OVER THE past few weeks, we've seen the evolution of Kerry progress to yet another human life form: a conservative. Kerry's steady swing to the right is an ill-fated attempt to somehow capture the dwindling number of undecided voters, because he is discovering that the fly-over zone known as Middle America between the elite East Coast and uber-liberal Hollywood doesn't exactly correlate with his left-wing ideas.
Sen. Kerry's efforts have been, at best, mediocre, but have provided for some hilarious entertainment. Recently, Kerry has quoted scripture profusely, donned a camouflage hunting outfit complete with gun and goose, appeared at a different church every Sunday and promised to not increase government with his government health care plan. This is all part of a strategy to de-liberalize him and make him more appealing to the average voter. When you're ranked the number one liberal senator by the non-partisan National Journal, that's a tall order.
On a more serious note, though, one must wonder why Sen. Kerry feels the need to shift his views and, dare I say it, flip-flop, in the ninth inning.
In the last presidential debate, Kerry, in a forced and disingenuous manner with contorted facial expressions, spoke of his deep faith and demonstrated to the audience that he knew how to memorize and regurgitate scripture just as well as any right-wing religious zealot: "I grew up a Catholic. I was an altar boy... My faith affects everything that I do, in truth. There's a great passage of the Bible that says, 'What does it mean, my brother, to say you have faith if there are no deeds? Faith without works is dead.'"
In a more genuine and charismatic nature, Bush revealed, "Prayer and religion sustain me. I receive calmness in the storms of the presidency."
Why is Kerry trying (albeit failing) to sound like Bush and claim a sincere attachment to religion? Kerry adviser Mike McCurry put it best: "The fact that Senator Kerry is a person of faith is something that might help voters who are undecided."
It's interesting that after all this time Kerry is now bringing up his faith -- now that he is polling behind Bush among Catholics. Where was his pious rhetoric during the primaries? Or during his Senate career, for that matter?
Three days after gun-toting Kerry bagged a goose, he spoke to the Mount Hermon African Methodist Episcopal Church congregation in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He preached, "'My faith and the faith I have seen in the lives of so many Americans teaches me that, 'Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.'"
In the debate, Kerry made a special attempt to assuage hunters in rural areas of swing states with this: "I am a hunter, I am a gun owner. I've been a hunter since I was a kid, 12, 13 years old, and I respect the Second Amendment, and I will not tamper with the Second Amendment." This would explain why he hypocritically accepted a semi-automatic shotgun at a Labor Day rally in West Virginia that he voted and co-sponsored legislation to ban.
With the perfect photo op in mind, Kerry wielded a 12-gauge shotgun in the backwoods of Ohio last Thursday and emerged victorious with a dead goose -- I guess he's already counting on PETA's support. Cheney's characterization of Kerry's "October disguise" isn't too far from the truth. Kerry is celebrating Halloween a little earlier this year.
Kerry laid out his health care plan in the last debate as well: "[It] is very simple. It gives you the choice. I don't force you to do anything. It's not a government plan. The government doesn't require you to do anything. You choose your doctor. You choose your plan." Choice? No government intervention? That sounds like something straight out of the conservative ideological handbook if you ask me. Kerry's repeated touting of his bill as one of little government intervention reveals something about public opinion: people don't want an overarching government, something his voting record implies he is definitely in favor of.
Why isn't Kerry standing by his convictions? If Kerry has to mold himself into his opponent -- something that his record shows he is definitely not, that says something about the credence and popularity of Bush's positions on the issues. Kerry is essentially admitting that voters don't relate or identify with a liberal Massachusetts elite, inferring that his true viewpoints and opinions aren't really in line with those of most Americans. If this wasn't the case, he would have no problem showcasing his voting record and his accomplishments. Instead, he has to mask his "authentic" views (derived from his actual record) with those driven by whichever way the polls swing.
Is this the final destination of Kerry's ever-changing political life cycle? He's sending this message to those still unsure of who to vote for: I'm unsure of where I stand on the issues myself, but if you're passionate about one issue, I'll be sure to adopt that view, if only until Nov. 2.
Whitney Blake is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at wblake@cavalierdaily.com.
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