On Kerry

Why are class=”textlink”>some folks being so sensitive about Kerry’s remarks — and why are they right to be so?
The key phrase we’re looking for here is “never again”. If people like Kerry — and indeed Kerry himself — had not been responsible for destroying the morale and reputation of the American military after Vietnam, we wouldn’t have to be sensitive to jokes like his failed one. But they did, and we do, because we absolutely cannot allow what happened to the soldiers of that era to begin happening to those of ours.
And the source here matters. If John McCain had made Kerry’s remarks, we’d be astounded, but McCain’s history would argue in his favor and we’d grant him the benefit of the doubt. But Kerry’s history does the opposite: his past exploits and efforts to drag the reputation of American soldiers through the mud are absolutely relevant and mean he doesn’t get to pretend that nobody could ever think he’d say something denigrating about the military. If you’ve never been known to raise your hand in anger towards a woman, you can crack a joke about beating your wife and get away with it (even if you shouldn’t). But if you’ve got a history of beating your wife, you don’t get to make jokes about beating your wife without bringing the full weight of society’s suspicion and opprobrium down on you.
Just as the “rough men” (and women) of our armed forces stand on the wall to protect our safety, ready to do (physical) violence on our behalf, people like Hugh, and Glenn, and Michelle, and yes, me, must stand on the wall of words and be ready to do literary and verbal violence on their behalf. It is a far less hazardous duty, but nonetheless a necessary one. And it is the least we can do.
To do something more, however, remember Project Valour-IT’s fundraiser: and give as much as you can to help them provide voice-activated laptops to soldiers whose injuries prevent them from full use of their hands:

11 thoughts on “On Kerry”

  1. I couldn’t have said it any better!! Kerry’s gaffe was no surprise given the history of his insulting comments about our spectacular military. When I read about it, I just assumed it was “more of the same”. Thank God we didn’t make him the CIC – What a catastrophic disaster that would have been.

  2. On Imus, Kerry’s explanation altered what he really said. On Imus he said,
    “I left out the word “us.” “They got us stuck.” Instead of that, I said, “They got stuck,” and…”
    What he actually said is,
    “…you can do well, if you don’t you get stuck in Iraq.”
    Not “they” but “you”.
    Clearly Kerry was not referring to the Bush administration at that moment or he would have said “they get stuck in Iraq.”
    But he said “you” as if addressing his student audience and identifying them as future soldiers in Iraq.
    Perhaps he accidentally said what he really thought.

  3. Kerry Saga Continues

    The aftermath of Democratic Senator John Kerry’s disparaging remarks about soldiers serving in Iraq just keeps going. Victor Davis Hanson shares some thoughts at National Review Online’s Corner with Kerryism. This remark was one of several that caught …

  4. Oh you big strong warrior you! Protect me with your keyboard! It gets me so hot!

  5. A welcome breath of fresh air, especially after La Shawn Barber’s insipid remarks earlier today. Just like Kerry, rather than own the fact she’d made a huge mistake, she edited out as many critical comments as possible, then shut down the post. This proves there are fools both on the left and the right, but blogs such as this one and Victor Davis Hanson’s showed real insight. It’s no overstatement to say that the bloggers who kept after this (while most of the press wanted it to go away) performed a real service to the country, at a critical time. Kerry let slip his real distain for certain groups and beliefs, a distain shared by many in his party.

  6. Kerry’s Comments

    Some folks would say the blogosphere has spent too much time on John Kerry’s military comments. Bah! N.Z. Bear comments on the subject bears repeating:The key phrase we’re looking for here is “never again”. If people like Kerry — and

  7. Mercy, isn’t that the truth! Kerry has been denigrating the military since the Vietnam War! May he fade from the political scene – not that he is not doing the job effectively on his own….

  8. Mark Steyn, NZ Bear, and the Kerry Bottom Line

    Short, sweet, and piercingly spot-on–these words describe Mark Steyn’s brief summation of the Kerry non-joke (from NRO’s The Corner)…
    … N.Z. Bear Agrees …

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