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John Kerry's Hypocritical Global Test
By Frank Salvato
October 14, 2004

I haven't usually disagreed with the issues President Bush has presented this election cycle. Sure, I'm not happy with the accelerated spending spree that has happened on his watch but then I am insightful enough to know that Congress has quite a bit to do with allowing that to happen. Blaming the president because it's easy is to be thinking with a simplistic mind. But there is one thing I believe the president is dead wrong on and that's John Kerry flip-flopping on the Iraq war. He didn't

Don't get me wrong. I don't believe that John Kerry has a genuine bone in his body. He is an opportunist whose political positions shift with the opinion polls. He caters his beliefs to his audience. In fact, I think he could speak to a crowd in Vermont and claim that his favorite drink is maple syrup, then turn around claim to be a diabetic while speaking to the American Diabetes Association. He is the quintessential glad-hander, pandering for your vote. If he were a dog he probably spend most of his day on his back trying to be cute, begging for affection.

That being said I do agree with President Bush that Kerry is a flip-flopper, but not on the issue of military action in Iraq. In fact, his record proves he has never flip-flopped when it comes to any military action to which the United States has been committed. It is clear that he has always held the same position, the anti-war position.

For Kerry supporters to claim he is a war hero is as ridiculous as saying Bill Clinton is a faithful husband. It simply isn't so. Kerry volunteered as a last resort to being drafted only after his request for a deferment was denied. He took three scratches, three Purple Hearts, gathered some questionable decorations for valor and then got out of Vietnam so fast he didn't even risk getting malaria.

It was upon his return from Vietnam that we got to see John Kerry's only political conviction, the anti-war stance. He and some other pretend soldiers joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War and held the Winter Soldier investigation. They were the plaintiffs, the defendants, the judge and jury. According to them, America was guilty of war crimes and not even the truth was going to stop Kerry from testifying to that delusion in front of Congress. He pontificated and offered up lies denigrating his fellow soldiers. He even went a step further, meeting with the enemy in Paris while still a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserves. This is clearly illegal by the rules of the military and the US Constitution. He was building his political libido and cultivating an arrogance that would place him in Hyannisport, if only in his mind.

Since then it is easy to see that John Kerry has always been anti-war. Sure, he may have voted to give the president the authority to use forces but as he keeps insisting, it was only the authority to use force. As long as the vote to go to war in Iraq was going to be overwhelming why not vote yes and then smack semantic when it comes time to be responsible for your actions, should the going get tough - or if you run for office on the anti-war agenda?

John Kerry was anti-military action when Communism was being spread in South America. He sympathized and even met with Daniel Ortega, leader of the Sandinistas, a Soviet-backed Marxist-Leninist junta that had taken power shortly before Ronald Reagan was elected. There he accused the US of "funding terrorism."

John Kerry voted against the Gulf War even though Saddam Hussein had invaded another country, even though Hussein had visions of invading Saudi Arabia and monopolizing the Middle Eastern oil supply. He voted against the Gulf War even though the UN supported it and a coalition had been assembled which included France and Germany. He wouldn't go to war even when the world agreed, endorsed, supported and demanded it.

The pundits say John Kerry is courting the anti-war vote. The truth of the matter is John Kerry has a solid record of being anti-war. He was dishonest when he was portraying himself as a hawk and that's why it's so easy for him to defend his anti-war vote. Add to this the fact that he is on record as a UN acquiescent globalist and it is clear that having John Kerry as Commander in Chief would be devastating for the United States.

No, John Kerry isn't a flip-flopper on the anti-war issue. His deception is that he portrays himself as a pro-security and pro-America politician. He is neither.

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Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for TheRant.us. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O'Reilly Factor and numerous radio shows. His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are periodically featured in The Washington Times as well as other national and international publications. He can be contacted at oped@therant.us

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.