John Kerry - Who is Really Out of Touch

It’s the electorate, stupid!
By Hillary Chabot
Saturday, September 25, 2010 - Updated 18 hours ago
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E-mail Print (849) Comments Text size Share Buzz up!A testy U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday blamed clueless voters with short attention spans for the uphill battle beleaguered Democrats are facing against Republicans across the nation.

“We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening,” Kerry told reporters after touring the Boston Medical Center yesterday.
Conservative political blogger William Jacobson, who writes Legal Insurrection, immediately pounced on Kerry’s comments, saying that attitude is why voters are looking to shake up Capitol Hill by electing upstart candidates such as U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.

“It just continues the Democrats’ theme that the reason people are upset is because they don’t understand. They’re not smart enough. That sort of rhetoric just gets people even more upset,” said Jacobson.

Democratic consultant Phil Johnston, former chairman of the state party, jumped to Kerry’s defense, saying, “That’s absurd. He’s just making the point that people have real lives to lead and most people are not spending a lot of time worrying about politics, particularly in a tough economy. I’ve known John Kerry for 35 years and he doesn’t look down on people.”

Kerry made the remarks on voters following questions about U.S. Rep Barney Frank’s re-election campaign and queries about securing federal funding for the Hub hospital.

“I think a lot of the anger today - while it’s appropriate because Washington is broken - is not directed at the right people,” said Kerry. “Barney is prepared, as others are, to explain what we’re doing. I think when people hear the facts and they see what we’re doing, it frankly makes sense.”

In the interview, Kerry added that voters should be mad at stonewalling Republicans and “big money” in politics instead, referring to a bill blocked by Republicans Thursday that would reveal corporate and union leaders who fund big-bucks political ads.

He went on to blame the legislative logjam in Washington, D.C., for fewer federal dollars sent to the state.

John Feehery, a Washington D.C.-based Republican consultant, said Kerry’s comments mark yet another embarrassing stumble for the gaffe-prone senior senator. In 2006, the former presidential candidate had to apologize for a statement he made at a California college that U.S. students who did not study hard and stay in school would end up “stuck in Iraq.”

“I think that arrogance sums up why John Kerry didn’t get elected president,” Feehery said. “He’s out of touch.”