Kerry and Edwards: Redefining Values

George C. Landrith

When two Democratic pundits were recently asked whether John Kerry and John Edwards shared the values of regular, every day Americans, they answered, of course, yes. Their answer was not surprising, but how they defined values was. To these Democratic spinmeisters, sharing the values of Americans meant being for restrictive environmental regulations that kill jobs but don’t really make the environment safer or cleaner, increasing taxes, and supporting government run healthcare. These are political issues, not values.

I thought perhaps these pundits were unsure how to answer the values question. However, a few days later, a report stated Kerry and Edwards would campaign on values, but would redefine values so as not to give away the values issue to Bush. Then I realized these pundits had been doing precisely what the Kerry-Edwards campaign had instructed – don’t talk about values. Instead, talk about political issues as if they were values.

Kerry and Edwards cannot campaign on values. They have voted against the Boy Scouts and in support of partial birth abortion, public funding of abortion, and gay marriage. They support ultraliberal judges who declare the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, ban the mere mention of God, and protect child pornography. They have obstructed confirmation of judges that virtually everyone else, including the liberal American Bar Association, say are qualified. All of this runs in direct conflict with America’s values.

But they cannot publicly admit their values are out of touch with America. So when asked about values, they launch into how they agree with Americans on whatever issue they wish to discuss – the environment, healthcare, etc. But they will not discuss actual values.

John Kerry is the most liberal U.S. Senator as rated by the nonpartisan National Journal. John Edwards is the fourth most liberal Senator. This is the most liberal ticket ever. They make Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton look moderate, which is no small feat. They make Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro look reasonable. Yet, the Mondale-Ferraro ticket was so liberal they lost in an embarrassing landside to Ronald Reagan and George Bush – winning only one state out of fifty. This is why Kerry and Edwards cannot acknowledge their anti-values record. That is why Kerry and Edwards are engaging in a great campaign of deception to convince America that they share America’s values.

Kerry and Edwards count as their friends and supporters the most extreme and counterculture of Hollywood’s stars. At a recent fundraiser, stars entertained the attendees by liberally using the F-word, joking about women’s genitalia, and calling President Bush a murdering thug. John Kerry thanked his Hollywood buddies and said they represented the values of America. The campaign collected a cool $5 million, but refuses to release video of the event. Why? To hide Kerry’s counterculture values from public view. The very people who sell sex and violence to our youth are lining up to extol Kerry’s values. And Kerry praises them as representing America’s values. Kerry and Edwards are the counterculture, anti-values ticket.

John Kerry’s values translate into taxpayer funding of abortion and abortion on demand -- even minutes before an otherwise healthy birth. Kerry’s values mean that gay marriage would have strong support in the White House, but the Boy Scouts would be opposed. Kerry’s values mean he will appoint ultraliberal judges committed to the cultural overthrow of America. Thus, there will be more protection of child pornography, more attempts to ban the Pledge, and more hostility towards God and religion. Kerry’s values mean that government will have greater control over our children’s education and parents less.

John Kerry and John Edwards have values, but they are not the values that my parents taught me or that I am teaching my children. Nor are they the values I see my neighbors teaching their children. John Kerry has evidently figured this out and determined that rather than talking about values, he’ll change the subject and talk about something else. For voters who believe values matter, this should be very troubling.

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Mr. Landrith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He had a successful law practice in business and litigation. In 1994 and 1996, Mr. Landrith was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. He served on the Albemarle County School Board. Mr. Landrith is an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law. He is recognized as an authority on constitutional law and jurisprudence, federalism, global warming, and property rights.

george@ff.org