Senator Kerry gets a lot of awards and accolades. I'm guessing other Senators get some, too, but he really seems to get an awful lot of good ones, and recently, there's been a deluge. Certainly, it's important to recognize a job well done, like the Senator's 100% ratings from the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, the American Association of University Women, the Human Rights Campaign and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, all four organizations having recently recognized Senator Kerry's work.

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law has given Senator John Kerry its highest possible 100% rating, citing his work to help end poverty in America, raise the minimum wage, reduce the cost of college, provide access to affordable housing, his support of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Head Start, as well as his staunch support of the Development, Relief, and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has given Senator John Kerry their highest possible100% rating, citing his work on strengthening hate crimes laws, making college more affordable, addressing the pay gap between men and women, and raising the minimum wage.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) has given Senator John Kerry their highest possible100% rating, citing his work on the minimum wage, immigration reform and his opposition to judicial nominees who disregard basic civil rights.

Along with an endorsement of Senator Kerry's senate reelection, the HRC also gave him a 100% rating.

“Senator Kerry has been an outspoken leader for GLBT equality in the United States Senate. Most recently, Senator Kerry’s leadership was crucial to the advancement of legislation to lift the discriminatory HIV travel ban. We are pleased to endorse Senator Kerry for re-election and look forward to working with him on achieving equality for our community,” said Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign.

Pretty impressive stuff. Here's one, though, that has to really hit home. On Friday, the Senator was honored with the First Annual Father Drinan Award, which celebrates those who have maintained "a lifelong history of working for the goals of the Democratic Party, especially with a focus on social justice."

Being the first recipient is quite an honor. But the fact that Sen. Kerry and Fr. Drinan were long time friends had to have made that one especially significant. Sounds like the two had a lot in common.

Kerry focused on Drinan's social activism in Congress, especially his opposition to the war in Vietnam. "He brought to Congress a moral opposition to the war and his testimony against the war became that much more powerful," he said. Drinan was also the first congressman to call for President Richard Nixon's impeachment. However, these early protests were in response to the secret bombings in Cambodia, not the more popularly maligned Watergate scandal, Kerry said. This action showcased the "boldness and uniqueness of this priest in a critical moment in American history." All of this social activism stemmed from his two loves: the Catholic Church and politics, and despite the forced exodus from Congress, Drinan never really left public life. "There was no separation between his political life and his life," Kerry said.

It's got to feel pretty great to receive that kind of recognition, but maybe even more so to have an award bestowed in your honor. In this video, Middlesex County DA Gerry Leone describes the contributions Sen. Kerry has made that lead to the creation of the Senator John F. Kerry Leadership Award, and introduces Senator Kerry in advance of the recognition of three outstanding recipients.

Congratulations to the Senator and to Loretta Lillios, Richard Mucci and Donna Greska, recipients of the Senator John F. Kerry Leadership Award.

We have a choice.

Although the traditional media and two of the three candidates seem perfectly content to play out this campaign for the presidency as just another Washington political game -- taking sound bytes out of context, promoting false controversy, using wedge issues to divide us and feigning outrage over non-issues -- that still leaves us with a choice.

Old politics plays on the emotions of people who are embittered, frankly, by old politicians. They use the same tactics to frighten and manipulate voters, and in the end, we end up with little more than we had. That's no way to change Washington.

Gas tax holidays sound great to people who are feeling pain at the pump, until you realize that gas taxes fund the repair of our crumbling infrastructure and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and a gas tax holiday would do practically nothing to help consumers. But both McCain and Clinton are betting we'll hear the words 'gas' and 'tax' and respond in Pavlovian fashion to a solution that would save each of us a grand total of $25 and cause thousands of Americans lose their jobs. But hey, it's a holiday, and everyone loves a holiday. Let's all put on our made-in China flag pins and celebrate.

Tough talk about 'obliterating' and 'bomb, bomb, bombing' other countries may make a candidate look strong on the surface, until you consider the consequences of the rhetoric, and what might be better achieved at significantly less cost with effective diplomacy. A future president might suggest answering the phone at 3 am and say 'nuke 'em', but that could prove imprudent given our already fragile relationship with the Middle East. It's time for a different approach.

Guilt by association is a popular political ploy, but if Obama = Wright, then does McCain = Hagee? Where's the outrage over McCain's Catholic-hating friend, whose endorsement McCain is "very honored" to have? Both preachers' remarks are equally offensive to different groups of people, but the fact is that neither is running for office. Rev. Wright is correct about a lot of things, and wrong about a good many as well. But it doesn't matter. Jeremiah Wright is not Barack Obama, Wright's ideas are not Obama's ideas and their approaches are vastly different. And people who are willing to tie the two inextricably might want to consider what that means in their own relationships. Wright-gate is a totally media created controversy -- swift-boat style politics foisted on the American people as though we learned nothing from '04. It's completely Rovian to take a candidates strongest attribute (unity), find the most tenuous of connections (divisive former preacher), add a cable news feeding frenzy and let the media conglomerates pastorbate 24-7 to their ratings reports.

America needs jobs, and the people of Indiana might fall for Clinton's empty promise of "jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs" until they discover that her past suggests she might just have a spelling lapse and ship their jobs to India instead. Or China. Or maybe Mexico.

There are dozens upon dozens of attacks that might be leveled against both John McCain and Hillary Clinton. Many more than the ones they have and will have against Obama. But negative campaigning is old politics. Let's rise above it.

If we're serious about change, if we've had enough of old Washington politics and political games and media manipulation, if we're tired of CNN and Fox picking our president for us, there's an alternative. It's time to rise above the negative politics of the past.

Teresa and Michelle spoke at Carnegie Mellon University recently about the one candidate who has not succumbed to 'politics as usual', but instead wants all of us together to rise above it. Senator Kerry has said Barack Obama will be a 'transformational' president. His campaign is a portent of that change, and this election is exactly when we need it to happen. It is about the "fierce urgency of now", and we need to grasp it while we can. We missed our opportunity last time and ended up with eight years of hell. We may not get another chance.

