Kerry's Flip Flop Sandles

[watermock]

1. Voted for Patriot Act, now against it (3.45) 11 5
2. Voted for NAFTA, now has "doubts" about it (3.20) 5 2
3. "I actually did vote for the 87 Billion before I voted against it" (3.13) 8 3
4. First rejects idea of banning gay marriage, then changes his mind and will not rule out supporting amendment banning gay marriage (3.00) 5 2
5. Kerry used to decry "Special Interests and their PAC Money", now has established his own PAC (3.00) 5 2
6. Wanted Larger Tax Cut in 2002, now calls the tax cut "benefitted the rich while doing little for the economy" (3.00) 5 1
7. Called Israeli Security Fence as a "Barrier to Peace", calls it a "Legitimate Act of Self-Defense" (3.00) 4 2
8. Backed half-dollar increases in Gas Tax, now no longer supports it (3.00) 3 1
9. Kerry supported full trade with China, now criticizes Bush for trading with China (3.00) 2 0
10. Between 1985 and 2000, Kerry voted against funding for missile defense 53 times, now says he supports it (2.80) 5 0
11. Called the 1991 US Coalition as "fragile", but then said Bush Sr. did a "brilliant" job just 2 weeks later (2.75) 4 1
12. Called the War on Terror a "Manhunt", now says its more than a manhunt. (2.50) 2 0
13. Favored ending double taxation on dividends, now says he opposes it (2.50) 2 0
14. In 1992, Kerry called afirmative action "divisive", now denies he said it (2.50) 2 0
15. In 1996, Kerry established limit of $500k of personal welath to be used in Senate campaigns, he was 1.2 million dollars over limit (2.50) 2 0
16. Kerry promised to fund Iraqi reconstruction with "whatever number" of money it took, but Voted against the Reconstruction Package. (2.50) 2 0
17. Kerry supported Internet Tax, then voted to extend it until 2005, but today claims he doesn't support it (2.50) 2 0
18. Voted against tax breaks for ethanol, voted to increase liability standards for Ethanol, now claims to be in support of Ethanol (2.40) 5 2
19. Kerry voted for military action in Iraq, supported the President while doing it,now claims to be anti-war (2.33) 9 3
20. On Marijuana, he stated "personal disposition is to open the issue of medical marijuana, now wants to wait for study analyzing the issue
21. Promised not to attack Bush during Iraqi War, 3 weeks later calling for a "regime change in the US" (0.00) 0 0
22. Said that abortion should be left up to the states, now says it is the law of the entire nation (0.00) 0 0
23. Said that Democrats push health care too much, now says health care is his "passion" (0.00) 0 0
24. Voted for the NCLB Act, now calls it "mockery" (0.00) 0 0
25. Voted to eliminate bipartisan welfare work requirement, then voted for Welfare Reform (0.00) 0 0
26. Was against Burma sanctions, now supports them

[Taco John]

And to provide balance....




President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief

July 7, 2004

From the beginning, George W. Bush has made his own credibility a central issue. On 10/11/00, then-Gov. Bush said: "I think credibility is important.It is going to be important for the president to be credible with Congress, important for the president to be credible with foreign nations." But President Bush's serial flip-flopping raises serious questions about whether Congress and foreign leaders can rely on what he says.

1. Social Security Surplus

BUSH PLEDGES NOT TO TOUCH SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS... "We're going to keep the promise of Social Security and keep the government from raiding the Social Security surplus." [President Bush, 3/3/01]

...BUSH SPENDS SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS The New York Times reported that "the president's new budget uses Social Security surpluses to pay for other programs every year through 2013, ultimately diverting more than $1.4 trillion in Social Security funds to other purposes." [The New York Times, 2/6/02]

2. Patient's Right to Sue

GOVERNOR BUSH VETOES PATIENTS' RIGHT TO SUE... "Despite his campaign rhetoric in favor of a patients' bill of rights, Bush fought such a bill tooth and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill coauthored by Republican state Rep. John Smithee in 1995. He... constantly opposed a patient's right to sue an HMO over coverage denied that resulted in adverse health effects." [Salon, 2/7/01]

