March 16, 2004
Clinton Raising Money for Kerry
Clinton issued his strongest public statement to date in support of John Kerry and launched a drive to raise $10 million in 10 days.
When I donated the figure was at $763,449. That's pretty good for the first day and I'm confident that they'll reach the goal given the enormous fund-raising potential of the web, but it doesn't hurt to help, now does it?
(via Salon)
I don't know Mallarme.
Clinton's support further underlines Kerry's neoliberal credentials. What's next--a campaign fundraiser at the World Forum?
I'm not about to spuander my vote on a Bush-enabler! If Kerry wants my vote, he'll have to work for it.
I know you're joking, but Clinton a liberal? Please. Kerry is *way* more liberal than Clinton ever thought about being.
Get with the lingo dude. Neoliberal="free trade"/low regulation economics.
http://www.counterpunch.org/alam06072003.html
Seriously though, what makes you think Kerry is way more liberal than Clinton? There are certain differences that occur to me (Defense of Marriage Act, Death Penalty) but these seem more cultural/geographical than ideological.
Umm... Kerry's voting record for one thing. The ADA gives Kerry a Liberal Quotient of 92 for his lifetime voting record. Given that it's pretty well established that Clinton was a moderate, I think it's safe to say Kerry is considerably more liberal.
Well I don't believe those ratings prove anything. It's really difficult to make a direct comparison because Clinton never served in Congress. Coming from the Northeast, Kerry was a relatively liberal Senator, but that doesn't necessarily mean he really is liberal. It shouldn't come as a suprise that Kerry's rhetoric has moved to make himself appear more moderate in the run-up to his primary run.
Both Clinton and Kerrhy are DLCers. Both are free traders. Both are socially liberal. Somehow, "electable Democrats" turn out to be pretty damn similar. I mean, can you cite any serious policy differences?
For example, if you compared Al Gore's overall voting record in Congress with Kerry's, Gore would surely be more "moderate". But the presidential campaign Gore ran was, on the issues, pretty similar to the campaign Kerry is running, absent the focus on terrorism, some minor differences on health care and the difference in rhetoric that comes with being the opposition.
I just don't buy the media meme that says Gore, Clinton, and Edwards are moderates because they come from the South, while Kerry is a Northeastern liberal. Now that Kerry is our candidate, it is incumbent upon us to combat this sort of regional stereotyping. Kerry may be a liberal, but if he is, so is Clinton, Gore, Clark, etc. But if Kerry wanted to be seen as liberal, he would have said so in the primaries.
One more addendum to my argument.... I'm not saying that ALL electable Democrats are the same. During the primaries, Gephardt, Liebermann and to a lesser extent Dean had real policy differences with Kerry and Edwards, who are essentially the same except for slight disagreement on the war. But I would argue Kerry/Edwards generally fall into the Clinton/Gore mode while the other candidates represented slightly different visions for the Dems (Gore endorsing Dean and his earlier endorsement of single payer health care is a sign that he has become more liberal, or at least more idiosyncratic than the typical electable DLC Democrat).
Ok, if you don't believe those ratings prove anything, provide evidence. Otherwise, everything you just wrote is speculation. Yes, Kerry is campaigning as a moderate. It's a necessity of presidential politics. It does not change his voting record. Granted, I have not studied his record, but when a liberal group gives him such a high favorability rating, I'm inclined to accept it, barring other evidence. Also, I never said anything about any of those politicians being liberal or moderate based on where they're from. Their home states have nothing to do with it.
Ok...let me start over. I'm willing to accept that Kerry's 'liberal' record makes him a 'liberal' or even a 'progressive'. I don't really care one way or the other. The question is whether he is more liberal than Clinton. Since one cannot compare Kerry's record with Clinton's according to congressional record ratings, you have no basis for saying Kerry is 'way more liberal' than Clinton unless you can name specific issues where they differ. Hence, the burden of proof is on you. You cite the media perception that Clinton is a moderate but I reply that these media memes can be misleading and Clinton's identity as a Southerner, and the corresponding effort he and other Southerners take to shape a non-liberal image, has played a role that has nothing to do with ideology. Consider the example of Bob Graham--hardly a liberal image, but on specific issues he has been more 'progressive' than Kerry.
There are certainly ways Kerry is more liberal than Clinton (and vice versa) like relative commitment to environmental protection and culture war stuff. I just don't find them very significant, at least compared to the differences between, say, Gephardt and Kerry.
Touché. :)