WASHINGTON — If John Kerry becomes president, some enterprising
entrepreneur stands to make a fortune by creating and selling the
“Kerry Compass.”
Senator Kerry is a master at mixing and matching positions and
metaphors to have it both ways — to try to sound one way on an
issue while his heart lies with the opposite position. Being the
Massachusetts liberal that he is, you can bet that John Kerry’s
heart lies with the left-wing position, particularly on social
issues.
Put his issue positions to the test of the “Kerry Compass”
however, and you can bet that even though one part of the needle
will show his rhetoric appears pointed to the right, the true
direction he is heading will be — far leftward.
Eight years ago, John Kerry opposed the Defense of Marriage
Act.
He has said he opposes President Bush’s advocacy of a
constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
However, like those liberals who support abortion rights but
seek to confuse the issue by claiming their “personal” opposition
to the legalized killing of children, Kerry said last week that he
“personally believe[s] marriage is between a man and a woman.” So,
he sounds as if he’s going rightward.
But he also believes “in extending our rights under the
Constitution in a non-discriminatory manner.” Surprise — he’s
heading leftward!
Then when asked what words of advice he would give to homosexual
couples in his home state who wish to be “married” (although they
never will be in the eyes of God and traditional Christians
everywhere), the answer from the good Senator was: It’s not my job
to start parceling advice on something personal like that.
That’s not the only issue where the Senator must confront the
powerful rightward pull exerted by the polls and focus groups while
his own inclination is to do whatever it takes to win the
presidency and enact a Massachusetts liberal-style agenda. Back in
1972, Kerry posed as a right-to-lifer, bemoaning the day when
“abortion is looked on as an alternative to birth control or as an
alternative to having a child…It should be the very last thing if
it has to be anything. I say that not just because I’m opposed to
abortion but because I think that’s common sense.”
Three years later, abortion became an issue for the states to
decide.
Once again, he sounded conservative, yet he was traveling
leftward. Indeed, he’s firmly arrived at that leftward position
now, having cast vote after vote against pro-life issues.
SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES HAVE TO draw a strong contrast, making clear
what the true desire of Kerry is no matter how he tries to cloak
it. Unlike the last time a Massachusetts liberal ran in a national
election, it’s no longer enough to just say he’s a liberal. Voters
will want to know the facts as much as Senator Kerry tries to hide
what he represents. But his words, put to the test, will show he
tries to sound conservative while taking very liberal stances.
Marriage is one important issue that represents a dividing line
between those who honor traditional values and those who care
nothing for them.
Four years ago, many evangelicals stayed home and the result was
one of the closest elections in history. This year, the marriage
issue can bring those stay-at-home evangelicals out to the
polls.
President Bush has to repeatedly insist that a constitutional
amendment is needed to make clear in no uncertain terms that our
nation views marriage to be strictly between one man and one woman
and that John Kerry believes otherwise — despite all his ands and
buts, and et ceteras.
What President Bush said this Monday has to be repeated again
and again during the campaign. He said: The sacred institution of
marriage should not be redefined by a few activist judges. All
Americans have a right to be heard in this debate. I called on the
Congress to pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an
amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a
union of a man and a woman as husband and wife. The need for that
amendment is still urgent, and I repeat that call today.
John Kerry has spent a lifetime learning how to artfully
construct statements so they are everything and anything but the
whole truth. There won’t be any tough D.A. grilling Kerry on the
stand, certainly not his friends in the establishment news media.
President Bush must do this himself in debate.
Social conservatives need to question where Kerry stands on
marriage, particularly in the states where Kerry visits that have
an initiative in defense of marriage on the ballot. By doing that,
it can help to spark a strong turnout by all conservative
voters.
Otherwise, the “Kerry Compass” may just turn out to be the gag
gift of 2005 — but those who hold marriage sacred will not be
laughing.
Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress
Foundation.