...CANDIDATE BUSH PRAISES TEXAS PATIENTS' RIGHT TO SUE... "We're one of the first states that said you can sue an HMO for denying you proper coverage... It's time for our nation to come together and do what's right for the people. And I think this is right for the people. You know, I support a national patients' bill of rights, Mr. Vice President. And I want all people covered. I don't want the law to supersede good law like we've got in Texas." [Governor Bush, 10/17/00]

...PRESIDENT BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION ARGUES AGAINST RIGHT TO SUE "To let two Texas consumers, Juan Davila and Ruby R. Calad, sue their managed-care companies for wrongful denials of medical benefits ‘would be to completely undermine' federal law regulating employee benefits, Assistant Solicitor General James A. Feldman said at oral argument March 23. Moreover, the administration's brief attacked the policy rationale for Texas's law, which is similar to statutes on the books in nine other states." [Washington Post, 4/5/04]

3. Tobacco Buyout

BUSH SUPPORTS CURRENT TOBACCO FARMERS' QUOTA SYSTEM... "They've got the quota system in place -- the allotment system -- and I don't think that needs to be changed." [President Bush, 5/04]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION WILL SUPPORT FEDERAL BUYOUT OF TOBACCO QUOTAS "The administration is open to a buyout." [White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo, 6/18/04]

4. North Korea

BUSH WILL NOT OFFER NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARM... "We developed a bold approach under which, if the North addressed our long-standing concerns, the United States was prepared to take important steps that would have significantly improved the lives of the North Korean people. Now that North Korea's covert nuclear weapons program has come to light, we are unable to pursue this approach." [President's Statement, 11/15/02]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFERS NORTH KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARM"Well, we will work to take steps to ease their political and economic isolation. So there would be -- what you would see would be some provisional or temporary proposals that would only lead to lasting benefit after North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. So there would be some provisional or temporary efforts of that nature." [White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 6/23/04]

5. Abortion

BUSH SUPPORTS A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE... "Bush said he...favors leaving up to a woman and her doctor the abortion question." [The Nation, 6/15/00, quoting the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 5/78]

...BUSH OPPOSES A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE "I am pro-life." [Governor Bush, 10/3/00]

6. OPEC

BUSH PROMISES TO FORCE OPEC TO LOWER PRICES... "What I think the president ought to do [when gas prices spike] is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots...And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price." [President Bush, 1/26/00]

...BUSH REFUSES TO LOBBY OPEC LEADERS With gas prices soaring in the United States at the beginning of 2004, the Miami Herald reported the president refused to "personally lobby oil cartel leaders to change their minds." [Miami Herald, 4/1/04]

7. Iraq Funding

BUSH SPOKESMAN DENIES NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE REST OF 2004... "We do not anticipate requesting supplemental funding for '04" [White House Budget Director Joshua Bolton, 2/2/04]

...BUSH REQUESTS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR IRAQ FOR 2004 "I am requesting that Congress establish a $25 billion contingency reserve fund for the coming fiscal year to meet all commitments to our troops." [President Bush, Statement by President, 5/5/04]

8. Condoleeza Rice Testimony

BUSH SPOKESMAN SAYS RICE WON'T TESTIFY AS 'A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE'... "Again, this is not her personal preference; this goes back to a matter of principle. There is a separation of powers issue involved here. Historically, White House staffers do not testify before legislative bodies. So it's a matter of principle, not a matter of preference." [White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 3/9/04]

...BUSH ORDERS RICE TO TESTIFY: "Today I have informed the Commission on Terrorist Attacks Against the United States that my National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, will provide public testimony." [President Bush, 3/30/04]

9. Science

BUSH PLEDGES TO ISSUE REGULATIONS BASED ON SCIENCE..."I think we ought to have high standards set by agencies that rely upon science, not by what may feel good or what sounds good." [then-Governor George W. Bush, 1/15/00]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS IGNORE SCIENCE "60 leading scientists—including Nobel laureates, leading medical experts, former federal agency directors and university chairs and presidents—issued a statement calling for regulatory and legislative action to restore scientific integrity to federal policymaking. According to the scientists, the Bush administration has, among other abuses, suppressed and distorted scientific analysis from federal agencies, and taken actions that have undermined the quality of scientific advisory panels." [Union of Concerned Scientists, 2/18/04]

10. Ahmed Chalabi

BUSH INVITES CHALABI TO STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS...President Bush also met with Chalabi during his brief trip to Iraq last Thanksgiving [White House Documents 1/20/04, 11/27/03]

