An Editorial by Matt Hurley
What does “John Kerry Delenda Est” mean? Actually, the question that was asked was more along the lines of inquiring about the nature of the “joke.” At any rate, the phrase has some historical context that we must explore first before addressing the issues involved in why “John Kerry Delenda Est”-ed, so to speak.
Delenda Est Carthago, or more exactly: "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" - "And therefore, I conclude that Carthage must be destroyed", was the motto of Roman senator Marcus Porcius Cato.
Rome had already fought two wars with Carthage. Cato believed so strongly that Carthage must be the focus that he concluded every speech with the phrase so as to punctuate the point no matter what subject was being debated by the Roman senate.
The war wasn’t going very well for the Romans at the time and neither side had a clear victory. But eventually, Rome engaged the Third Punic War and Carthage was indeed destroyed. The city’s walls were torn down, the houses were burned to the ground, the citizens were sold in to slavery, and the Roman senate declared that no one could ever again live where Carthage once stood.
Total. Complete. Victory.
Delenda Est Carthago.
Back to the matter at hand… Why must John Kerry be destroyed?
War on Terror
We have been at war for quite some time. We can not afford weakness in senior leadership. We dare not elect an unprincipled politician. These are dangerous times and we need strong leadership that has a solid foundation.Those who do not accept the fact that we are at war are like children with their hands over their ears screaming, “I can’t hear you!” at the top of their lungs. The grown-ups have to step in to do what is necessary.
The War on Terror will be won by whomever has the stronger will to take the fight to the enemy. John Kerry says he would respond to any attack with due force. Frankly, that is the kind defensive attitude that will cause us to lose the war. We have already been attacked. The goal is to prevent further attacks. In order to that, we must be engaged in the War on Terror on offense, not defense.
Listing all the votes that Kerry has on record that illustrates him to be weak on national defense would take too much space. (And quite frankly, I don’t have the time list them all.) Suffice it to say that John Kerry has been on record calling the War on Terror “basically a manhunt” and a “law enforcement” issue only to turn around and say the opposite days later. Combine this indecision with his voting record in the Senate and you have a pretty clear picture about John Kerry’s potential as Commander-in-Chief.
Vietnam
John Kerry has cited his four month service in war over thirty years ago as his main credential and the reason to vote for him. The reality is that the War on Terror is not Vietnam no matter how many times the partisan media attempts to draw parallels. John Kerry has been known to exaggerate his war stories (Christmas in Cambodia, The Magic Hat, VC the Wonderdog…); some might call that nuance. John Kerry admitted under oath that he met with the enemy while still serving in the Naval Reserves; some might call that nuance. John Kerry slandered his Band of Brothers while they were still in the field fighting and dying for their country; some might call that nuance. A leader does not stand on nuance, but rather principle.Furthermore, attacks on George W. Bush’s service record are irrelevant because this election is a referendum on President Bush’s leadership as Commander-in-Chief, not Lieutenant Bush’s service thirty-plus years ago. Unless a life-long pattern that can be linked to present behavior can be established, talking about Vietnam is useless. That John Kerry not only allows this but participates in it is amazing considering his stance when Bill Clinton was running for office…
The Economy
John Kerry has made outsourcing the central focus of his economic plan. The reality is that outsourcing saves the American consumer a lot of money. Furthermore, the pace of insourcing continues to outdraw outsourcing; jobs that John Kerry would risk with tariffs and restrictions.Oddly enough, John Kerry apparently believes there are some jobs that should be outsourced. For example, John Kerry criticized President Bush for blocking cheaper Canadian drugs that are available here in the United States. It would be virtually impossible to ensure drugs being imported are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and not counterfeit. American drug companies are responsible for most of the world’s advances in research; researching costs money. These are jobs we’re talking about.
Playing politics with jobs is not principled leadership. The reality is that state and local government has more to do with job losses than the federal government does. Businesses thrive in states and communities that have a financial and tax climate that is affirmative, appropriate and fair. The states that have been hit the hardest with job losses are the same states that have hit their businesses hard with taxes and/or regulation. If businesses can’t survive in such a climate, they have to either relocate or close down. We need a leader who understands that businesses will thrive in an environment that supports them. (Granted, business leaders must acknowledge their responsibility to run their businesses ethically.) These are jobs we’re talking about.