It was another busy week in the Senate for JK, with hearings on Darfur, broadband access, deforestation and climate change, nanotechnology research, and a floor speech on Small Business Week where he urged passage of important small biz legislation that's being blocked by some Republicans in the Senate. He also got his Right Whale legislation through the Commerce Committee, and worked with Sen. Obama on an effort to stop offshore tax shelters, proposed a resolution to uphold the results of the Zimbabwe elections, and legislation to help kids get student loans.

Still, he had time to take in a ball game, where he and the rest of the crowd at Fenway honored PFC Sean Bannon's service by awarding his purple heart before the game. The Senator also started the wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon, gave some advice to the slumping Big Papi, and called out a Yankees fan at his NYC book signing.

Sen. Kerry was also on hand for the presentation of the Middlesex County DA's office John F. Kerry Leadership Award, and will remain in Mass. today for a Senate field hearing in Chelsea.

On a historical note, last week was the 37th anniversary of the Senator's testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he spoke on behalf of anti-Vietnam War veterans on the tragedy of that conflict.

It's strange, I think, that the term 'tree hugger' is used as a pejorative by some folks. I have a close family member who I've heard use the phrase in a derogatory way, and I'm bothered by it. What's more, she used it to describe me, who wouldn't be seen in public in a pair of Birkenstocks, really can't be bothered to go hiking, and puts on a suit to go to work most mornings. I'm more likely to grab a donut than a bowl of granola, although I will eat it if there's no Cap'n Crunch, and the last time I rode a bike, I think I was twelve. But because I buy carbon credits, have changed my light bulbs to CFLs, and I insist on 35 mpg when I buy a car, things I consider sound economic and environmental judgment, to her that makes me a tree hugger. Well, so be it then.

There's something about the environmentally aware that bothers the environmentally ambivalent, and I'm not too sure what that is. But I've decided to embrace the label, and am giving her a copy of This Moment On Earth next Christmas just to see her reaction. I'll buy the paperback in case I'm forced to hit her over the head with it.

What tree-hugger detractors don't consider is that trees are a lot more than something that you'll never see anything lovelier than. They're crucial to the health of the planet, and necessary in the fight against climate change. And what's really scary is that deforestation is happening at an alarming rate, and all of us, tree-huggers and non-tree-huggers alike, are going to end up paying the price.

Photo: Jami Dwyer/Wikimedia Commons

Although deforestation contributes approximately 20 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, there is currently no provision in international climate treaties that addresses the problem. In this Earth Day hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Kerry discusses the problem of deforestation, describes what he's seen of it in his travels, and asks witnesses Stuart Eizenstat, Dr. Kevin Gurney, David Hayes and Dirk Forrister for their insight.

Senator Kerry was at home in Massachusetts this weekend for the Third Middlesex Area Democrats Honorees Brunch, where Loretta Lillios, Richard Mucci and Donna Greska were honored with the Senator John F. Kerry Leadership Award, and where he spoke on the issue of climate change. The Senator is introduced by Middlesex DA Gerry Leone.

 Listen here

In yet another 'senior moment' Sen. John McCain forgot he suggested the other day we might want to tear down the 9th ward of New Orleans. Apparently this memory lapse occurred less than a week after his initial pronouncement.

Now, I really can't profess to having a great memory myself. I have to keep friends' birthdays in my Outlook calendar so I don't forget. But although I don't claim Sen. McCain as a friend, I do remember his birthday. It's August 29, the day -- the precise day -- that Katrina hit New Orleans, and the image of John McCain with President Bush sharing a birthday cake on the tarmac in Arizona as people in the Gulf drown is burned into my memory as well.

Keith Olbermann reported yesterday on the odd phenomenon of the McCain-media love affair. No one is sure why it happens, but it seems nothing the old guy does receives any scrutiny, and whatever he says is accepted as gospel by the traditional media.

Jon Stewart also covered the media's strange affinity for McCain and his visit to New Orleans this week, and touched on the second silliest media-created controversy -- Flag-Pin-Gate, wherein Senator Obama must explain why he's not wearing a flag pin, although Hillary (she's a girl) and McCain (he probably forgot), do not. (The first silliest, of course, being Abercrombie-and-Fitch-Gate, where three random guys wearing similar t-shirts stood behind Obama at a rally and became instant media celebs.)

The McCain-media conjugality can't be explained away by anything as simple as that he's a nice guy. He's not. McCain has a reputation with both the left and the right for being nasty to colleagues, adversaries, children, voters, his wife, the press, and foreign countries. I haven't seen any evidence of puppy-kicking, but it honestly wouldn't shock me.

I'm not sure why the media gives McCain a free pass. I expect it has something to do with media ownership and the Republicans, combined with a fear of getting blasted for taking a veteran to task. Of course, they allowed JK's service to be trashed daily, but he's not a Republican, so I guess they figured it was OK.

Bush got the same bye from an acquiescent media in '04. A frat boy cheerleader with a long history of failure, he was coddled by the media nonetheless. The big question is if we'll allow the same thing to happen in '08, or if we've learned to look past the media advocacy of Republican candidates and take the reports for what they're worth.

We can hope that McCain's free ride will end when we have a nominee, and that the media will finally concede that the Straight Talk Express has gone off the rails.

Here's some recommended reading for Matthews, Scarborough, Stephanopoulos and the rest of the MSM talking heads. McCain's Free Ride breaks down the media creation of a straight talking maverick, and gets to the truth behind the fiction, including the top 10 media myths about John McCain.

"I'm exactly where I want to be. This is the best job in the world."

Those were the words of Sen. John Kerry, newly elected Senator from Massachusetts in February, 1985, as quoted in the Boston Globe. At the time, he also made his intent for committee membership clear. Small Business was his first pick. A low profile committee appointment, but to a young Senator with a desire to help his constituents, a critical one.

Senator Kerry has remained on the Small Business Committee to this day, and currently as Chairman has become a champion for small businesses that employ the majority of Americans.

The Senate Small Business Committee may be low profile, but it's also vitally important to the millions of small business owners who depend on the committee to look out for their interests. Yet, despite the importance of small businesses to a huge number of Massachusetts residents, Senator Kerry's Democratic 'challenger' has no interest, and has proclaimed “It’s not an important committee – it’s small business.” Well that's pretty clueless, Ed, though not unexpected. Between us, Ed's not the sharpest tool in the shed. There's video at the link if you need evidence, although I doubt it's the best use of your time. Even if you've got lots of time.

