Beatty criticizes Kerry’s judgment

For those of you who do not know, Jeff Beatty is running for US Senate against John Kerry. Below is and article that blasts John Kerry for his critisizm of John McCains position on Iraq. Good stuff.

By Jeremy P. Jacobs:

Responding to U.S. Sen. John Kerry's television appearance on Sunday, Jeff Beatty, Kerry's Republican challenger, blasted the senator for criticizing another politician's judgment.

Kerry (D-Boston) repeatedly criticized presumptive Republican nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) judgment in the war in Iraq on CBS's "Face the Nation.

Beatty said Kerry is in no position to criticize McCain's judgment after voting to authorize the use of force in Iraq in 2002.

"Really what it goes to is his judgment," Beatty told PolitickerMA.com. "He's got no room to talk. He has voted for the war for all the wrong reasons. And, given the same facts, I would not have voted for the war."

When asked about Kerry appearance on "Face the Nation," Beatty said that Obama's willingness to listen to the military before withdrawing troops is at odds with Kerry's position. In 2006, Kerry, along with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) introduced legislation calling for a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

"Even right now he is still talking about his timetable to get out at any cost," Beatty said. "We can't do anything at any cost...Barack Obama himself realizes we can't get out at any cost."

Beatty said Obama's position on withdrawal is now closer to his than it is to Kerry's. "Even Barack Obama, the standard bearer of the party," he said, "has had to distance himself from Kerry's position."

The Kerry campaign dismissed the charges as trying to twist the senator's position on Iraq.

"Republican candidates," said Roger Lau, Kerry's campaign manager, "will say or do anything to avoid facing the reality that their standard bearer John McCain has a plan for staying in Iraq while Barack Obama and John Kerry have a plan for getting out of Iraq and winning the war in Afghanistan. Period. End of story."

In 2003, Beatty attended a Pentagon briefing with then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the run up to the war. Beatty said he was working as a security consultant on a national anti-terrorism security program. His client was invited to the briefing and insisted Beatty attend. (Beatty could not name his client due to confidentiality agreements.)

"I was presented with the same facts that Sen. Kerry was," Beatty said. "And the question comes to, are we basing this on U.S. eyes on the target [meaning we've found weapons of mass destruction] or are we basing this on a foreign agent where the more we pay him the more fantastical things he tells us."

Beatty said that following that briefing, he would not have voted to authorize the use of force.

"John Kerry had access to the same set of facts and yet he voted for the war," Beatty said. "He is just a political figure and he's not voting for the interests of the people of Massachusetts."

politickerma.com