Cheney, at the time defense secretary, had scolded Congress for keeping alive such programs as the F-14 and F-16 jet fighters that he wanted to eliminate. Miller said in his speech that Kerry had foolishly opposed both the weapons systems and would have left the military armed with “spitballs.” During that same debate, President George H.W. Bush, the current president’s father, proposed shutting down production of the B-2 bomber — another weapons system cited by Miller — and pledged to cut defense spending by 30 percent in eight years.
Though Miller recited a long list of weapons systems, Kerry did not vote against these specific weapons on the floor of the Senate during this period. Instead, he voted against an omnibus defense spending bill that would have funded all these programs; it is this vote that forms the crux of the GOP case that he “opposed” these programs.
On the Senate floor, Kerry cast his vote in terms of fiscal concerns, saying the defense bill did not “represent sound budgetary policy” in a time of “extreme budget austerity.” Much like Bush’s father, he singled out the B-2 bomber for specific attention, saying it is “one of the most costly, waste-ridden programs in a long history of waste, fraud and abuse scandals that have plagued Pentagon spending.”
The more I read about this racist swine, the sicker I feel. That of all the splendid people on this planet they could have chosen to give their keynote the GOP turned to this ogre of hatred and vitriol — well, it tells us all we need to know, doesn’t it?
1 By ACB
Maybe if these programs had been cut and the money was spent on education then the general population would have been smart enough to see 911 and all of the other world events coming and wouldn’t have need fighters.
Kerry is a pacafist, he would rather an America that used its budget to prevent wars from occouring rather than fighting them. You have to look at Kerry’s wider thinking.
This is definetly an example of oil being poured onto a fire and one that has little to do with current issues.
September 4, 2004 @ 4:30 am | Comment