Kerry Tales, Part XIX

In today's WaPo, Helen Dewar and Dan Balz examine the positions and votes of Senator John Kerry. The article draws three (unsurprising) conclusions. First, Kerry (unlike Clark or Dean) has a 19-year record on virtually any issue of interest to voters. Second, that Kerry is no moderate, but a typical Massachusetts liberal:

[O]n most issues, Kerry built a solidly liberal record, including support for abortion rights, gun control and environmental protection, and opposition to costly weapons programs, tax cuts for wealthy Americans. . .

[H]e ranked as the ninth most liberal senator in the National Journal's comparison of voting records for 2002. He ranked even higher -- more liberal than Kennedy -- on economic issues, although about the same on social issues and more conservative on foreign policy. Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal group, rated Kerry more liberal than Kennedy during the time they served together in the Senate, although by only 1 percentage point.

Finally, many of Kerry's votes conflict with his current speeches. This is especially apparent regarding candidate Kerry's frequent references to his (unquestionably heroic) service in Vietnam, designed to imply that a President Kerry wouldn't jeopardize U.S. defense and security:

But 20 years ago, in his first Senate campaign, Kerry talked a different language about national defense, denouncing President Ronald Reagan's military buildup and calling for cuts of about $50 billion in the Pentagon budget, including the cancellation of a long list of weapons systems, from the B-1 bomber to the Patriot antimissile system to F-14A, F-14D and F-15 fighter jets.

And not just his first term: Kerry supported a nuclear freeze in the mid 1980s and sought to cut CIA funding in the 1990s. The Senator says he's since changed his mind on many defense issues.

Maybe so. But Kerry's record stands for itself. And someone should ask Kerry (proposed debate question number two) why he revised his views on defense and how America can be sure it's not voting for a Kennedy in DLC clothing.