Elias at The Chimes at Midnight described Ed pretty well in a post the other day (4-21), and although my only experience with him was in a diary at kos, which he abandoned after being pretty well thrashed and exposed as a swift boat enabler, and a glimpse of him lurking behind a post at Faneuil Hall after one of the Senator's speeches, I came away both times with the impression that he was just a bit creepy. Elias calls him a 'tedious vengeful fake'. We can argue the fine points.

So, instead of the interview with Ed, and in honor of Small Business Week, I recommend a visit to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship website, where you can see how its chairman, the person with 'the best job in the world', stands up for small business owners and good jobs for Americans.

Happy Small Business Week to the Senator, the committee, and small business owners everywhere!

It's often referred to as a 'situation', but I think the word is a bit too sterile and evasive to describe the carnage in the Darfur region of Sudan. 'Situation' is a pretty good word to use when your waiter tells you your card's been rejected, or when your kid gets caught lifting something from the Target or when your hot water heater is on the fritz. Because when asked about it, you can always say, "we had a little 'situation', but it's OK now."

No, I really don't think the word is a good one to use to describe what's happening in Darfur.

Hard to imagine, isn't it? Watching your child starve to death or be taken to fight in a war before he's big enough to carry a gun. It's unfathomable to most of us, and yet it happens every day in the Sudan, and we've not done nearly enough to stop it. We say that we'll never allow it to happen again, but while we're fighting a civil war in a country that has done no harm to us, atrocities like Darfur continue, and the result of our inaction looks like this child and his mother.

We say 'never again', but in Darfur, 400,000 lives have been lost and 2.3 million of the six million citizens of Darfur are displaced. And as the Janjaweed continues to rape and murder, to destroy villages and torture the innocent, the Sudanese government turns a blind eye to the atrocities.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the Darfur genocide yesterday. Here's Senator Kerry questioning U.S. envoy to the Sudan, Richard Williamson. You can view the hearing in its entirety at C-Span.

Photos courtesy Wikimedia Commons

While the lovely Teresa was here in Pittsburgh with Barack, Michelle and Bob Casey, Senator Kerry was in New York City for the Earth Day paperback release of their book "This Moment on Earth".

And while my new friends Tamara, Cindy, Matt and Joe were at the Obama rally at Pitt with my camera and an energized group of Barack supporters including the SW Allegheny crew (that's our Obama campaign field organizer Rob in the crowd in the center of the second photo, just above Sen. Obama) ...

 
... my old friend Karen was in New York, getting her book signed by JK.

Sadly, I missed both events. Not so sadly, my camera and Karen's did not. I have lots more photos and some video to share from the past four days of GOTV in Pennsylvania, where Senator Obama and an incredible group of caring citizens worked long hours canvassing (and have the blisters on their feet to prove it), to reduce Hillary's lead from 20 points to single digits. Congratulations and thanks to all who put in the time and effort these past weeks to call, walk and donate time and money to Senator Obama's campaign for Pennsylvania. It was a blast, and we were incredible.

Can you think of a more fitting way to celebrate Patriots Day than to have a veteran and United States Senator pin a purple heart on a wounded soldier at Fenway before a Red Sox game?

I can't. Unless, of course, the soldier gets to throw out the first pitch.

Yesterday, PFC Sean Bannon, wounded Iraq vet and lifelong Red Sox fan, did just that, and his mom was on hand to express her love and pride.

Sean, thank you for honoring our country with your service.

I am going to have to ask for your forgiveness once again for missing some of this week's news, but tomorrow is Pennsylvania's primary, and I've been working some pretty long hours to help Sen. Obama get the nomination. As a matter of fact, after reading about the Clintons' Democratic enemies list in the NYT yesterday, the only thing that could keep me from working extra hard for Sen. Obama would be if JK himself were running. If I didn't know better, I would say Bill and Hill seem a little bitter over the loss of their entitlement.

In addition to topping the Clinton hit list, Sen. Kerry is fending off attacks from the do-nothing Senate Republicans, who have the audacity to suggest he's not getting legislation passed, even though they're the ones blocking it. I'm telling you, these people are just getting more bizarre by the day.

But some things are getting done, and Sen. Kerry was busy again last week, working for the people of Massachusetts and the country. I think I caught a good bit of it, like legislation that will help our men and women in uniform keep their homes, and hearings on how to help small business owners get the credit they need to stay afloat in these difficult economic times, he also helped Massachusetts fishermen remove a roadblock that will allow them to expeditiously put a $13.4 million grant to good use.

The Senator spoke at a Boston Chamber of Commerce government affairs forum, heard Mayor Carolyn Kirk's testimony at a Senate Small Business Committee hearing, blogged about net neutrality at Firedog Lake, spoke to a group of Democrats in Hudson, attended an event that promotes physical fitness for young girls, joined other local officials in denouncing predatory lending practices that have caused so many to lose their homes, congratulated the Boston College Eagles hockey team in the Senate, and proposed the Emergency Student Loan Liquidity Market Act to help students get loans.

I see This Moment on Earth is coming out in paperback, which is pretty awesome, although I already have a couple (signed) copies and have handed a few out to friends and family. If you haven't read it, I suggest you pick up a copy and try to track down the Senator to get yours signed. It's a really great book from two wonderful people who have both been long time environmental leaders.

Happy Primary Eve!

For all the attention currently being paid to the presidential race, there's another very important contest that's not getting a whole lot of play. In this video, Senator Kerry emphasizes to the Saugus town committee the importance of increasing our slim Democratic majority in the Senate and the House.

Because Republicans have decided that the filibuster is de rigeur this season, there is no other way. It's either sixty votes in the Senate or we're stuck with the same old Washington politics.

So, it's either obstructionists like Mitch McConnell, roadblock leader, who has voted time and again against the will of the American people, or a Democrat who will work for the people of Kentucky and the country. It's either ethically challenged Ted 'road-to-nowhere' Stevens, or popularAnchorage Mayor Mark Begich. John Sununu or Jeanne Shaheen. Environmental disaster Inhofe, or Andrew Rice, who is running on a platform of social justice and common sense public policy.

