Give
Kerry a Chance
by Carla Binion
In an article, "Letter from a Minnesota Highway,"
http://counterpunch.org/nader10252004.html,
Ralph Nader asked
whether Bush is a unique threat, more sinister
than Nixon or more frightening than Reagan. The answer is an unequivocal
yes.
Nader criticized the academics, artists and writers
who supported his candidacy in 2000 but plan to vote for Kerry this time.
He said those people must have lost their nerve
and that they aren't doing enough to pull Kerry toward a progressive agenda.
This view doesn't take into account the fact
that progressives can work to keep Kerry honest after he's in office.
It also fails
to consider the extent of Bush's destructiveness
and the suffering his policies create.
It's Bush who has lied to the nation so often
and so egregiously that his lying has been the primary subject of hundreds
of
articles and dozens of books written over the
past few years. It was Bush who began the Iraq war, not Kerry.
It was Bush
who planned to invade Iraq years before September
11, 2001, and then tried to deceive the world into thinking the Iraq war
was a legitimate response to 9/11. Kerry
isn't the one who did those things.
Some progressives say Kerry would continue the
Iraq war in the same way Bush has or that he might escalate the war.
We can't be certain that's the case (regardless
of any campaign rhetoric) unless Kerry is given the chance to prove himself.
With Bush, we know we can only expect more of
the same. Bush has proved he's inflexible and closed-minded.
Kerry has shown he's willing to change his mind
when given new information, and he's proved he's more open to
liberal ideas than other Democratic candidates
have been.
Kerry embraced liberal Democrats (Rev. Al Sharpton,
for example) at the Democratic Convention. Previous Democratic candidates
shunned party liberals and too willingly took
all marching orders from the rightwing Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)
playbook.
Kerry at least deserves a "B" for bravery for
defying DLC political correctness. His courage stoked the wrath of
rightwing Democrat
Zell Miller (Mr. "I-challenge-Chris-Matthews-to-a-dual").
Some on the left dispute the idea that Kerry
would govern more liberally than he's campaigned, but I disagree.
I think his exceptional
openness to change, his willingness to listen
to a variety of views, and his embrace of liberal party members indicate
he'd be flexible,
open and, yes, liberal or even progressive as
president.
With Bush, the country definitely faces certain
endless war, regressive social policies, continued cover-ups and governmental
secrecy,
ongoing lies, and new ultra-conservative members
of the Supreme Court. We know for certain Bush will never waver or
give liberals
a voice. Another Bush term equals a done
deal, a shut-out for progressives.
Considering Bush's extremely destructive policies,
the country should be willing to take a chance on a new direction.
Members of the
American left, including potential Nader voters
entrenched in an anti-Kerry position, could use a little political agnosticism,
a little self-doubt.
There's too much at stake now, too much real
human suffering in the balance, for the left to let the perfect be the
enemy of the good.
In a recent "Rolling Stone" interview, http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/6562106?pageid=rs.NewsArchive&pagereg,
Jann Wenner asked Kerry, "If you were to look
back over eight years of a Kerry presidency, what would you hope would
be said
about it?" Kerry answered, "that it always
told the truth to the American people, that it fought for average folks.
And that we raised
the quality of life in America and made Americans
safer. I want to be the president who gets health care done for all
Americans."
Nader said in his article that progressive Kerry
supporters should consider their role in terms of the old labor ballad:
"Which side are you on?" Hopefully, we're
on the side of the truth, on the side that wants our political leaders
to be honest with us.
There's a decent chance Kerry meant what he said.
I respect Nader for all the good he's done in
the past and will no doubt do in the future. However, this election
will bring the country
either four more years of Bush or a fresh start
with Kerry.
I see potential in John Kerry. All I am
saying is give Kerry a chance.
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