Radiofree West Hartford - Have You No Shame Senators? by Judson Cox

Have You No Shame Senators?

By Judson Cox

October 19, 2004

In January, I wrote a column entitled "The John Edwards North Carolina Knows." I accused Sen. Edwards of being a side show huckster, a snake oil salesman, a man willing to exploit any situation and use any person to advance his career. I based my evaluation of Edwards, not only on his public statements, but on my personal experience with him. I knew his faults, because I know the man. Many people responded, angrily defending Edwards. This week, Edwards proved my point.

Edwards said, at a rally in Newton, Iowa, "... when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.''

Edwards took the occasion of Christopher Reeve's death to play the stunts he used as a trial lawyer, saying that if he and Kerry are elected, the lame will walk. Charles Krauthammer labeled this the worst example of demagoguery he has witnessed in 25 years of DC politics. Were Krauthammer to study Edwards more closely, he would have to revise his statement frequently - this incident barely scratches the surface of the depths of Edwards' ruthless opportunism.

Sen. Kerry also sought to take advantage of Reeve's tragedy. According to Tribune National Correspondent, Jill Zuckman, Kerry claimed Reeve called him on the night of the second debate, and left a message thanking him for supporting stem cell research. "The excitement in his voice was really just palpable. He was just thrilled at where the discussion of stem cell research had come to." Reeve had already fallen in to a coma at the time Kerry claims he called. Kerry's willingness to exploit people and situations knows no bounds.

In the third debate, Kerry gratuitously exploited Vice President Cheney's daughter, "We're all God's children, Bob. And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as." The question was whether or not the candidates believe people are born gay. There was no reason for Kerry to mention the Cheney daughter. His goal was to use her lesbianism as a political weapon against the President. Kerry' campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, said Cheney's sexuality was, "fair game." As Lynne Cheney responded, this was "a cheap and tawdry political trick."

In the debates, Kerry prefaced nearly every statement on moral issues by reminding us that he was raised a Catholic and was once an altar boy. This, even though he denies the Church's authority, and condemns bishops for pointing out that his politics are in opposition to Catholic teaching. Kerry said, "My faith affects everything that I do, in truth. There's a great passage of the Bible that says, "What does it mean, my brother, to say you have faith if there are no deeds? Faith without works is dead." What are these works? He claims his faith leads him to fight poverty and work for a better environment, but his faith has no bearing on issues such as abortion or gay marriage. Even though he claims to believe that life begins at conception, Kerry's faith does not lead him to condemn what, by his own reasoning, is taking an innocent human life.

Kerry pledges not to impose his faith on others by condemning policies morally opposed to Biblical principles. In other words, he will take any politically expedient position. Were Kerry around during American slavery, I imagine his position would be something along the lines of, "I believe slavery is morally wrong, but I will not impose my religious beliefs on slave holders." Were he alive during the Holocaust, he may have said, "I am against killing Jews, but I will not impose my religious beliefs on the Nazis." Clearly this dichotomy is unacceptable. It is merely an exploitation of an issue meant to take advantage of both sides.

Kerry and Edwards are from opposing sides of the Mason - Dixon Line, but they are cut from the same cloth. They are opportunists, willing to exploit any issue for political gain. In the words of Lynne Cheney, "The only thing I can conclude is he (Sen. Kerry) is not a good man" - neither is Sen. Edwards.