Maybe Senate Republicans should stay off the road and stick to parking lots where it's safe. Or not.

Probably best they just let the grownups take the wheel before Congressional Republicans drive this country further into the ditch.

I know some of yinz guys aren't too familiar with my home town, but even if you've never been to Primanti's, drank an arn or been dahntahn, if you're a football fan, you probably know who this guy is.

Franco Harris, along with other Steeler greats, spent yesterday touring South West PA yesterday, and I was able to catch them and a bunch of Steeler/Obama fans in the parking lot of Heinz field as they wound up their campaign swing with Dan Rooney, Judy O'Connor and Bob Casey at the home of the Steelers.

As Sen. Casey noted, the crowd was diverse. There were young and old, black and white (and I will add canine), all enjoying the beautiful Pittsburgh weather and listening to some their favorite Steeler legends tell us why they're supporting Barack Obama for President.

 
It was a diverse crowd, but we all had one thing in common. Pittsburghers, like the rest of the country are looking for something.

Rock on, Pittsburgh.

And thanks to the Steelers and friends for a great rally!

Good God, researching the damage done by Senate Republicans is depressing. After a full day at work and three hours of GOTV training for Sen. Obama last night, I was just too tired to read any more about the pain and suffering they've inflicted on the American people. We'll get back to the massive mountain of obstruction in a day or two, but it's just too onerous a task for today.

Instead, here's some video from our friend John Bowes of BelowBoston.com from Power Shift 2008, where Sen. Kerry spoke last weekend on one of his key issues, saving the environment. John has more video of Sen. Kerry from the event, but here's a bit to start you off. You can watch the rest at his youtube site.

The MAPS Vision

If we do what's needed to solve global warming, we can build a more secure, just, prosperous future; we can grow a new economy that generates new green jobs, strengthens the middle class and creates new pathways out of poverty for many more. By retooling our factories, revamping our schools, and rebuilding our communities, we can create a sustainable, just, and prosperous future for all.

It appears the out of touch NRSC has decided to 'go there' by once again attacking Sen. Kerry, this time for doing the right thing and supporting the candidate of his (and the majority of Democrats) choice for the Democratic nomination, at the same time attempting to take down Barack Obama for actually listening and responding to what the American people have to say, and as an added bonus insulting the intelligence of a huge swath of the voting public.

The substance of the NRSC video is that John Kerry is somehow wrong for supporting a candidate who said that Americans are bitter because of the pain we've suffered at the hands of this administration. So, what's the truth? On Lou Dobbs' website the other day, he posted a push-poll that pushed back. I don't think Lou expected 67% of Americans to proclaim that they are 'bitter and angry' when the poll was clearly looking for 'independent and proud'. But they did.

So, I ask the NRSC, who is out of touch with the American people? Who doesn't understand that Americans ARE bitter after the beating we've taken at the hands of this miserable Republican administration? I'm not going to name names, but their initials are NRSC.

I said the other day I would revisit every Republican filibuster in the 110th if the NRSC put up another lame attack, and they did, so I will. I'm just not sure if I want to post them one at a time, or just let loose with the whole rotten first session at once. I'll have to think about that. For now, let's start with this especially egregious item from July, 2007. It's the Webb amendment, wherein the Republicans decided against giving our weary troops a little relief between deployments.

REPUBLICAN FAILURE #1 -- THE FILIBUSTER OF THE WEBB AMENDMENT

The following is a statement by Senator Jim Webb following a 56-member vote in favor of his amendment to ensure responsible troop deployment cycles, four votes short of the threshold necessary to receive a final up-or-down vote:

“A clear majority of the Senate—56 Members – sent a strong message today in favor of ensuring responsible deployment cycles for our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I regret that we did not reach the 60-vote margin that would have allowed this amendment to prevail. It was offered in the spirit of bipartisanship. It was offered with the intention of protecting the well-being of our troops.

“A Republican filibuster kept this amendment from passing by an up-or-down vote. Americans are tired of this kind of posturing. The troops and their families don’t want to hear about political, procedural maneuvers. What they really care about are results. They are looking for concrete actions that will protect the well-being of our men and women in uniform.

“The question on this amendment is not whether you support this war or whether you do not. It is not whether you want to wait until July or September to see where one particular set of bench marks or summaries might be taking us. The question is this: more than four years into ground operations in Iraq, we owe stability, and a reasonable cycle of deployment, to the men and women who are carrying our nation’s burden. That is the question. And that was the purpose of this amendment.”

The Senate Republicans filibustered the Webb amendment. This is just one example of how the 'support our troops' Republicans simply don't. There are others, including the administration's insistence on keeping them in his ill-conceived war in Iraq, but this was a pretty straight forward amendment which attempted to give our fighting men and women a chance to spend time with their families and have some well deserved R&R.

And the Republicans blocked it. Maybe the NRSC should make a video to try to defend that.

I know some of you may be thinking, "Who cares about the ineffectual jerks at the NRSC and their silly videos? Let it go, Faith." You have a point, of course. I know they're going to use baseless attack ads, because, to borrow a quote from JK, "They don't have a record to run on, they have a record to run away from." I just think they deserve another look.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the Republican obstruction of S.3, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007, 'A bill to amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for fair prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.' That's a pretty bitter pill for our seniors to swallow, and I think it's blockage deserves a bit more attention.

I'm sure folks are much more outraged at the fact that Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to help the elderly with their prescriptions than that Sen. Kerry supports someone who has the audacity to tell the truth to the American people. Don't you think?

Last Saturday, the city of Newburyport held its Third Annual Three Towns and Two Cities Breakfast with the participating Democratic committees of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury and West Newbury. I had planned on attending the event and while I was there, gather signatures for Senator Kerry.

I was supposed to attend the event, but ended up having to pass due to a minor emergency. Luckily, my husband Tony, another loyal Kerry supporter and Democrat was able and more than willing to go, if only to 'have a word' with our State Representative Mike Costello for endorsing Ed O'Reilly. As we all know, EOR has decided that Massachusetts needed fresh blood in the Senate and is running against JK in the primary.