...BUSH MILITARY ASSISTS IN RAID OF CHALABI'S HOUSE "U.S. soldiers raided the home of America's one-time ally Ahmad Chalabi on Thursday and seized documents and computers." [Washington Post, 5/20/04]

11. Department of Homeland Security

BUSH OPPOSES THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY..."So, creating a Cabinet office doesn't solve the problem. You still will have agencies within the federal government that have to be coordinated. So the answer is that creating a Cabinet post doesn't solve anything." [White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, 3/19/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY "So tonight, I ask the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the homeland of America and protecting the American people." [President Bush, Address to the Nation, 6/6/02]

12. Weapons of Mass Destruction

BUSH SAYS WE FOUND THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION..."We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories...for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." [President Bush, Interview in Poland, 5/29/03]

...BUSH SAYS WE HAVEN'T FOUND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION "David Kay has found the capacity to produce weapons.And when David Kay goes in and says we haven't found stockpiles yet, and there's theories as to where the weapons went. They could have been destroyed during the war. Saddam and his henchmen could have destroyed them as we entered into Iraq. They could be hidden. They could have been transported to another country, and we'll find out." [President Bush, Meet the Press, 2/7/04]

13. Free Trade

BUSH SUPPORTS FREE TRADE... "I believe strongly that if we promote trade, and when we promote trade, it will help workers on both sides of this issue." [President Bush in Peru, 3/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE "In a decision largely driven by his political advisers, President Bush set aside his free-trade principles last year and imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel to help out struggling mills in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, two states crucial for his reelection." [Washington Post, 9/19/03]

14. Osama Bin Laden

BUSH WANTS OSAMA DEAD OR ALIVE... "I want justice. And there's an old poster out West, I recall, that says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'" [President Bush, on Osama Bin Laden, 09/17/01]

...BUSH DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OSAMA "I don't know where he is.You know, I just don't spend that much time on him... I truly am not that concerned about him."[President Bush, Press Conference, 3/13/02]

15. The Environment

BUSH SUPPORTS MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE... "[If elected], Governor Bush will work to...establish mandatory reduction targets for emissions of four main pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide." [Bush Environmental Plan, 9/29/00]

...BUSH OPPOSES MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE "I do not believe, however, that the government should impose on power plants mandatory emissions reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a 'pollutant' under the Clean Air Act." [President Bush, Letter to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), 3/13/03]

16. WMD Commission

BUSH RESISTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE... "The White House immediately turned aside the calls from Kay and many Democrats for an immediate outside investigation, seeking to head off any new wide-ranging election-year inquiry that might go beyond reports already being assembled by congressional committees and the Central Intelligence Agency." [NY Times, 1/29/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE "Today, by executive order, I am creating an independent commission, chaired by Governor and former Senator Chuck Robb, Judge Laurence Silberman, to look at American intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction." [President Bush, 2/6/04]

17. Creation of the 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION... "President Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice his opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11." [CBS News, 5/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION "President Bush said today he now supports establishing an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." [ABC News, 09/20/02]

18. Time Extension for 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION... "President Bush and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose granting more time to an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." [Washington Post, 1/19/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION "The White House announced Wednesday its support for a request from the commission investigating the September 11, 2001 attacks for more time to complete its work." [CNN, 2/4/04]

19. One Hour Limit for 9/11 Commission Testimony

BUSH LIMITS TESTIMONY IN FRONT OF 9/11 COMMISSION TO ONE HOUR... "President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have placed strict limits on the private interviews they will grant to the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that they will meet only with the panel's top two officials and that Mr. Bush will submit to only a single hour of questioning, commission members said Wednesday." [NY Times, 2/26/04]

...BUSH SETS NO TIMELIMIT FOR TESTIMONY "The president's going to answer all of the questions they want to raise. Nobody's watching the clock." [White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 3/10/04]

20. Gay Marriage

BUSH SAYS GAY MARRIAGE IS A STATE ISSUE... "The state can do what they want to do. Don't try to trap me in this state's issue like you're trying to get me into." [Gov. George W. Bush on Gay Marriage, Larry King Live, 2/15/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BANNING GAY MARRIAGE "Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and wife." [President Bush, 2/24/04]

