Scorn for Jimmy Carter, scorn and derision of our nominee. Just which Dems are you trying to unite?
Kerry has not been the carcaricture of a lawmaker that you paint here.
Other views:
Leading on Energy...
On January 22, 2002 Kerry became one of the first Democrats to present an alternative to the Bush administration's energy plan. Delivering a major policy addresss, "Energy Security is American Security," he stated, "If we enact the entire Bush energy plan we will find ourselves twenty years from now more dependent on foreign oil than we are today." Kerry called for a "national Strategic Energy Initiative," including increasing the amount of electricity from alternative and renewable sources to 20% by 2020, improving Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, reinvesting in public transportation, and tax incentives for efficiency improvements.
Kerry was a leading opponent of efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "It will never pass the Senate," he said in an August 1, 2001 statement. "You don't have to destroy a wildlife refuge to meet the energy needs of America," he told attendees of the California Democratic Party convention in February 2002. When the energy bill came up in early March, Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) produced a bipartisan proposal to increase fuel efficiency standards. The amendment would have required automakers to achieve an average of 36 mpg for their combined passenger car and light truck fleets by model year 2015, however, on March 13 the Senate voted in favor of a weaker amendment sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Kit Bond (R-MO). Debate on the energy bill continued, and on April 18 Sens. Kerry, Lieberman, and other opponents of drilling in ANWR succeeded in putting a halt to the Administration's proposal as a cloture motion fell 14 votes short of the 60 required (S.Amdt.3132--46 to 54 vote).
...And Small Business Relief
From his position as chair of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerry sought to provide emergency economic relief for small businesses in the wake of the September 11 attacks. By mid-December, the Kerry-Bond American Small Business Relief and Recovery Act, S.1499, had gained the backing of 63 Senators. However, the Administration opposed the bill and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) blocked its consideration. For a time Kerry even resorted to placing a hold on all non-judicial executive nominations, but he was unable to advance the bill. Kerry and Bond managed to include some provisions in a defense bill. Finally, they achieved a compromise with the White House, and on March 22, 2002 S.1499 passed the Senate by unanimous consent. The estimated cost of the bill according to the CBO is $300 million.
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/kerry.html_____________________________
As a fourth term US Senator, Kerry's legislative record is modest; Few bills bear his name. His 6,310 Senate votes, mainly liberal, have enough twists and turns to invite charges of inconsistency. But his signature investigations were models of dogged, even relentless focus, and may tell more about his persona and likely attributes as a president than anything else he has done in his 19 years in the Senate.
His probes included tracking illegal gunrunners to the Reagan White House (1985-86), drug traffickers to Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega (1988), and Mr. Noriega's dirty money to BCCI and some of the top powerbrokers in Washington (1987-92).
"Every one of his investigations is about holding government accountable and forcing Washington to change official reality to conform to the facts on the ground," says Jonathan Winer, a top Kerry aide during these investigations. "He did it year after year after year. One investigation led to another."
To supporters, this capacity to ask penetrating questions is one that helps a leader craft policy in often-complex situations.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0303/p02s01-uspo.htm
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