When Tony finally came back around noon, he couldn't wait to ask me to 'guess who showed up??!!' and then proceed to reveal that the good Senator himself made it to the breakfast. Of course this revelation called for a detailed recounting of the event and JK's speech, so my dear hubby was railroaded into writing the following guest post for KerryVision.

OK. I'm from Pennsylvania and I'm a little bitter, so you're just going to have to excuse this post as the long repressed result of my ire. Because I have spent practically every evening for the last nine months writing about what John Kerry has done for this country and for Massachusetts, sometimes barely able to keep up with the legislation and the speeches and the hearings, and now a bunch of obstructionist, warmongering, Bush-enabling, knuckle-dragging jerks are claiming he's not doing enough?

Screw you, NRSC and your weak-kneed, loser candidates.

Who has kept us in Iraq, despite the legislation Senator Kerry introduced to get us out? Who has racked up massive debt, squandered our hard-earned taxpayer dollars, lied us into a trillion dollar war that has cost thousands of lives, and practically destroyed the good name of the United States of America while letting the people who attacked us escape? Who is responsible for $3.30 gasoline, the loss of our good jobs to outsourcing and the fact that many of us still don't have health care?

Who obstructed more Senate business last year in half the time of any previous Congress?

Well, I'll give you a hint, it wasn't John Kerry. So if you want to talk about what he hasn't done, fine. Because he hasn't done any of that. What he has done is this. Go ahead, look at it. Anything there look good to you? How about getting out of Iraq responsibly, or help for small business, or veterans care, or 'kids first'? There are hundreds of good pieces of legislation listed, and if any of it didn't get passed, go find a Republican and ask him why.

Listen, I just finished my taxes, and this is not a good day to mess with me. I'm sick of watching good legislation die because some idiot Republican in Congress thinks it's more important to suck up to George Bush than to help the American people. Don't like the bill? Well, just say so, but don't lie and say the Democrats -- especially John Kerry -- haven't done anything. Because I've written about 300 posts here in the past nine months that say otherwise.

OK, I'm done. For now. But you can bet I'll write a post about every bill, every amendment this sorry lot of Republican reprobates has blocked if they keep this up. I'm sick of politicians who think Americans are so stupid we can't see for ourselves who is acting in our best interest. We've been bamboozled by Republican dirty tricks one too many times, and, to borrow a phrase from the liar in chief, we won't get fooled again.

Senator Kerry's internet director explained this all in a bit calmer fashion in his post at BlueMassGroup, so I'm just going to re-post it here and you can see what all the fuss is about. Sorry I couldn't give this a better intro, BriVT, but despite what you might be hearing from Hillary, we Pennsylvanians are a little angry these days.

Re-posted from BlueMassGroup

The National GOP Attack On Kerry
by: BriVT
Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 18:07:51 PM EDT
(Facts are such stubborn things! - promoted by David)

{disclaimer: I'm John Kerry's Internet Director}

It's always fun when the GOP attacks these days. What with gas pushing $4 a gallon, their nominee calling for 100 years in Iraq (or a thousand, make it a million!), and our economy rampaging toward recession, it's kind of tough to run on the issues. And when you have a bench as bare of credible candidates as MA ... whaddya gonna do?

Lie. Avoid the issues. And put a picture of Britney Spears on it.

The gruesome details (with bad pop culture references) below ...
As much as it pains me to do this to you, I must give you those gruesome details by embedding this YouTube from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC):

John Kerry has authored and shepherded a number of bills into law. In fact, Knowlegis named Kerry the 12th most powerful Senator because of his effective advocacy for Massachusetts and progressive issues.

Here's a blog post with a sampling of some of them. Short version: help for veterans. Fairness for our fisheries industry. Ethics reform. And more.

As my friend (and fellow JK staffer) David Wade said:

NRSC must stand for 'nobody really shows competence.' When people get their facts this wrong they usually lose on the first round of 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th grader.' In just the last two years, John Kerry has written and passed legislation that denied congressional pensions to corrupt members of Congress like Duke Cunningham, passed legislation to establish eye injury centers for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, secured $13 million in disaster assistance for Massachusetts fishermen, and put the Senate on record condemning Burma's military junta.

OK, attacks are part of politics. But, note to NRSC, when you attack, can you please just get the basic modicum of facts right? I mean, really. If you are going to come in to Massachusetts from your GOP DC offices and attack our legislators, I, for one, would really appreciate it if you wouldn't be so obvious and bald with your lies.

If I can get "meta" for a second, the NRSC is mostly just trying to raise money for itself. It's far, FAR behind the DSCC in fundraising, and their entire online fundraising haul amounts to a rounding error in a day of Barack Obama's online fundraising. So they're trying to juice it any way they can. I'd feel pity, if they had the basic sense to keep their attacks in the realm of reality.

But, the question is, what are our esteemed Republican Senatorial candidates going to do about it? Are they going to allow the NRSC to destroy (well ... further destroy) the GOP's name in Massachusetts in order to fundraise for themselves? Or are Scott, Beatty, and Ogonowski going to move past lying politics and distance themselves from it?

With the ideology and policies of the GOP so thoroughly discredited, I'm sure it seems easier to run on gimmicks like these, but as much as I'm making fun of them here, this is serious. The decisions and work Senators do can make a real difference in people's lives. It can be the difference between health care for children, or those children going without. It can make the difference between a veteran getting support they need when they get home, or having to go it alone. It can make the difference between a future with new energy sources and a cleaner environment, or one with a warming planet and environmental catastrophes.

As much as the NRSC would like us to think otherwise, politics matters. Results matter. And lies just don't cut it.

Just the facts.

I hope you'll excuse my lack of commentary this time (maybe you'll appreciate it), but I've been spending these last few weekends talking to folks in PA (who really are incredibly bitter, by the way, about the failures of the Bush administration) about why I think Barack Obama should be our next President, and to tell the truth, I'm tired. Still, I feel like a bit of a slacker when I look at what Senator Kerry has accomplished over the past week. One of these days, I'm going to find out how he does it.

