Driving Votes: Jo's Blog - Archived Entry

Driving Votes received an email from someone who was critical of my statements about Kerry being the most liberal of the congress people. The emailer provided information about who (The National Journal) has ranked Kerry as the most liberal and pointed out that his record is indeed, by their criteria, the most liberal.

I am not disputing the fact that Kerry has been rated the most liberal. The Republicans are certainly using this information as a means to attack Kerry. I just feel disappointed that Kerry, who by my standards is not particularly liberal, is considered as such. Perhaps I am influenced by my childhood in France or my adolescence in Berkeley, CA.

Ultimately, I am a proponent of Nader’s agenda, although I would not consider voting for him in this election. I think even very skeptical progressives have learned over the past four years that there are critical differences between the Republicans (especially the neo-cons) and the Democrats. However, this does not mean that I am 100% behind the Democrats who continue to be influenced by corporate sponsorship and who adopt policies that would be considered conservative in other countries. This is why I believe in putting pressure on the Democratic party to start acting as progressives. I like this bumper sticker I saw the other day: “Undermine Nader—adopt his agenda”.

I, like many Americans, are not very knowledgeable about politics. In fact, I find it quite challenging to get information that I trust about most issues, including information about political candidates. But, I do know enough to say that my progressive values are frequently not represented by the Democrats and I am often worried by the actions of the Democrats (such as their overwhelming support of the Iraq war). I also know enough to say that the current administration is leading us down a destructive path and that a Democratic president and congress would be a vast improvement.

I do want to acknowledge that Kerry has done a number of noble and courageous acts. This (rather outdated, but still relevant) article by David Corn gives a nice overview of Senator Kerry’s achievements, including his anti-Vietnam war actions, investigating the CIA-backed contras in Nicaragua, opposing Bush’s tax cuts, advocating for increasing the minimum wage, voting against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, and being one of the original sponsors of the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act. I hope that he can continue this kind of work as President.