AntiWar Groups Continue to Divide Cause By Misquoting Kerry

AfterDowningStreet.org has a misleading post today on Democrats and oppositon to the war, falsely portraying Democrats as supporting the war. This is based largely on a misquotation of John Kerry’s statement during that campaign regarding his IWR vote. The link an article at Progressive Democrats of America which incorrectly claims, “Senator John Kerry publicly stated that he would have voted to authorize the president to declare war against Iraq even if he had known that Saddam had harbored no weapons of mass destruction!”

As I recently discussed in response to another misquotation of this statement, Kerry did not say that he would have gone to war. He said that he would have voted for the authority but “would have used that authority effectively.” Kerry had frequently discussed how he would have used the authority differently to seek a diplomatic settlement rather than going to war.

More recently Kerry has stated he would not have voted for the IWR knowing what he now knows in light of the manner in which Bush was misleading Congress and the country. AfterDowningStreet.org should especially give Kerry credit for his actions to expose the manner in which Bush misled the country considering that John Kerry was the first member of the Senate to discuss the Downing Street Memos.

Related Story: Bush Flip Flopped In Claiming IWR Was a Vote For War