Political Quotes

“John Kerry's record on defense reflects more than approximately 10,000 votes he has cast in the Senate. His defense record goes back to the steaming jungles of Vietnam where he, as a young sailor commanding a fast boat, went into harm's way on many different occasions. We know about the number of those occasions because his defense record indicates that the Government of the United States awarded him two medals for heroism--one a Bronze Star, one a Silver Star. He was wounded on three separate occasions and received three Purple Hearts. They were awarded not by some gentleman's club but by the U.S. military. On the programs about which we have heard a dissertation today, as we look through those--except for the MX missile, which was canceled by the President of the United States, not by Congress, as I recall--all of these programs came into being. So to think that any one Senator, with the hundreds and hundreds of votes on defense matters, stopped the Cold War from being won is really a little silly, for lack of a better description. Senator John Kerry supported more than $4.4 trillion in defense spending, including for 16 of the last 19 Defense authorization bills. In fact, he voted for the largest increase in defense spending since the early 1980s. John Kerry is a strong supporter of the U.S. armed services and has consistently worked to ensure the military has the best equipment and training possible.”