Faith:

Time to get out there and kiss some babies, Senator. Your primary opponent may be a sorry excuse for a Democrat with no relevant experience, no accomplishments to back up his stated positions, and no hope, but like you say, it's not good to take these things for granted.

I'm endorsing John Kerry for Senate because, well, I write a blog about him. And the reason I do that is because I'm convinced he stands for the things that are important to me, like the Constitution, the right of every American to have an equal opportunity to live the dream, and something that we don't get enough of from Washington, the truth.

Senator Kerry has dedicated his life to public service, and his record backs it up. From his early days in the Senate investigating Iran-Contra to today, he's never hesitated to speak out against government corruption, and has consistently been a champion of women's rights, veterans' rights, civil rights, and the right of future generations to live a life better than those that came before.

Personally, I'm putting the bumper sticker on the car this weekend, right above 'Obama '08'. Probably won't be a whole lot of them here in Pittsburgh, but what the heck. He's my candidate, even if I can't vote for him.

Kerstin:

When Faith suggested that KerryVision ought to endorse John Kerry for Senate, my initial reaction was surprise. Isn't it rather obvious that we at KerryVision approve of Senator Kerry and the work he does for Massachusetts and the country?

But then I realized that this attitude of taking someone like John Kerry for granted is precisely what we at KerryVision have been battling for almost a year now. As a resident of Massachusetts, I am fortunate to have two of the finest progressive Senators in the nation, but ironically, this fortune brings along the curse of raised standards and heightened expectations.

Efforts that would earn every other US Senator kudos and praise mostly elicit just a shrug and the response; 'He's only doing what we sent him there to do' when Senator Kerry is the one introducing the bills or getting legislation passed. While most Baystaters (especially if they are self-proclaimed political junkies) pat themselves on the back for their smug cynicism, I would like to take this opportunity to step away from that.

It's not only not cool to dismiss Senator Kerry as 'just doing his job', it's actually ungrateful. As Faith already stated above: All anybody needs to do is read up on his Senate record to see that he has been a Representative we in Massachusetts can be proud of. So it really wouldn't hurt us to let him know once in a while. So Faith is absolutely correct: We at KV are letting him know today. Thank you, Senator. We have your back!

Violet:

As the third partner in KerryVision, I have to agree with everything that Faith and Kerstin said. When I look at Senator Kerry's career-long record in the Senate, his approach to diplomacy and US leadership on many issues including the environment, I find myself wishing that we had duplicates of him in many other states. We need his leadership in the US Senate and I most firmly endorse him for re-election.

As some of my friends have noted, Massachusetts residents can be most contrary about outsiders commenting on their politics but I have to say, you have a fighter there in Sen. Kerry. Please send him back to the US Senate. We all need him there.