<DIV>A "progressive's" thoughts at the Democrat National Convention!</DIV>
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<DIV><BR>> JOHNNIE BEEN GOOD?<BR>> by Greg Palast<BR>> [Boston] The millionaires are dancing now. The balloons are falling on<BR>John Kerry, John Edwards and their nuclear families.<BR>><BR>> They're playing "Johnnie B. Goode" over the loudspeakers. Democrats are<BR>hopping up and down like JFK never went to Dallas; like Bill Clinton didn't<BR>blow it for us; like there's a chance to bring the boys home alive; like<BR>America can crawl out of Dick Cheney's bunker and look at the sun again.<BR>><BR>> But has Johnnie Kerry been good so far?<BR>><BR>> He told us tonight about some poor bastard in Ohio whose job evaporated<BR>when his company unbolted the equipment and sent it south. Hey, Johnnie,<BR>didn't you vote for NAFTA?<BR>><BR>> I applauded when he said the White House should stop treating teachers<BR>and school kids like fugitives from justice and help them out. But, Johnnie,<BR>didn't you vote for George Bush's "No Child's Behind Left" !
assault
on public<BR>education?<BR>><BR>> Then there was that little story meant to show us all he is a Man for All<BR>Seasons, above party politics. "I broke with many in my own party," he said,<BR>"to vote for a balanced budget, because I thought it was the right thing to<BR>do." No, John, it wasn't. It was craven political cowardice, going with the<BR>anti-government hysteria that put a knife into the heart of the programs you<BR>cried over tonight.<BR>><BR>> He told us the sad story of the poor homeless guy huddled in front of the<BR>White House. Is this the same John Kerry that voted for Clinton's welfare<BR>"reform"? That put a five-year limit on food stamps, making child starvation<BR>the law of the USA. At least Ronald Reagan offered ketchup as a vegetable.<BR>><BR>> Kerry made good use of the cash he saved on feeding the poor. "I fought<BR>to put a 100,000 cops on the street." Hey, thanks, John.<BR>><BR>> But my absolute favorite of the night was wh!
en Kerry
told us, "Saying<BR>there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so. As<BR>President, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence."<BR>><BR>> But, as Senator, you didn't. No questions asked: you just closed your<BR>eyes and voted for the lie. I know it, and you sure as hell know it.<BR>><BR>> And you mentioned a time or two tonight that you served your country. Got<BR>yourself a medal for it, too. I'm sorry, but shooting a Vietnamese teenager<BR>in the back who was defending his country doesn't make you a hero.<BR>><BR>> Yesterday, my buddy Michael Moore and I held a press conference in<BR>Boston. Some joker of a reporter asked Mr. Fahrenheit about Kerry's gung-ho<BR>keep'm-in-Baghdad position. Michael fudged and fidgeted. I felt bad for him<BR>as he faked the answer, "President Kerry would not have sent us to war." But<BR>as Senator, Kerry did.<BR>><BR>> I've got an easier job than Michael: as a journalist I don't have to<BR>!
defend
any candidate. Nevertheless, I know that my Democratic Party friends<BR>will want to ship me to Guantanamo for asking, "You believe in Kerry, but<BR>does he believe in you?"<BR>><BR>> Remember, comrades, I'm only asking questions, here. I'm sorry if the<BR>answers make you uncomfortable about your favorite rich guy.<BR>><BR>> I know what you're going to say. "Isn't Bush worse?"<BR>><BR>> By a long shot. Asking if Kerry is as bad as Bush is like asking if a<BR>slap in the face is as painful as a brick to the skull.<BR>><BR>> But don't you get tired of being slapped around by privileged politicos<BR>on hypocrisy hyper-drive -- then having to applaud? It can't be pleasant, no<BR>matter how many pretty balloons they drop on your head.<BR>><BR>> ------------------<BR>> www.GregPalast.com<BR>> Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, 'The Best<BR>Democracy Money Can Buy' and 'Joker's Wild: George Bush's House of Cards'<BR>reg!
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