Kerry strikes back at GOP about his "regime change" comments
April 6, 2003
BY NEDRA PICKLER
WASHINGTON--Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry lashed out at top congressional Republicans on Friday after they assailed him for saying the United States, like Iraq, needs a regime change.
''The Republicans have tried to make a practice of attacking anybody who speaks out strongly by questioning their patriotism,'' the Massachusetts senator said. ''I refuse to have my patriotism or right to speak out questioned. I fought for and earned the right to express my views in this country.''
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, backed a congressional resolution last fall giving President Bush the authority to use force to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but he repeatedly has criticized the president for failing to give diplomacy more time.
In a speech Wednesday in Peterborough, N.H., Kerry said Bush so alienated allies before the U.S.-led war against Iraq that only a new president can rebuild damaged relationships with other countries.
''What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States,'' Kerry said.
Several leading Republicans said Kerry's comments were inappropriate with U.S. troops fighting in Iraq. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said the statement amounted to ''petty, partisan insults launched solely for personal political gain.''
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) called Kerry's words ''desperate and inappropriate.'' Said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), ''Once this war is over, there will be plenty of time for the next election.''
Kerry dismissed the attacks, telling an Atlanta political gathering Thursday that patriotism does not forbid questioning the war. One day later, he delivered an even sharper rebuke to the GOP complaints.
''If they want to pick a fight, they've picked a fight with the wrong guy,'' Kerry said.
The lawmaker said this round of charges and countercharges is not the first time Republicans have made a ''phony issue of patriotism.'' He cited last year's campaign against former Georgia Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in the Vietnam War.
As part of a broader GOP campaign, Bush and other Republicans criticized Senate Democrats for holding up legislation to create a Department of Homeland Security over a labor provision, suggesting that the delay reflected weakness on national security. Republican Saxby Chambliss unseated the first-term Cleland in the November elections.
''I watched what they did to Max Cleland last year,'' Kerry said. ''Shame on them for doing it then and shame on them for trying to do it now.''
AP
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