Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts delivered a passionate and aggressive speech at the Democratic National Convention, railing against Mitt Romney's foreign policy.
The Republican presidential nominee "doesn't know much about foreign policy but has all these neo-con advisers who know all the wrong things about foreign policy," Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations committee, told the fired up crowd on Thursday night. "He would rely on them. After all, he's the great outsourcer. But I say to you, this is not the time to outsource the commander-in-chief."
Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, defended President Obama's record—noting that he banned torture, stopped the war in Iraq, is winding down the war in Afghanistan, and has killed Osama bin Laden.
"Ask Osama bin Laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago," Kerry declared.
He also hip-checked Romney on global warming, referencing Romney's swipe last week at Obama's 2008 promise that he would slow the rise of the oceans. An exceptional country like America, Kerry said, "does care about the rise of the oceans and the future of the planet."
Kerry ended his speech with some advice for Romney. "Before you debate Barack on foreign policy, you better finish the debate yourself," he said.
MSNBC host Ed Schultz declared the address "the best speech John Kerry has ever given."
WATCH KERRY'S SPEECH ABOVE
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OUCH!!! "It's getting hot in here.". Obama 2012!
Still say Kerry would have made a great president. A great deal of respect for the man.
Still would.....and if romney.....bit my tongue.....gets elected and takes us into another war.....Who do you think could get us out of it in 2016.....
John Kerry Saves $500,000 By Docking 76-Foot Luxury Yacht Out Of State
First Posted: 07/23/10 11:09 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 06:10 PM ET
BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to the cash-strapped Bay State.
If the "Isabel" were kept at the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket, or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes.
Rhode Island repealed those taxes in 1993. That has made the state something of a nautical tax haven.
Kerry spokesman David Wade said Friday the boat is being kept at Newport Shipyard not to evade taxes, but "for long-term maintenance, upkeep and charter purposes."
Wade noted the vessel was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine and purchased in the state. It was built in New Zealand by Friendship Yachts.
A Department of Revenue spokesman said Kerry would be liable for Massachusetts taxes if he berthed the boat in the Bay State within six months of its purchase. If the "Isabel" were brought to Massachusetts after that period, the state would have to decide if it wanted to pursue the taxes.
Massachusetts, like most other states, has been grappling with plunging tax revenues. Last year's budget decifict was $600 million, and officials are bracing for a $1 billion deficit this year.
The 76-foot sloop has two cabins, a pilot house fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage, according to the Boston Herald, which first reported its Rhode Island berthing. It derives its moniker from the middle name of Kerry's mother and the name his wife, Teresa Heinz, planned to give a daughter.
Instead, she had three sons.
Coast Guard registration records show the vessel is owned by Great Point LLC, a limited liability corporation based in Pittsburgh, Heinz's longtime home. The millionaire heiress to the Heinz ketchup fortune is a philanthropist and environmentalist.
Patrica, what is the difference between Kerry docking his yacht off the coast in Rhode Island and Romney docking millions of dollars in off shore accts?
Great Question
Senator John Kerry
One was to avoid taxes
And is illegal
What Governor Romney has done is not illegal
I believe maybe naively that if Governor Romney had not paid taxes the
IRS would be all over him
You think that the IRS has not in the past and even now have Governor
Romney on their radar with his income and net worth
Patrica, just because having off shores accts isn't illegal doesn't make it patriotically right. How can anybody who complains about our deficit uphold having tax havens? Romney needs to show our country his past tax returns for the past 4 yrs when the IRS tax amnesty program was in effect to show if he took the benefit of the amnesty when he closed his Swiss bank accts.
Where Does ALL of robME's Money Come - From - RAPING The American People and His Daddy But Mostly From Stealing From Hard Working Americans !!!! What a Patriot -- hey ?
Explain. What did he steal?
Go Ahead Continue Your Purposeful and Intentional IGNORANCE --- Go- Ahead -- GOOFBALL .......
.
He stole the pensions of a lot of union workers, by taking the money out of the pension plans and bankrupting the companies. Those plans were protected ( supposedly) by the Pension Guarantee program. Who funds the pension guarantee program- WE THE TAXPAYERS. He took that money and sent it overseas.
No. will, you are not talking over my head but my statement obviously when over yours.
Excuse me, the word "when" should be "went". (It's getting late.)
No, you're just showing your lack of 'intelligence OneEyedWilly. Would you vote for an asswipe who refuses to release his taxes and hides assets in the Caymen Islands plus switzerland to keep from paying taxes when you pay yours every year? Licking the boot that kicks you, gotta love it!
Hide = tax havens. (John, if i'm wrong, please correct me.) will, are you calling all of the US imbeciles? Are you anti-Amercan?
So? Is that really the issue? Please answer this question
It is very scary that you folks are part of the electorate with your ignorant rants about Romney.
