Democrats Know Kerry is Flaming Hypocrite

Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode CCCIV

That's what I get out of the opening paragraph of this WaPo article, May 23:

Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) has begun targeting swing voters and disaffected Republicans in an effort to expand the election battleground, a strategy that includes emphasizing centrist themes on the campaign trail while privately reassuring liberal constituencies he is committed to their core issues....

I also detect a couple of blatant spins in the article. First, in this paragraph:

Kerry has also come under fire among African Americans after some black lawmakers raised concerns about the prominence of minorities and minority issues in his campaign. Kerry aides promised to promptly deliver to black lawmakers details of a new paid media campaign in urban areas, and the campaign quickly hired several minority staffers.

Actually, the complaints were about the absence of minorities, not the "prominence" of them. And, the campaign's hire of "several minority staffers" was IIRC merely... well... cosmetic because the highest-level positions were unaffected.

Second, in this paragraph:

What is more remarkable to many Democrats is how Kerry is catching little flak from the party's base even when he strays from liberal orthodoxy. Abortion rights groups, for example, defended Kerry this past week when he told the Associated Press he would consider nominating antiabortion judges. Even so, Kerry sent a clear message to the base hours later when he issued a statement saying he would never appoint an abortion rights opponent to the Supreme Court.

The idea that pro-abortion groups "defended" Kerry is AFAIK quite a stretch. See Johnny Got His Mind Straightened.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 05/25/04 05:39:27 PM
Categorized as Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode & John Kerry.