21. Nation Building

BUSH OPPOSES NATION BUILDING... "If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road." [Gov. George W. Bush, 10/3/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS NATION BUILDING "We will be changing the regime of Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi people." [President Bush, 3/6/03]

22. Saddam/al Qaeda Link

BUSH SAYS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEEN AL QAEDA AND SADDAM... "You can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror." [President Bush, 9/25/02]

...BUSH SAYS SADDAM HAD NO ROLE IN AL QAEDA PLOT "We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in Sept. 11." [President Bush, 9/17/03]

23. U.N. Resolution

BUSH VOWS TO HAVE A UN VOTE NO MATTER WHAT... "No matter what the whip count is, we're calling for the vote. We want to see people stand up and say what their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and the utility of the United Nations Security Council. And so, you bet. It's time for people to show their cards, to let the world know where they stand when it comes to Saddam." [President Bush 3/6/03]

...BUSH WITHDRAWS REQUEST FOR VOTE "At a National Security Council meeting convened at the White House at 8:55 a.m., Bush finalized the decision to withdraw the resolution from consideration and prepared to deliver an address to the nation that had already been written." [Washington Post, 3/18/03]

24. Involvement in the Palestinian Conflict

BUSH OPPOSES SUMMITS... "Well, we've tried summits in the past, as you may remember. It wasn't all that long ago where a summit was called and nothing happened, and as a result we had significant intifada in the area." [President Bush, 04/05/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS SUMMITS "If a meeting advances progress toward two states living side by side in peace, I will strongly consider such a meeting. I'm committed to working toward peace in the Middle East." [President Bush, 5/23/03]

25. Campaign Finance

BUSH OPPOSES MCCAIN-FEINGOLD... "George W. Bush opposes McCain-Feingold...as an infringement on free expression." [Washington Post, 3/28/2000]

...BUSH SIGNS MCCAIN-FEINGOLD INTO LAW "[T]his bill improves the current system of financing for Federal campaigns, and therefore I have signed it into law." [President Bush, at the McCain-Feingold signing ceremony, 03/27/02]

[watermock]

I can tear every one apart.

[Taco John]

Sorry... I just can't handle Bush...

Kerry isn't going to get me any closer to my key issues of privatized social security and school vouchers... But it's clear that Bush isn't either... So I'm left with the question of who would be a better commander in chief...

Without a doubt in my mind, I believe Kerry would fill that role a hundred times better than Bush has.

[watermock]

1. Alot happened between 3/3/01 and 2/06/02, including the dot.com bubble bursting and 9/11 and the war in Afganistan. The use of the SS trust is highly overrated. It's cheaper to use that than borrow. If we wind up in a world war, it's not going to matter. Like the government can't print money. It's less inflationary to use the funds in this manner than to borrow. I'm not going to minimize the baby boomer impact, but the fact is, funding SS will be inflationary, but short term, contrary to popular belief, it's probably the right move. Unless we have a country in 20-40 years, you won't have to worry about it anyway.

2. Salon.com? You will notice that the comments were regarding Texas in 1995. The time line is totally reversed, and both are regarding Texas. The third isn't even a comment by Bush, but the Solicitor General. How amusing.

3. He said he was "open" to a buyout. He didn't say he supported it, and he may of needed southern votes. It's Washington, remember? That crap has been going on for decades.

4. North Korea? We have been dealing with these idiots for 50 years. Clinton is the one that made the "understanding" sending food and fuel to them while they continued to build nuclear weapons. Even mock can't formulate what to do with these idiots. I say the carrot and the stick circus has to end and give China some major league ultimatums. Feeding their giant army isn't going to make us any safer. Let them starve.

5. Just because he says he is "pro-life" doesn't mean he can overturn the Supreme Court. He's said it's a personal opinion. He said "I am pro-life, the argument says Opposes.

6. He didn't refuse to lobby OPEC, Saudi Arabia raised their production. The increases in economy worldwide, especially in China and India, along with overregulation of so many grades of gas, (summer/winter and you name it) restricts our supply. We are at least 5 refineries short. Also the russian situation has been resolved.

7. I'm not going to withold funds for our troops. You know I warned about this dynamic Taco, last March. I said it would be a postwar mess. I'm not going to starve the troops. They anticipated more cooperation and less insurgency. That's what you get for being nice. I would of wiped out a couple divisions, but they were conscripts. So what do you do when Al Quaeda sends troops?