Hey robertd007, any proff he stole pension money? Nope, never did he is not lik ethose gangster union leaders that have obama in thier back pocket, gee how many of them disappeared or are in prison for doing what? Oh that's right stealing pension funds...
jonny in T, still babbling about taxes being released you are a one note wonder....
Md/Mi - your ranting is becoming more crazy and incoherent by the minute
It was documented , and I have seen other companies do this. They take over a company (which includes the pension plan(s), they then take the money out of the pension plan and use it for expenses, thereby depleting the plan. They then make huge loans which the company cannot pay back, then declare bankruptcy.Of course, when they take the money out of the pension plan they pay themselves huge salaries and bonuses. When the company declares bankruptcy, that's when the Pension Guarantee program kicks in. In most cases what the employees get is a fraction of what they had in the pension. The guarantee program is, surprise, paid for by taxpayers. Now, what Bain and others have done is not legally criminal, but it sure is morally criminal. And that is what the ads are all about when they talk about the damage Romney has done to workers.
We do not know how many laws Romney broke on his taxes. He will not release them. How many amended returns has he filed? How did he legally shift over $200 million to his sons untaxed? So many questions about what we know, how much is still unknown?
vote u need to vote
Know this America if Romney can't stand up to Limbaugh he can't stand up to the nation's enemies
He is weaker than boehner, and I can see him boo hooing every time some one doesn't give him his way....can you imagin it?
What possible expertise - on virtually anything - does failed-presidential candidate and I-know-how-to-marry-money John Kerry, aka "swift boat kerry', bring to the table? He has no business or credibility going after anyone, much less Romney. His single accomplishment is running for perpetual reelection as a Democrat in a Democrat-dominated state/district.
I have to say that after seeing the photo of Kerry dressed like an Oompah-Loompah while touring a space facility or something like that.... one of the funniest things ever in modern politics! I just can't take the guy seriously!
What a GOMER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No one cares how much money Kerry married into the right invents the envy excuse to avoid having to engage in any debate about why they believe government must cater to those with success even if that means making it less available to those still seeking it
Cynical, are you serious, if Flipper Kerry marries money that is Ok because he is a liberal and gigolo and the women he married got their money from family or marrying wealthy successful men like.... Mitt Romney....
You folks are so blatanly 2 faced hypocrites it is scary that you actually have the ability to enter a voting booth. No wonder we have the loser in the white house, he just pulls the chain connected to the rings in your noses and leads you where he wants you to go.
in the words of that great communicator md/mi - Gomer...............
I think Kerry, has a lot more going for him than romney ever would. One he has fought for this country. He knows the ugliness of war first had, and would try his hardness to keep us at home minding our own business, not dragging us into a war. I clad he still serves this country and has survived such crooks as nixion and spoke his mind as a service man. He didn't sign some phony documents, and keep his mouth shut and so many cooks in washing do.
With Kerry his knowledge, how he presents himself, and MOSTLY HIS HONESTY AND INTERGRITY out weigh his personal life.
With Romney, there is no knowledge, he does not know how to present himself, or be himself.....still a mystery there.....and most of all he has NO HONESTY AND NO INTEGRITY and his personal life is living with a phony bitch. not to mention his lack of service or his family's service to this country.
He lives in his own little fantasy land and doesn't give a damn about this country as he has proved. He has no scruples about how he has been extremely dishonest in the way he goes about this election and he ask us to "trust" him and to "Believe" him.....what a crock of HYPOCRISY romney and the repos are.
MD/MI--
Like TM (hi, there!), I too, still love John Kerry. I have dreams where he was elected in 2004. Oh wait, he was. Just like 2000, the R's stole the election. Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004.
PS, I love your posts!
Hey Anna --- Yep - Both of Those Elections Were Stolen and Robbed America of 2 Great Presidents - and That Was The Pre-courser to what They Have Been Attempting to Do With the Out-right Blatant Voter Obstructions ..... hey .......
Oh And Thank-You for the Compliment ......... ♥♥♥♥♥
Civics lesson on the purpose and function of the Electoral College - Al Gore missed that day in class, too. How many candidates have won the general election and lost in the Electoral College? Plenty on both sides of the aisle.
Want some cheese with that whine?
No -But Thanx - I Do NOT Indulge In YOUR Type of Habits .................... Tissue .............
No one cares about the popular vote the issue in 2000 which I might ask those with brains, you are not among them, to remember the situation was serious enough to require the presense of the supreme court.......what happened was that florida's ballot system and how they were counted was problematic because it was so disorganized and the official rules for counting them were not strongly established enough resulting in numerous different types of ballots
Thank you for you cheese and whine offer but it all belongs to you. We don't take handouts. We also have had a big helping of crap, lies and cheating served up from the right we don't want either. Keep it all on your side of the plate please and be responsible for the action of a party you seem to support. Good luck, and don't choke on it.