Senator Kerry sent a letter to the Department of Justice on behalf of the survivors of first responders, announced a million dollar grant to the former employees of Quaker Fabric, received a leadership award from the American Optometric Association, introduced legislation to increase National Guard benefits, passed The Military Family Homes Protection Act to help active duty military keep their homes, and the Kerry-Smith provision to help others facing foreclosure, and spoke at a hearing on immigration raids. He also wrote to George Bush about the President's attempts to push the Columbian trade deal through Congress. Check that last one out. It's the deal President Clinton supports and that Hillary opposes, even though Bill has made a bundle from it.

The Senator spoke at MAPS, welcomed home returning troops with the 719th Movement Control Battalion, investigated a government contractor, was recognized by the American Public Health Association, held a conference call with reporters on the Bush administration's misguided policy in Iraq, wrote to SBA administrator Preston on behalf of small business, questioned Petraeus and Crocker at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, campaigned for Sen. Obama in Pennsylvania, and spoke at some local Democratic events. I think Kerstin attended one of them, so we should be hearing more on that soon.

I may have missed a few, but I think I captured the highlights. Enjoy.

Michele McPhee of WTKK Radio spoke with Senator Kerry the other day on a host of subjects, including the Buckner first pitch, a bit of fauxrage over Obama's truth telling, and credit card abuse by federal employees. Although the latter is the only real crime of the three, the protestations of the media and the public might lead one to believe otherwise.

Now, I'm not stupid enough to get into a discussion here with Red Sox fans about the over two decades blame directed at Bill Buckner for a single error in an otherwise stellar career. Everyone knows he was a great ball player, and the sustained ovation he received last week when he threw out the first pitch at the Red Sox home opener was evidence of that.

It's easy to forgive when you're winning.

What Senator Kerry had not yet heard at the time of the interview with Michele was the flap over Senator Obama's comments made at a closed fundraiser and later planned for release by Hillary Clinton at an opportune moment, in textbook Rovian fashion, complete with "I'm not bitter" stickers miraculously printed and distributed the following day.

The truth is that we are bitter over the loss of jobs and the state of the economy, and 'Pollyanna' Clinton can't change that by taking a few sound bytes out of context, asking us to put on rose colored glasses and pretending we're not. The truth is that people do cling to wedge issues when they have no confidence in the government to help them overcome the struggles of daily life, and the truth is that we take comfort in those things that we can depend on when all else fails.

Here's Senator Obama with Charlie Rose in 2004, discussing, perhaps a bit more artfully than in his off the cuff comments of the other day, the connection between the failure of the government to resolve economic issues and wedge-issues voting.

Now, we can choose to ignore the harsh and simple realities, or we can face them head on. We can treat this campaign as some sort of 'gotcha' game, where the real meaning of a statement is reduced to a word or a phrase. We can pretend, like Senators Clinton and McCain, that the people of Pennsylvania aren't smart enough to read beyond the headlines, but this small town Pennsylvanian knows better.

Speaking of headlines, here's one worth reading from today's Morning Call. That's a Pennsylvania newspaper, by the way, and I'm guessing it has a lot of small town readers facing hard economic times like the rest of the state and the country. A bitter pill, perhaps, for Senator Clinton, but sometimes the truth is like that.

Obama's vision is reason to nominate him

... Sen. Clinton has made much of her ''ability to lead'' on day one in the Oval Office. Past experience like hers is one thing, but leadership also depends on having a vision, plans to pursue that vision, and an ability to inspire others to follow. On those grounds, Sen. Barack Obama is well-suited to lead, and The Morning Call recommends his nomination in the Democratic primary.

h/t 'TML' for graphic

I'm not sure who Hillary has been talking to in Pennsylvania, but I've knocked on plenty of doors here and spoken with a lot of voters over the past couple weeks, and I can tell you that it's hard to find one who isn't angry about the the war or home foreclosures or the cost of college or health care or gas or food or all of the above.

I'll tell you what. We're all pissed about something.

That look on my neighbors' faces when I see them at the gas station isn't optimism, it's anger. When they drive through towns in Pennsylvania with boarded up storefronts, or past the plants where they used to pull in a decent paycheck, they're discouraged. Even the lucky among us who have good jobs are dodging potholes big enough to break an axle as we bemoan our crumbling infrastructure. Sure, you're going to find people at political events who are optimistic. They're there because they're looking for change. They're there because they're looking for someone to help fix the things that are making them them angry and discouraged. Take a drive through PA, Hillary, and you'll find plenty of bitter.

Maybe the people Hillary is talking to are OK with her connection to NAFTA that has taken so many jobs from Pennsylvania, and feel that the Columbian trade deal, that will take even more, is something to be optimistic about. Her husband seems happy. Of course, he's made a ton of money from it. Her 'former' campaign guy, too. But the people who realize that Bill Clinton had a lot to do with shipping their jobs out of the country and making a bundle from it in the process are none too happy.

Pennsylvanians are a lot smarter than either Hillary or McCain give us credit for, although I have to admit she was right about one thing.

"Pennsylvanians don't need a president who looks down on them, they need a president who stands up for them.’’

That's exactly what we need. So stop with the sound byte gotchas, Hillary. Stop misleading the American people, and stop treating Pennsylvanians like we're a bunch of backwater hicks who don't understand the truth when we hear it. Pennsylvanians can see through your weak attempts to distort Sen. Obama's words. We really are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it any more.

TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA – At a town hall meeting in Indiana, U.S. Senator Barack Obama made the following comments in response to the Clinton and McCain campaign's attacks:

“When I go around and I talk to people there is frustration and there is anger and there is bitterness. And what’s worse is when people are expressing their anger then politicians try to say what are you angry about? This just happened – I want to make a point here today.

“I was in San Francisco talking to a group at a fundraiser and somebody asked how’re you going to get votes in Pennsylvania? What’s going on there? We hear that’s its hard for some working class people to get behind your campaign. I said, “Well look, they’re frustrated and for good reason. Because for the last 25 years they’ve seen jobs shipped overseas. They’ve seen their economies collapse. They have lost their jobs. They have lost their pensions. They have lost their healthcare.

