pirate Hamid Karzai. America knew it was time to bring out the big guns ... and Kerry turns green and smashes heads! Actually, it was more like he engaged in negotiations with Karzai and succeeded in getting him to agree to a runoff. Unfortunately, Karzai's closest challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the race, rendering Kerry's efforts futile. Still, it's the thought that counts.
To a nutty, crunchy Massachusetts leftist like me, Kerry's policy positions and record are outstanding. At a recent health care town hall meeting I attended in Somerville, Kerry confidently declared his dedication to a robust public option to the crowd. We must remember that it was Kerry who offered the freshman senator from Illinois a chance to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, and we all know what happened after that. All partisanship aside, Kerry has been honorably serving the citizens of Massachusetts and the United States for decades. He has uncovered corruption, preached for an end to the Vietnam War, negotiated for peace and justice and, most importantly, fought for his fellow countrymen and women. Kerry may have big boots to fill as senior senator but I'm confident that the size of his feet will be sufficient for the job.
Oh, before I go, some fun factoids about Kerry. His paternal grandparents were actually Jews who changed their name from Kohn, converted to Catholicism, and immigrated to America. For all those obsessing about GPAs, chill; Kerry had an average of 76 during his stay at Yale University and an average of 81 in his senior year. Kerry is a bassist. His favorite album is the Beatles' "Abbey Road." He's never been a fan of metal. I have a "John Kerry for Senate" button on my guitar strap. Don't taze me, bro! That is all.
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Greg Beach is a junior majoring in political science. He posts regularly to his blog "Things That Are Cool," hosted by the Tufts Roundtable.