The photo of Kerry in an Oompah-Loompah suit at a space facility or something like that during his run for the WH - I just can't take the guy seriously after that! LOL!!!
Must Be A RE-REG ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^hey .....What -A- GOMER
Kerry's speech tonight reminded us of the many success in foreign policy caused by the President's wise leadership. Osama bin Laden is gone along with Qadaffy from Libya. Libya's mission was accomplished without a single U.S. casualty and a coalition of NATO allies who led the way with the U.S. strongly supporting. We have allies who are now helping the Libyans get on their feet with a new government. Al Qaida members and leaders have been knocked off and the organization has been disrupted from Pakistan to Yemen and the Horn of Africa.
Iran's on going nuclear program has been handled diplomatically with tough economic sanctions brought together with a coalition of allies to share the burden of tightening the screws to the Iranian regime. $66 billion in arms sales have also been approved for our Persian Gulf Arab allies. Missile defense has also been stepped up in the Persian Gulf region. At this time it looks doubtful that Iran or Israel really want any trouble especially if America stays in overwatch in the area with the 5th Fleet in Bahrain and beefed up naval and anti-missile forces in the region.
The sanctions are really biting Iran's economy. Time is probably on the U.S. side so all we have to do is just let Iran sweat it out and the regime may change its confrontational policies for diplomatic one. No one in their right mind wants a war with Iran because our military right now is almost exhausted from 10 years of two wars. So the President deserves high marks as Commander in Chief.
You should probably read beyond MSNBC. The result of 4 years of Pres Obama = Putin back in power (he thinks Obama is an idiot), Iran is going nuclear with the avowed and very clear intention of wiping Israel off the map, Obama has consistently snubbed the Israeli leadership, China walks all over US policy, the Eastern European alliance countries find pulling the missile defense system incomprehensible, Obama has insulted the Queen and PM of England so many times in so many public ways its a complete embarrassment, Obama bows - yes, bows - to Saudi princes and Japanese leadership - and then there's Afghanistan, aka "Obama's War", which certainly doesn't look much like a victory. And ultimately, there is Fast and Furious - an adventure in border diplomacy that has killed untold numbers of Mexicans and Americans.
Iran's nuclear development has not been 'handled' at all by this WH. And the armament of the Gulf combined with nuclear is taking a path toward WWIII. Obama is the Chamberlain of our time, Rex in Minnesota.
Definitely -- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A- RE-REG - ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Are you ignoring me MD????
We do di, we do.....try reading this from the Liars. You do read something or watch something beside fake noise don't you? We do - we do.
http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/gops-claim-house-passed-30-jobs-bills-bogus
So all World leaders should grovel to the pres? Maybe he is showing some respect?? 11-13 billion of cold hard cash vanishes in IRAQ, 175k assaualt Wpn's come up missing In Iraq? As for your Obama's war who put the Troop's there in the first Place? Did Bush put them there just to occupy? So Pres. Obama increases the troop's takes the fight to the taliban and that is wrong? Romney wanted to stay in Iraq,say's that was a mistake to leave? Why did we even go there in the first place? WMD's?
Goodnight Sarge.....It was a pleasure chatting with you tonight....
A song for you my friend...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7v0V58V3Uw
We don't have to agree on politics.....there is much more in life...
Have a great new day....Peace..
TAP
BTW - Mr. John Kerry = Thank You For YOUR Service -- SIR ..............................
......... ♥♥♥♥♥
I can't believe these wingnuts don't have much to do . . . other than patrol these commentaries and give their 2 cents worth of opinion. The wingnuts' convention showed a lot of bitterness while the Dems showed them wingnuts how to paaaaarty !
re: patricia hayes...your making me LMAO Teresa Heinz could care less about $500000 in taxes thats like $1 to you and me. And I think you have things a little confused.. lots of people do things to get tax breaks that is not illegal...hiding your money offshore is illegal and lets talk about Romneys impossible amount of money he has in his IRA... he's fooling you I am from MA I have already eperienced Romney once thank you that was enough.
tp - Hiding your money and not reporting it is illegal. I, like many others, believe that he did that for several years, and only recently reported that money under an amnesty program, for which he will not be prosecuted, but now the cat is out of the bag.
I want to see his tax returns?
I want to see his tax returns?
I want to see his tax returns?
I want to see his tax returns?
I want to see his tax returns?
I want to see his tax returns?
TP...your thinking is the reason that rich people are rich and poor people are poor. Rich people don;t look at $500,000 as $1 regardless of how much money they have. They realize that $500,000 is actually worth anywhere from $25,000 - $50,000 a year to them if invested properly. They became rich by realizing how the power of interest can work for you by making more money instead of working against you by paying interest.
TM....here is the link to Romney's returns that you can look at...glad to be of assistance to you... http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2012/president/candidates/romney/romney_tax_return_1040_2011/
just saying...