“And for 25, 30 years Democrats and Republicans have come before them and said we're going to make your community better. We're going to make it right and nothing ever happens. And of course they’re bitter. Of course they’re frustrated. You would be too. In fact many of you are. Because the same thing has happened here in Indiana. The same thing happened across the border in Decatur. The same thing has happened all across the country. Nobody is looking out for you. Nobody is thinking about you. And so people end up- they don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody’s going to help them. So people end up, you know, voting on issues like guns, and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. And they take refuge in their faith and their community and their families and things they can count on. But they don’t believe they can count on Washington. So I made this statement-- so, here’s what rich. Senator Clinton says ‘No, I don't think that people are bitter in Pennsylvania. You know, I think Barack’s being condescending.’ John McCain says, ‘Oh, how could he say that? How could he say people are bitter? You know, he's obviously out of touch with people.’

“Out of touch? Out of touch? I mean, John McCain—it took him three tries to finally figure out that the home foreclosure crisis was a problem and to come up with a plan for it, and he's saying I’m out of touch? Senator Clinton voted for a credit card-sponsored bankruptcy bill that made it harder for people to get out of debt after taking money from the financial services companies, and she says I'm out of touch? No, I'm in touch. I know exactly what’s going on. I know what’s going on in Pennsylvania. I know what’s going on in Indiana. I know what’s going on in Illinois. People are fed-up. They're angry and they're frustrated and they're bitter. And they want to see a change in Washington and that's why I'm running for President of the United States of America.”

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton. The kind of disingenuous attack on the truth you displayed yesterday is just one more example of why we're bitter. It's the reason we ended up with four more years of Bush, and we're too smart to be fooled again. Are you really so out of touch that you can't see the anger of people who are struggling in this dreadful economy? Are you really that disconnected?

Pennsylvanians can handle the truth, Hillary, and it's refreshing to find a politician who isn't afraid to tell it. And not just easy, sound byte friendly truths, but the hard ones that we don't necessarily want to hear. We've had enough of Washington double-speak, enough of politicians who say only what they think will garner them a few votes, and enough of condescending baloney from Washington insiders.

We want the truth, Hillary. When you and McSame start telling it, maybe we'll be just a little less bitter.

How did your family get here? My grandparents came over 'on the boat' from the old country, which for them happened to be Czechoslovakia. And unless you're Native American, you probably have a similar history, give or take a generation or two. With little more than a dream, they came to make their way, and despite their broken English and their different culture, they made a home and raised a family. And they were welcomed here.

No where in Emma Lazarus' poem can I find "... and round them up and take their young children from them". Yet incredibly, I heard a right wing radio hack the other day defend the practice, comparing 'illegal' immigrants to murderers, and proclaiming they should receive similar treatment. He went on to trash Sen. Kerry unmercifully for being, well, merciful.

Parenthetically, I have to say that I think 'illegal immigrants' is an ugly and imprecise label. People are not 'illegal', even though their actions may be. George Bush started an illegal war, but we don't call him an 'illegal President'.

OK bad example, but I think you get my point.

Now, I'm not saying that people who are here illegally shouldn't be penalized. Certainly, they should, and we have to protect our borders and enforce our laws. But this is America, and you would think that a country that was founded on and by immigrants would be a little more compassionate than to separate parents from young children and treat people who are looking for a better life like hardened criminals. I have to believe that most Americans still believe that people, even people who are here illegally, deserve to be treated humanely. Or have we really sunk that low?

Let's not forget where we came from. We're not a country that's afraid of people who are different, we are a country of people who are different. And it's going to take more than a bunch of right wing radio fear mongers and inhumane enforcement tactics to change that.

In yesterday's KV entry about General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker testifying to the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, Faith brought up a good and valid point: While a lot of excellent questions were asked, and all three presidential candidates were able to present themselves tackling the issue that might make or break them, the lack of answers were the problem.

Senator Obama's line of questioning left no doubt as to where he was taking it and what point he was trying to make:

Part one:

Part two:

With finite resources in mind, what is the end point? What are the criteria? If it is a completely wiped out Al Qaeda without any possibility of reconstitution, a fully functioning Iraqi government and democracy, no Iranian influence, it would necessarily require a US troop presence that could stretch over decades.

Or is it a simple maintaining of Iraq as is, with only occasional eruptions of violence, but no Al Qaeda presence, and no threat to its neighbors - an achievable goal? Positing these options, Senator Obama rightly pointed out no satisfactory answers had been given during the entire hearings.

So this is where we are now, and unless we have a Democratic administration, and Democratic appointees to diplomatic positions, no hearing will get us any closer to any answer or solution.

For all the fuss about General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker testifying to the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees yesterday, I have to say I wasn't impressed. The problem in Iraq, as everyone including Petraeus admits, is not one that will be resolved militarily, so having the big military guy there doesn't help answer the real question of how we get out. As Sen. Kerry says, the military, including General Petraeus, are implementers of a strategy they didn't craft.

The problem with Petraeus is that he's the wrong guy to answer the real questions.

So where are the crafters? They stick this military guy up in front of the Senate and the world to talk about some military progress that doesn't address the larger issue. But it feeds the media and allows the administration to put someone in front of the American people who can actually point to some kind of accomplishment, and hope no one notices how badly Bush and company continue to screw things up.

I guess if nothing else, it was a good opportunity for the American people to see the presidential candidates at work. Rarely does the Senate get this much attention in the traditional media, so at least something good came out of the hearings. McCain, of course, still doesn't get it. Not only does he ignore the larger issue, but he continues to misrepresent the Dem position by insisting it calls for precipitous withdrawal when both Obama and Clinton and every other Dem who's spoken out about Iraq has specifically stated that their plans involve getting out in an orderly and measured manner, and helping Iraq and the neighbors to resolve the political differences. It's what Sen. Kerry has been saying for years, and it's the only responsible plan. McCain, of course, bypasses all that, and doesn't seem to want to look beyond a few military successes. Because he's got nothing else.

According to the McCain strategy, we can continue to have military successes and keep the General's champagne bottle in the back of the fridge for a hundred years at a cost of billions of dollars a week. That still won't get us any closer to resolving the political issues.

