Quotes by Senator John Kerry

“I refuse to stand by while our democracy is trampled by politicians more concerned about amassing power than helping the people who sent them to Washington in the first place.”

“I will not lay down and put this narrow, stubborn agenda ahead of our families, ahead of our Constitution, and ahead of our values. We are a proud nation that respects the rights of the minority, values the separation of church and state, and believes in honesty and personal responsibility.”

“I figured out Karl Roves political strategy -- make gas so expensive, no Democrats can afford to go to the polls.”

“I want to start by saying something nice about President Bush. Of all the presidents weve had with the last name of Bush, his economic plan ranks in the top two.”

“I dont know what compassionate conservative means. Does it mean cutting kids out of after school programs, Does it mean drilling in the arctic wildlife refuge? Does it mean sending kids to Iraq without body armor thats state of the art?”

“If the anti-abortion movement took a tenth of the energy they put into noisy theatrics and devoted it to improving the lives of children who have been born into lives of poverty, violence, and neglect, they could make a world shine.”

“Our Founding Fathers would shudder to see how easily forces outside the mainstream now seem to effortlessly push some Senate leaders toward conduct the American people dont want from their elected leaders: Abusing power. Inserting the government into our private lives. Injecting religion into debates about public policy. Jumping through hoops to ingratiate themselves to their party’s base, while step by step, day by day, real problems that keep American families up at night fall by the wayside here in Washington.”

“How can anyone be against abortion but for the death penalty”

“Someone has to die so that President Nixon wont be, and these are his words, the first President to lose a war.”

“A mans greatest glory doesnt consist in never falling, but in rising everytime he falls.”

“We owe our troops the opportunity to serve in the best-planned, best-equipped, and best-led military force in the world, and we owe them the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they and their families will be taken care of if they sacrifice life, limb or the ability to sleep without wars nightmares. We owe them not just thanks and best wishes, but action, and action in our nations capital.”

“Supporting the troops means paying attention to their needs both in the field and at home. It means understanding their lives both as warriors fighting for our nation, and as husbands and wives, parents, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters struggling to take care of their families.”

“The truth is, President Bush provides the right rhetoric, but then pursues all the wrong policies.”

“Where are they now that we, the men whom they sent off to war, have returned? These are commanders who have deserted their troops, and there is no more serious crime in the law of war. The Army says they never leave their wounded. The Marines say they never leave even their dead. These men have left all the casualties and retreated behind a pious shield of public rectitude. They have left the real stuff of their reputation bleaching behind them in the sun in this country.”

“The American spirit wears no political label. In service to others and yes, in sacrifice for our country, there are no Republicans; there are no Democrats; there are only Americans.”

“The time is fast approaching when to call a man a patriot will be the deepest insult you can offer him. Patriotism now means advocating plunder in the interest of the privileged classes of the particular State system into which we have happened to be born.”

“This administration misled a nation into war by cherry-picking intelligence and stretching the truth beyond recognition.”

“This Veterans Day, my mind returns again and again to a flight I took home from Baghdad in August -- and an unforgettable reminder of the obligation we have to all who serve the country we love. As we boarded the C-130, I looked into the cargo hold and saw a simple, aluminum coffin with a small American flag draped over it. We were bringing another American soldier home to his family and final resting place.”

“Then I heard this young veteran on TV speaking about the war. It was John Kerry. He put everything I was feeling into words. Tonight, Id like to let you know, that even before I met John Kerry, he was my brother. Even before I knew John Kerry, he was my friend. Even before I spoke with John Kerry, he gave me hope.”

“I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crew have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam.”