Monday, November 01, 2004
(6:15 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
I am not ashamed of John Kerry
My previous endorsement of Jon Stewart was just a joke. I do that a lot -- say things I don't mean. But right now, on the eve of the election, I have to say: I want to vote for John Kerry tomorrow. I am not merely voting against his opponent. (As a sidenote, I am not going to write or utter his opponent's name unless he is actually sworn in as president in January. If that does not occur, then the last time I mentioned him will have been the last time his name will ever pass my lips or result from my typing. He deserves no further attention or discussion unless he has actual power, and then only as an emergency measure. If he does not retain power, then I reserve the right never to speak, write, or think of that man ever again. This is my own personal decision, though I encourage my co-bloggers to do the same.)The debates are what won me over -- not just his performance, but the content as well. The health care plan sounds like a good, workable idea to me. I like that he's not afraid to say that he supports progressive taxation. I especially liked that he was opposed to building permanent bases in Iraq and to further American development of weapons of mass destruction. His positions on those issues were clearly not focus group-tested: it's what he actually believes and what his senate record shows he believes. It's also what I believe. Read Chalmers Johnson's Blowback, just for general reasons, but when you do, notice who is constantly trying to reign in military abuses: always, every single time, it's John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi. John Kerry has a 90% pro-labor record according to the AFL-CIO. It's not cool to support unions, any more than it's cool to support restraining American military power, but Kerry has supported unions 90% of the time, according to the largest labor organization in the country. He is in favor of strong environmental protections as well, even though the environment is so 90's. He's in favor of free trade that protects the people instead of simply allowing corporations to rape countries -- that is, in favor of trade agreements that include labor and environmental protections. He was in favor of reigning in the national debt before it was cool, and he was part of the team that balanced the budget in the 1990s. As indicated by his strong emphasis on getting other nations on-board with the future of Iraq, he's in favor of working within the current world order to build international cooperation.
John Kerry is not the messiah. He's not going to usher in a golden age. We shouldn't expect that of any president. He faces an uphill battle to get his agenda passed if he is elected president tomorrow. His record, however, shows a consistent concern for ordinary people over against the long-term interests of capital, for the wise allocation of our resources in order to ensure a hopeful future for coming generations, and for the restraint of US military power. Everything I've seen of him testifies to a strong service-oriented ethic, an openness to change and to a broad range of opinions, and most importantly, a fundamental human decency.
Perhaps in the future an opportunity for a more radical shift in our nation's political consciousness and economic distribution will present itself. Perhaps a leader or a movement will arise that will capture the imagination of the American people and the world, bringing us to a radical reexamination of what it means for us to live together. I hope that such things will occur in my lifetime, and I hope that I will be able to contribute in my own small way to creating the conditions for that. Until then, I'm not ashamed to say it: I'm glad that I can vote for John Kerry tomorrow, and I hope very much that he wins.