The unemployment rate continues to trend downward and jobless claims are doing the same. Kerry-Edwards are talking about the Great Depression at a time when we have a 5.4% unemployment rate. Either John Kerry is clueless about the situation or he is misleading America. 5.4%, by the way, is lower than the rate President Clinton had at this point in his re-election bid and that was considered a “booming” economy.
Health Care
When you listen to John Kerry talk about health care, one is reminded of Hillary Clinton’s debacle in this field during the last Democratic administration. Socialized medicine, in any form, is a really bad idea. Government should not be making decisions about which doctor you can go to or which treatments you need. You should make those decisions.John Kerry thinks insurance companies are the enemy, and it is a commonly held misconception. The reality is that doctors aren’t able to stay in business because malpractice insurance costs are going through the roof. Hence the misconception. But if you ask those doctors who they are more afraid of, they will tell you that it is the trial lawyers with their frivolous lawsuits that are forcing them out of business (jobs again). John Kerry picked for a running mate a trial lawyer known to pursue cases using junk science, so who’s side do you think he’s on? It isn’t yours.
Class Warfare
Isn’t it ironic that two rich guys are trying to rob you of the American Dream? The scheme works like this: you tax the rich to pay for programs that help the poor, but the poor will never become rich because they aren’t able to work for it and the rich eventually lose their wealth. The result is a middle class that stagnates.Contrary to popular liberal belief, all wealth is not inherited. If you work hard and work smart, America is a land of opportunity for you. You too can earn enough to make things better for yourself and your family.
John Kerry plans to raise taxes on people who make more than $200,000 a year. In 2001, the top 1% made $293,000 or more. You should know that the top 1% paid 33% of all taxes in 2001. The top 50% made only $26,000 (and up) and they filed jointly as a couple while paying 96% of all taxes.
The “flaw” in my argument is that Kerry says he is going to raise taxes only on those who make $200,000 and more. The problem with that is that in order to pay for all the programs he has promised the American people, Kerry would have tax them at an extremely high rate. Remember, it takes money to make money so the wealthy tend to be the employers in this country (jobs again).
Don’t you want to make $200,000 a year? If you did, would you think it was right to have to give up most of it to John Kerry and his government? Isn’t the goal of working is to have more money to do the things you want to do? Isn’t that the American Dream?
John Kerry’s Party has been Taken Over by Radicals and Extremists
Michael Moore Democrats are now at the wheel of the Democratic Party machine. They think the American people who live in “flyover” country are stupid simpletons who wrap themselves in the flag and are dangerous because they believe in God.How many prominent Democratic organizations have an obsession with making Hitler and Nazism comparisons that denigrate the pure disgusting evil perpetrated on the world in World War II? (MoveOn.org, Democratic Underground…) How many prominent Democratic politicians have made similar assertions? (Al Gore, John Glenn…) These people have captured the core of the Democratic Party. These people used to represent the lunatic fringe of the Democratic Party; now, they are in charge.
John Kerry has denounced none of this nonsense. His silence encourages (endorses?) more of it.
“If It’s Note Close, They Can’t Cheat.”
Hugh Hewitt is absolutely correct. The only way to prevent another Florida fiasco where the Democrats try to disenfranchise any vote that doesn’t go to John Kerry is to totally defeat him with a significant margin.Look to the California recall for evidence of this. The Democrats prepared a vast army of lawyers to come to their aid, but they had to send them home when Arnold won in decisive fashion.
This sort of chicanery is in their blood. If you need to know the history behind that statement, read Hugh’s book; he lays it out much better than I ever could.
More than any other reason, John Kerry must be destroyed, not just beaten, for this reason. Anything less guarantees another prolonged period where no one knows who is in charge and that is something we can not have, no matter who wins the election. It is vital that we have seamless leadership in the War on Terror. I believe that leadership should come from President George W. Bush.