8. That was a break in National Security History. We are supposed to give minutes of the National Security Council to Congress? This is a non issue but brings a bad precident. I don't think LABF needs to know what the National Security Council is talking about behind closed doors. Regardless, Bush was pressured and relented.

9. This is just a protest, not a flip flop.

10. Chiraldi is another attempt to bring some sort of stability. He is a classic back stabber and was summarily kicked out of the process after new evidence showed he lied.

11. Homeland Security. How Amusing that Bush was against it, yet it is him that is blamed for implementing it. Fleisher made the original post, and he himself called for better coordination.

Now the 9/11 commision is calling for yet another level? And they are blaming Bush?

12. They could have been transported to another country, and we'll find out." [President Bush, Meet the Press, 2/7/04] Well Duh, they have been taken from Syria to Sudan for even more safe keeping. Syria was getting hot.

13. He wasn't talking specifically about steel, which is highly subsidized to undercut american production. Second, the pollution involved, if they want to sell us steel under cost, I just assume they give it to us. However, there are National Security issues here.

14. Bin Laden. By saying he's irrelevant dead or alive, the argument was we have cut off his nuts, making him irrelevant. We know where he is, but we have our hands full with Saurons minions in Iraq right now. We get a solid bead, don't be surprised an F-117 doesn't lay an egg or two regardless of what that freak show in Kashmir says. Mushareff can't even control that area.

15. Carbon Dioxide? There is nothing you can do with Carbon Dioxide except go nuclear. Pull my finger. Grow some damn trees. You can't make any power no matter how clean, that doesn't have Carbon Dioxide.

16. Kay has been totally misquoted, Clark and Wilson have been proven to be outright liars. Again, your using assertions from the NY Times. And in these changes of policy, I don't see any moves in the wrong direction. Now the arguments get really thin.

17. The reason he opposed it was there is allready the Homeland Security Office. Fearing more wrath from an attack that was designed under Clinton, he decided to go ahead and get more recommendations, partisan as they are, they are being reviewed. So now we will have two full cabinet level positions. So to say Bush is underestimating the threat is ludicrous.

18. Time extension for 9/11 commision. Could it be they were starting to posture politically? Regardless, he let them "squeeze out a happy ending".
Their findings have been looked at all week during another "vacation" as Michael Moore likes to call them.

19. Fine, so he sets a limit of ONE HOUR of questioning? Jesus Christ, have you ever seen the Senate posture? Regardless, he pulled that back. You get to the point, you can get to the answer. Regardless, Bush went along with it and nothing more is said.

Now the arguments are getting paper thin.

20. Gay Marriage. Headed to the Supreme Court. Whatever.

21. 21. Nation Building

BUSH OPPOSES NATION BUILDING... "If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road." [Gov. George W. Bush, 10/3/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS NATION BUILDING "We will be changing the regime of Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi people." [President Bush, 3/6/03]

This is very amusing. The quote is in 2000. The second quote is after 9/11 and he doesn't say it's "Nation Building". It's not his fault Al Quaeda is pouring crazies in there. Kill them.

22. I have explained this several times. The motivation was to finally disarm Saddam and take away his weapons. The Al Quaeda war was in Afganistan.
The 9/11 commision was a joke. Like they would say Usama Bin Laden was the attacker. Isn't the idea that Muslim Extreemists hijacked Planes the issue, not Bin Laden?

23. U.N. Vote. Sure he wanted the UN to vote. Now it turns out that France, Germany, Russia, Syria and the UN were all into an elaborate skimming operation that was making high officials very very wealthy. Give me a break. Meanwhile School Children were starving while mortars and RPG's were stored in their school rooms. Hospitals were being used for Armories. Give me a break. Bush asked for help, and our "allies" had allready been bought out.

24. That is the intrasigence of Arafat and the Terrorists. Enough of that lunacy. The door is always open to peace, but to have a Terrorist spit in your face, why give him the keys of Camp David?

25. Campaign Reform. Well this is two years later. It's amusing that players like the Heinz-Kerry financed Moveon.org still parade behind the scenes like the Wizard of Oz that this is even an issue. Again, Bush signed the bill.

conclusion? I don't see too much forced down the American's throat. Not many vetos is any, and you dimwits are lucky we are not growing vegetable gardens and urged to buy war bonds.