The problem with Petraeus is that he can't answer the real questions about how we resolve this. The problem with McCain is that he can't either.

I'm not saying Gen. Petraeus shouldn't testify before Congress. He should, and it was important to hear his testimony. But the problem isn't his to resolve, and the media and John McCain are missing that overarching reality.

So, who is the right person to fix Bush's massive blunder? Certainly, failed Secretary of State Condi Rice, who was laughingly floated last week as a potential VP pick for McCain, won't tell us anything we haven't heard from this administration before. It's going to take a Democratic president to shift the focus to the real threat and get us out of this quagmire, which is costing the American people three billion dollars a week and not making us any safer.

As Senator Kerry told Larry King last night, a lot of questions were asked yesterday, most were not answered. I don't think we'll get our answer until January.

So while yesterday didn't accomplish much except to give the American people a false sense of complacency and the media something to talk about for the next few days, at least we got to see the Senate. That's cool, I guess.

If anybody over at FOX News was concerned that after scolding his colleagues at Fox and Friends for attacking Obama unfairly, Chris Wallace might all of a sudden follow in his father Mike's footsteps and become a fair journalist, they needn't have worried. Chris is still a lesser son of a greater sire - as evidenced in the following interview with Senator Kerry.

He was belligerent, misquoting, quoting out of context - in short, he employed the old reliable Fox News tactics to get in his talking points and put JK on the spot. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum, so to speak:  the good Senator wasn't playing ball! He was having none of Wallace's nonsense and calmly but firmly corrected him on every misquote and misstatement he tried to weasel into the interview.

After Senator Kerry rightly pointed out the many McCain flip-flops since signing on to campaign for president, Wallace had this to say:

"But Senator, with all due respect' (isn't it funny how anything that comes after this preface is utterly devoid of any respect?)   'almost every politician, and frankly, even you have been accused of flip flops over the years. But do you think John McCain was an opportunist when he supported the troops surge when nobody else in congress was supporting a troop surge? Do you think John McCain was an opportunist when he refused to take an early release from a Vietnamese prison camp because he was the son of an admiral? Because he said he was gonna stay there for years, as long as all the other Americans did?' (I was ready to cue the violins at this point and have the choir sing Saint McCain's praises.)

'Chris, please!' scoffed JK. 'You almost insult my intelligence and my values and those of every other American. Nobody would ever insinuate that John McCain is anything but a hero for his activities in Vietnam.'

'Well, Howard Dean called him a blatant opportunist' interrupted Wallace indignantly, to which the Senator helpfully proposed that Dean was likely referring to what's happened to McCain in the period of time since the nomination, and pointing to his own numerous references earlier to recent McCain reversals, and ending with setting the record straight once again on his own supposed flip flop that never was - the infamous 87 billion vote.

Well, you know what they say - if you can't beat 'em, change the subject... or something like that, which is exactly what Wallace did after JK's answer. However, despite Wallace's valiant effort to move to safer ground, Senator Kerry deftly steered his reply right back to where he wanted to be!

All is right with the world again and equilibrium has been restored. Wallace has stepped back into his proper role as FOX News unfair and unbalanced shill, and Senator Kerry got to sharpen his chops on him and possibly even reach out to the odd FOX viewer who possesses a modicum of intelligence. These kinds of interviews, and SFRC hearings are truly the highlights of the week!

Fired up.

It may be an Obama rallying cry, but it also pretty accurately describes Sen. Kerry's demeanor over the past week of hearings and interviews. I think, though, that what he believes is 'ready to go', is the current administration. With only nine months left until the grownups take back the White House, I believe that's pretty much in line with the general feeling of the country.

The Senator was interviewed on all three cable news networks this week in addition to Senate hearings in the Foreign Relations and Finance Committees, a floor speech on the housing crisis and a swing through the eastern half of Pennsylvania for Obama. I was pretty disappointed that he didn't stretch that trip a bit further west to his wife's home town of Pittsburgh, but we're still hoping he makes it here before the primary.

I'm afraid I missed the Finance Committee hearing on anti-terrorism financing last week, which can be found at the committee website (Sen. Kerry is at 1:07 and again at 1:21:30). Actually, listening to it now, I'm really sorry I didn't catch it, as he mentions his investigation into BCCI. There are some pretty slimy things hiding under rocks Senator Kerry has overturned, and no doubt a lot more ooze yet to be uncovered. This is a hugely important issue that is at the heart of our national security, and that you won't hear much about on the evening news. The full hearing is worth watching, but if you're short on time, try to find a few minutes to watch JK.

Sec. Levey: "That's a difficult question."
Sen. Kerry: "That's why I asked it."

Levey looked pretty relieved when JK was done with him, and not especially thrilled about Sen. Wyden's Saudi question that followed. I don't think he was looking forward to a second round, but I was. Follow the money, indeed.

If there's anything better than having John Kerry support your run for the White House, it's having two Kerrys. Teresa and the Senator both hit the campaign trail for Obama in the past few days, Teresa with Michelle in at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and the Senator across the Commonwealth, building support for Barack for Pennsylvania's April 22nd primary.

First, though, Senator Kerry hit the cable news channels to talk to both MSNBC and CNN about Senator Obama's experience and vision, and John McCain's failed strategy.

I wasn't able to break away from work to see THK and Michelle on Wednesday, and it sounds like I missed a great event. The next day's PG front page story was titled "Michelle Obama wows them at CMU", and noted the frequent comparison of the two women, both "independent-minded political spouses". I think I would have to add that they are both accomplished women in their own right, with some pretty serious resumes to their credit.

It may not be newsworthy, but I was out and about for Obama yesterday as well, this time canvassing a very nice middle class neighborhood near my home. The economy was an issue for the folks I met, as it was in a more economically challenged area I visited the other day, but the real standout for many of these people is Iraq, and their anger and frustration over Bush's war. Needless to say, they're not voting for John McCain. They get it. They can see through Teflon John's rhetoric and the free pass he's getting from much of the media. As with the other neighborhoods I called and canvassed, Obama was the clear favorite yesterday.

Heads up! Sen Kerry will make an appearance on Fox News Sunday today, to discuss the situation in Iraq and Gen. Petraeus' upcoming status report.