Back lash? Candidate Brucy Braley Requests Kerry Scrub Visit

[las47032]

DES MOINES, Iowa A Democratic Congressional candidate from Iowa is canceling a campaign event later this week with Senator John Kerry.

Brucy Braley says Kerry's recent comments about the Iraq war were inappropriate.

Braley is running against Republican Mike Whalen in Iowa's First District congressional race. It's a contest considered to be one of the most competitive House races in the country.

Braley's decision to distance himself from Kerry came as a furor grew from comments Kerry made about the Iraq War during a campaign stop in California on Monday.

Kerry said if you make the most of your education, you "can do well." The Democrat went on to say that is you don't, (quote) "you get stuck in Iraq."

The remarks prompted sharp criticism from some Republicans, including President Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain.

Kerry refused to apologize.

Source: Eyewitness News - Iowa candidate asks Kerry to cancel campaign visit

[Woodmonkey]

I saw a clip of him concerning this and he will acknowledge nothing. He kept trying to twist it back to it all being Bush's fault when asked about it.

I have the video clip posted in my thread that shows this slam against our military. It's his words, no interpretation needed - Kerry Belittles the Troops

He sure can't be an asset to any candidates trying to appeal to Americans who support the military.

[Snowden]

Kerry is sinking from disrespect to disrespect. And really, I think that's about all he deserves - disrespect.

Maybe his big mouth will have been a boon to the country, let alone any other party! No patriot could vote for someone who dismissed our military this way.

[Woodmonkey]

This article fits here ...


After remarks, Kerry curtails campaigning for Democrats

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry canceled plans to campaign for fellow Democrats after the GOP began hammering him over his comments to college students about getting "stuck in Iraq."

President Bush's 2004 presidential rival -- who told a radio host Wednesday he was sorry for what he called a "botched joke" -- will not appear with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey on Wednesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a Democratic official said.

"I would be surprised if you see him welcomed out there anywhere," the official said, "and certainly not in a race that is meaningful."

Strategists at both the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees told their candidates the flap is a distraction they don't need right now. (Time.com: John Kerry, still one step behindexternal link)

The Democratic official said the issue doesn't appear to change any races, but it may attract more GOP supporters in tight Senate contests in Missouri and Tennessee.

Kerry's comments provide an opportunity for Republicans to go on the offensive on national security issues -- a winning GOP strategy in 2002 and 2004 that has been blunted by the increasingly violent situation in Iraq.

The Republican National Committee took advantage of the Kerry gaffe with an ad featuring the text of quotes from Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, Sen. John McCain and Bush in support of U.S. troops.

A video clip of Kerry's remarks follows, then the caption, "John Kerry should apologize. Our soldiers are waiting."

Kerry made the comment Monday to students at Pasadena City College in California.

He said: "You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." (Watch Kerry's "botched joke'" that launched the political stink -- 1:50 Video)

A Kerry aide said the senator was supposed to say, "I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq."

Appearing Wednesday on radio host Don Imus' program, "Imus in the Morning," Kerry said, "I'm going back to Washington. I'm going back to tackle this, you bet." (Watch Kerry refuse to apologize for criticizing the president and "his broken policy" -- 9:33 Video)Click on the link below to get this

"Of course, I'm sorry about a botched joke," he added. "Everybody knows I botched a joke."

Kerry said the controversy was "swift boat stuff all over again," referring to the 2004 campaign issue about his service in Vietnam.

"They shouldn't be allowed to do that," the Massachusetts lawmaker said. "I'm not going to let these guys lie and smear, and they put their whole machine out to do it, and they ought to apologize."

But White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said the onus was on Kerry to issue an apology, and he rejected the notion that Kerry's remarks to Imus constituted one.

"You and I and everybody in this room have said things that we didn't intend to say," Snow said at a press briefing Wednesday. "And when it offends people, you say, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it. I'm wrong.' And he hasn't done that."

Snow said Kerry was "insistent on pointing fingers at the president" and that the senator's remarks did not appear to be in jest.

"If you listen to the tone of voice in which he said them, it's hard to construe them as a joke. It didn't sound like he was trying to make funnies," he said.
Cheney set to enter fray

Kerry's office said two House campaign appearances also have been canceled -- by mutual decision -- so as not to "allow the Republican hate machine to use Democratic candidates as their proxies in their distorted spin war in which once again they're willing to exploit brave American troops."

A Kerry aide said the senator wouldn't go to Minnesota for Democrat Tim Walz, who is trying to unseat Rep. Gil Gutknecht, R-Minnesota, and congressional candidate Bruce Braley of Iowa announced that Kerry would not appear with him either.

Republicans unleashed a firestorm of criticism against Kerry after the Vietnam veteran's remarks.

Vice President Dick Cheney will enter the fray Wednesday night during a speech in Montana. The White House released the portion of Cheney's speech pertaining to Kerry.

"John Kerry needs to learn that the men and women serving in Iraq aren't there because they didn't study hard or do their homework," Cheney is set to say. "They're smart, patriotic, exceptionally well-trained and dedicated to their mission. They are heroes, and they are the pride of the United States of America."

On Tuesday, Bush joined many GOP lawmakers -- including House Majority Leader John Boehner and McCain, a former prisoner of war -- in blasting Kerry. (Watch both sides tussle over Kerry's gaffe -- 3:02 Video) Click on the link below to get this

"The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful," Bush said. "The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer armed forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots -- and Sen. Kerry owes them an apology."

Bush will not face voters again, and Kerry isn't up for re-election this year.

A number of top Democrats said they, too, were upset with the senator for giving the Republicans election-time ammunition -- even if the GOP was hyping the remark.

A top Democratic strategist said Tuesday that Kerry "already cost us one election" and should "keep his mouth shut." Added Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee on Wednesday, "Whatever the intent, Sen. Kerry was wrong to say what he said. He needs to apologize to our troops."

Democratic candidate Jon Tester, who is in a tight race against Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Montana, said in a statement, "Sen. Kerry's remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid. He owes our troops and their families an apology."

But not all Democrats concurred. Vietnam veteran and former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia defended Kerry's record of fighting for veterans and applauded the senator for showing "our party how to fight back with the truth."

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also defended Kerry, telling reporters Wednesday in Burlington, Vermont, "Kerry made a blooper. Bloopers happen," according to The Associated Press. A blooper??? Right.

The Source

[Woodmonkey]

They're desperately trying to salvage this situation.

Here's still another spin for what Kerry said.

A Kerry spokeswoman, Amy Brundage, said later that the senator's prepared text had called for him to say: "Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."

My Way News - White House Insists Kerry Apologize