John Kerry
Topics
John Kerry
Quotations
John Forbes Kerry politician, Massachusetts Senator, Democratic Party's nominee for President in 2004, son of Richard John Kerry and Rosemary Isabel Forbes, husband of Teresa Heinz Kerry
Sourced
- How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?
- Testimony before subcommittees of the U.S. Senate, April, 1971
- We feel we have been used in the worst fashion by the administration of this country. ... And we cannot consider ourselves America's best men when we are ashamed of and hated what we were called on to do in Southeast Asia.
- Testimony before subcommittees of the U.S. Senate, April, 1971
- There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50-caliber machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant [William] Calley, are war criminals.
- Testimony before subcommittees of the U.S. Senate, April, 1971
- We must recognize that there is no indication that Saddam Hussein has any intention of relenting. So we have an obligation of enormous consequence, an obligation to guarantee that Saddam Hussein cannot ignore the United Nations. He cannot be permitted to go unobserved and unimpeded toward his horrific objective of amassing a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
- Speech to the floor of the Senate, Congressional Record, November 9, 1997 http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=14015820865+3+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
- If Saddam Hussein is unwilling to bend to the international community's already existing order, then he will have invited enforcement, even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act.
- New York Times op-ed, September 6, 2002 http://www.cfr.org/publication.html?id=5596
- If you don't believe...Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn't vote for me.
- usatoday.com, February 11, 2003 http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-02-11-dems-war-uast_x.htm
- I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the president made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him.
- Democratic Presidential Debate May 13, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A16686-2003May5¬Found=true
- I voted to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. I knew we had to hold him accountable. There's never been a doubt about that. But I also know that if we had done this with a sufficient number of troops, if we had done this in a globalized way, if we had brought more people to the table, we might have caught Saddam Hussein sooner. We might have had less loss of life. We would be in a stronger position today with respect to what we're doing.
- 14 December 2003, Fox News Sunday
- We're going to keep pounding. These guys [Bush Administration] are the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen. It's scary.
- Kerry uttered these words, not knowing there was a microphone recording it March 12, 2004
- I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.
- San Francisco Chronicle, March 21, 2004 pE2
- America must always be the world's paramount military power, but we can magnify our power through alliances.
- I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty.
- Acceptance Speech at Democratic National Convention, July 29, 2004 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/convention2004/johnkerry2004dnc.htm
- It's the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- There is some schedule showing what you (need) to do to get Iraqis standing up and defending themselves which is now suddenly beginning to happen, so there are some signs of progress.
- We're here to talk about education. But I want to say something before that....You know, education, if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.
- Speech to California students, 31 October 2006
- Quoted in
- I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did. I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium.
- Unidentified 31 October 2006 statement
- Quoted in
- KERRY: I have had conversations with leaders.
- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Recently?
- KERRY: Yes, recently.
- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How recent?
- KERRY: That‘s not your business. It‘s mine. Are you a Democrat, a Republican? What are you? Are you a registered Republican?
- KERRY: Are you a Republican? You answer the question. Did you vote for George Bush? Did you vote for George Bush?
- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for George Bush and I...
- KERRY: Thank you.
-
- March 2004 exchange
- Quoted in
Unsourced
- Someone has to die so that President Nixon won't be, and these are his words, "the first President to lose a war".
- If [George H.W.] Bush is shot, the Secret Service has orders to shoot Dan Quayle.
- Joke, businessmen's breakfast in East Lynn, Massachusetts, November 15, 1988
- I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.
- Senate debate on using military force against Iraq, October 9, 2002
- What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States.
- Boston Globe, April 3, 2003
- I wish they had a delete button on LexisNexis.
- The Washington Post, May 30, 2003
- I have always fought for the right of people to be able to be treated equally in America. Long before there was a television show or a march in Washington. In 1985, I was the sole sponsor of the Civil Rights Act to make sure we enforced that in America. I am for partnership rights. I am for civil union. I am for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I am for the hate crimes legislation.
- November 5, 2003
- I think we can reduce the size of Washington. Get rid of the Energy Department. Get rid of the Agriculture Department, or at least render it three-quarters the size it is today; there are more agriculture bureaucrats than there are farmers in this country.
- Washington Times, Jan 16, 2004
- I oppose the death penalty other than in cases of real international and domestic terrorism.
- Associated Press policy Q&A January 25, 2004
- Our country is defined by the rights we protect, and those of us who fought for freedom and put our lives on the line defended the right of people to do things that we disagree with. I would not be pleased to see someone burning the flag because I love the flag, but the Constitution that I fought for preserves the right of free expression.
- January 25, 2004
- I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war.
- Acceptance Speech at Democratic National Convention, July 29, 2004
- The United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.
- Acceptance Speech at Democratic National Convention, July 29, 2004
- The future doesn't belong to fear; it belongs to freedom.
- Acceptance Speech at Democratic National Convention, July 29, 2004
- I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side.
- Acceptance Speech at Democratic National Convention, July 29, 2004
- I think I know what happens.
- On the question why he won't watch "Inside the Bubble", a documentary about his failure in 2004 presidential run
- TIME Europe, October 24, 2005
Quotes about Kerry
- Lt. Kerry's devotion to duty, courage under fire, outstanding leadership, and exemplary professionalism directly contributed to the success of this operation and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Unites States Naval Service.
- Admiral Zumwalt (Commander U. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam) in Kerry's Silver Star citation (Wikisource)
- "Lt. Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Naval Service.
- Admiral Zumwalt, in Kerry's Bronze Star citation
Attributed
- From the moment I take office, I will stand up to the special interests and stand with hardworking families so that we can give America back its future and its ideals.
- George Bush's vision does not live up to the America I enlisted in the Navy to defend, the America I have fought for in the Senate, and the America that I hope to lead as president.
- George W. Bush. The "W" stands for "wrong".
- I did my best to express my vision and my hopes for America. We worked hard and we fought hard, and I wish that things had turned out a little differently. But in an American election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans.
- I don't think losing 3 million jobs, having deficits as far as the eye can go, having 2 million people lose their health insurance, turning your back on kids in schools and not funding No Child Left Behind represents a vision.
- In reference to George W. Bush's domestic policies
- I look forward to standing up and holding George Bush accountable for pushing seniors off of Medicare into HMOs.
- I promise just to serve two terms. Republicans do it differently. They just have the son repeat the father's whole first term.
- I will never conduct a war or start a war because we want to; the United States of America should only go to war because we have to. And if you live by that guidance, you'll never have veterans throwing away their medals or standing up in protest.
- No one is going to question my commitment to the defence of our nation. I don't know what it is these Republicans, who didn't serve in any war, have against those of us who are Democrats who did.
- There the Bush Administration has offered only a merry-go-round policy. They got up on their high horse, whooped and hollered, rode around in circles and ended right back where they'd started.
- This president has created an economy that feeds the special interests, the powerful and the corporate power, and he has not helped the average American worker advance their cause. I will.
- We need a new approach to national security. A bold, progressive internationalism that stands in stark contrast to the too often belligerent and myopic unilateralism of the Bush Administration.
- When will this government admit that I was wrong — I mean that they were wrong.
Misattributed
- Who among us doesn't like NASCAR?
- I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did. I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium.