The Issues Made Simple September 13, 2004February 27, 2017 TAXES John Kerry has pledged to keep the tax cuts on income up to $200,000. He would tax your income above $200,000 the way it was taxed under Clinton/Gore. It’s really that simple. If you make less than $200,000 a year, taxes are a non-issue. If you make more than $200,000 a year, you have to decide whether you’re willing to pay a little more to help finance the war on terror. End of story. TERRORISM George Bush has lost the trust and goodwill of the world. Even if John Kerry winds up following the exact same policies that a re-elected George Bush would, President Kerry will be more successful, because the world will know he arrived at these policies not through swagger and arrogance but through analysis and consultation. Even if you agree with George Bush that Donald Rumsfeld has done a ‘superb’ job . . . even if you agree it was wise not to commit ground troops to finish bin Laden at Tora Bora . . . even if you agree it was in our best interests to pull Special Forces off the hunt for al-Qaeda so they could begin preparing for the war in Iraq . . . even if you agree it was OK for George Bush to break his pledge to Congress and the world to attack Iraq only as a last resort . . . it doesn’t matter. We will be more successful fighting terrorism – and we will create fewer terrorists – if we regain the trust and goodwill of the world. THE ECONOMY The job market and the stock market both do better under Democratic presidents than Republican presidents. And they certainly will do better under John Kerry than under this Republican president. STEM CELLS John Kerry is pro-science. He encourages the stem cell research that Bush is working to impede. If you worry about being stricken by Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s someday – or seeing your parents or spouse stricken – vote Kerry. # There is so much more to say – one bursts to say it – but sometimes (a lesson I should heed more often) less is more. Let me give the rest of the page to this op-ed from Friday’s San Jose Mercury News. It is by former eight-term congressman Pete McCloskey, a highly decorated Korean War veteran: Posted on Fri, Sep. 10, 2004 If you’re a true Republican, you’ll vote for Kerry By Pete McCloskey Although I’m a lifelong Republican, I will vote for John Kerry on Nov. 2. The choice seems simple under traditional principles of the Republican Party. I first met John Kerry in the spring of 1971. Each of us was just back from Vietnam — he as a Navy officer and I as a member of Congress — and were appalled by what we had seen there. I found Kerry to be idealistic, courageous and, above all else, truthful to a fault. He demonstrated courage in Vietnam, but as Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once said, the courage to speak against prevailing opinion in civil strife is often greater than that demanded on the battlefield. During Kerry’s public career after his election to the Senate, he has clearly grown and matured. I believe he is incapable of deliberate deceit or dissembling. This alone represents a refreshing hope for a return of public faith in our government. That Kerry has attained the solid support of former Secretary of Defense William Perry, with whom he has worked for years on issues of nuclear proliferation, confirms his ability to study, listen and reach sound judgments. The primary issue in November will be who can best lead us in the bitter struggle against the Islamic fundamentalists who perpetrated 9/11 and are willing to die to kill Americans throughout the world. The Iraq occupation has caused thousands of new suicide bombers to join the jihad against us; with Kerry as president, the nation will properly refocus the battle away from Iraq and against the true enemy, Al-Qaida. As Kerry has stated, we desperately need the cooperation of every country in the world, friend and enemy, where terrorist cells can germinate and operate. We need to be more humble in asking for this assistance. A return to the “speak softly but carry a big stick” philosophy of Teddy Roosevelt should be far more effective than the bluster, bravado and “shock and awe” firepower of the neocon advisers who have commandeered White House foreign policy. There are many other reasons to support John Kerry. The incredible budget deficits projected to be $2.3 trillion or more in the next decade, disrespect for the United Nations, international law and Geneva Conventions, secrecy in government — all of these are positions Kerry would certainly reverse. As a Catholic, Kerry is sure to maintain the constitutional separation between church and state, recognizing that while we are indeed a nation under God, everyone is free to choose his or her own faith in God. He will also end the inordinate secrecy that has characterized this administration. It seems incredible that a matter as important as our national energy policy could be decided in secret by Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force — individuals whose very names have been withheld from the public. Kerry’s record on environmental issues is superb, an area where the Bush administration has been a disaster. Finally, there’s the matter of John Ashcroft and prospective judicial appointees who could undo Roe vs. Wade, a woman’s right of choice and many of the civil liberties we have earned over 225 years. Each of the foregoing reasons for supporting Kerry is based on traditional Republican values of fiscal responsibility, limited governmental intrusion and the accountability of individuals. In truth, John Kerry and John Edwards come far closer to the Republicanism of Teddy Roosevelt, Earl Warren, Barry Goldwater, George Bush the elder and, yes, even Richard Nixon, than does the present incumbent. Ending secrecy and bringing truth and honesty back to the White House are reasons enough to elect Kerry and Edwards.