In which John Kerry reads my mind, sort of
I leave the detailed analysis of the Democratic National Convention to others who are more into politics-blogging. I will say one thing, though. Last week I was fantasizing about pursuing a political career just so I could introduce a piece of legislation called the Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Act. The YMWYMIA would stipulate that any member of Congress who pontificates about "the sanctity of marriage" or "family values" would be required to sit down and shut the hell up until he or she had actually done something concrete about, say, affordable child care. Or affordable health care. Or better public schools. Or any of the other myriad things that might materially improve the lives of families that don’t fall into the very highest tax bracket — as opposed to using the phrase as shorthand for "We’re mean-spirited homophobes, but we don’t like to say so in as many words." I knew the YMWYMIA was a pipe dream, but it gave me a great deal of satisfaction to imagine Rick Santorum’s fellow senators telling him to sit down and shut the hell up.
And then Kerry took the words right out of my mouth, practically:
For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.
You don’t value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break. …
You don’t value families by denying real prescription drug coverage to seniors, so big drug companies can get another windfall. …
You don’t value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service, if you deny veterans health care, or if you tell middle class families to wait for a tax cut, so that the wealthiest among us can get even more.
We believe in the value of doing what’s right for everyone in the American family.
I’d vote for him anyway, but it was good to hear him say that. Though Al Sharpton said what I was thinking even more punchily: "The issue of government is not to determine who may sleep together in the bedroom, it’s to help those that might not be eating in the kitchen." Amen.
You know, those were also the lines (from Sharpton and Kerry) that got to me.
Kerry must become President are we are doomed. Doomed I tells ya.
Yep. And after this week’s comments about Bush and the “My Pet Goat” incident, I’m beginning to think that Kerry actually Gets It.
I’m feeling enthusiastic and hopeful about a candidate. Imagine that!