By Wanda Franz, Ph.D.
KERRY'S MENDACIOUS MAKEOVER
On the second day of the Democratic Party's national convention, many newspapers showed a picture of John Kerry, in a powder-blue NASA "bunny suit," crawling out of a space shuttle. The outfit, covering everything but a portion of his face, is a perfect metaphor for the way he presented himself two days later as the party's presidential nominee: a smiling face of "middle-class values" for the voters--and all his radical values under cover. Let's look at two segments of his acceptance speech.
* We have it in our power to change the world again. But only if we're true to our ideals--and that starts by telling the truth to the American people. That is my first pledge to you tonight. As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House. I ask you to judge me by my record [emphases added].
In the rest of his speech, Mr. Kerry promptly concealed the truth about the record by which he asks to be judged. Not only did Mr. Kerry pass over the highly controversial stands he took before he became a senator, he also covered up his subsequent 19-year record in the U.S. Senate and the numerous public statements he has made on social policy issues.
The primary issue that dared not speak its name was, of course, abortion. It is the issue that separates the Democratic Party on a national level from the rest of the country. A "bunny suit" covered the real position of Mr. Kerry and his party.
The Wall Street Journal's Melanie Kirkpatrick (opinionjournal.com, 8/1/2004) observed, "Winning elections is, of course, what this week is all about, and the key question for the Democratic Party is whether its hard-core pro-choice stance is the way to keep on winning. The party is so dogmatic that it even opposes parental notification and a ban on partial-birth abortion, two issues that are favored by a majority of Americans."
Although they kept quiet about it, the delegates at the Democratic convention for the most part agreed with Mr. Kerry's radical pro-abortion stance. A CBS News/New York Times poll (6/16 to 7/17/2004) compared Democratic convention delegates with Democratic voters. About two-thirds (64%) of the delegates wanted abortion to be "permitted in all cases," while only about a third (37%) of Democratic voters have that stance. But for the sake of public appearance, the delegates joined Mr. Kerry in the concealing "bunny suit."
In his speech Mr. Kerry didn't remind the TV viewers that, among other things, he has
* cast 92 anti-life votes on 94 occasions,
* voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act six times,
* voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act,
* opposed the Child Custody Protection Act (that would prohibit taking a minor across state lines for an abortion behind the parents' backs),
* promised to use your tax dollars to fund international organizations that promote or perform abortions in foreign countries,
* promised that he "will only appoint Supreme Court Justices who will uphold a woman's right to choose," and
* earned a "100%" pro-abortion rating by NARAL and Planned Parenthood.
Last year, speaking at NARAL's celebration of Roe v.Wade, Mr. Kerry said, "We need to honestly and confidently and candidly take this issue [abortion] out to the country and we need to speak up and be proud of what we stand for." Now, as the Democratic candidate for the presidency, Mr. Kerry is speaking neither "honestly," nor "confidently," nor "candidly" on "this issue." He is hiding in the "bunny suit."
* My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it's not just policies and programs that matter; the president must be guided by principle. For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for.
Unfortunately, in his acceptance speech, Mr. Kerry did not enlighten his audience on the "principles" and "values" he "lives by" with regard to abortion. On his campaign's web site (johnkerry.com), we find this statement:
"John Kerry believes [emphasis added] that women have the right to control their own bodies, their own lives, and their destiny. He believes [emphasis added] that the Constitution protects their right to choose and make their own decisions in consultation with their doctor, their conscience, and their God. He will defend this right as President. He recently announced he will support only pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court."
Mr. Kerry's record (see above) shows that he "lives by" these beliefs, "principles," and "values."
A recent press release by the Kerry campaign (3/12/2004) criticized President Bush because "at a UNESCAP meeting in Bangkok, Thailand in 2002, the U.S. delegation fought to change language in a landmark international reproductive health care agreement and advanced a position that life begins at conception." However, in a subsequent interview with the Dubuque Herald Telegraph (7/4/2004), Mr. Kerry himself is quoted as saying, "I believe life does begin at conception." But with duplicity and a willful distortion of the meaning of the First Amendment, he continues, "But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist who doesn't share it. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America."
This is dishonest, unprincipled, and nonsensical. Mr. Kerry has consistently acted against his belief that "life begins at conception" and thus has refused to abide by his conscience--unless his beliefs mean nothing. And the First Amendment does not prevent him from acting on his beliefs and according to his conscience. On the contrary, it gives him the freedom to do so.
To a deplorable degree, Kerry's mendacious makeover is succeeding. A post-convention poll (Washington Post/ABC News, 7/30-8/1/2004) finds that 50% of registered voters believe that Mr. Kerry "shares your values."
Are stories and letters to the editor in your local newspaper portraying the real Kerry or the "bunny suit" version? And how would readers get the truth?