Well, I'm sure a lot of you have read Kos's
post about Kerry and fundraising for 2006. Suffice it to say, I think Markos got it very wrong, but I think the true rebuttal should come from the Senator himself, who seems to be one of just a few elected officials showing a deep respect for the netroots by granting exclusive interviews normally reserved for the MSM.
First off, guys,
BlueMass Group can easily be labeled as objective in regards to Kerry because they are not supporters of his. In fact, regular readers of the site have come across many posts that are critical of Senator Kerry. Keep that in mind, as you read or download the file and listen.
A very hardworking DUer, Democrafty, was kind enough to transcribe the interview, so I will get right down to business with the meat of that conversation:
Charley on the MTA: The first question, I know you answered it outside, is about the campaign funds and Barney Frank gave up his 30% and Marty Meehan obviously has not yet, Ed Markey has not yet, so -
JK: Well, I've been, I've done more than 30. I've raised more money than I have, and given it away. Other people have been out raising money for themselves. I'm not raising money for myself. I've only raised money for other candidates. I've spent down on the money that we have in order to have the staff to go out to help other people. I mean, we've been exclusively in the business of trying to help people around the country - I might add, 180 candidates in states most of which have nothing to do with presidential politics 'cause they're not on the calender. So I'm not, you know, I've nothing to be sort of second-guessing here. I'm proud of what we have done. I gave, you know, up front, early. A million dollars we wrote to the DSCC. A million dollars to the DNC. I gave 500 000 to the DCCC. I put 250 000 into the state of Washington to help Christine Gregoire have a recount when it mattered. And so, we're raising money, we've continued to raise money, we've written checks, we've helped people, and we continue to do that.
Charley: And yet, I mean, of course -
JK: Well, some of the money -
Charley: people see that pot of money and they think, "Well, gosh..."
JK: But we don't have that pot of money. Because we've been spending down on that to be able to help people. That's number one. Number two, we also have an audit going on, which is a traditional part of any presidential race. We have exposure to, you know, whatever that audit decides. And you can't, you know, be reckless and stupid about giving it away. So we did the next best thing, which is put all of our energy into helping people around the country. I raised a quarter of Tammy Duckworth's money for her primary campaign. I raised the entire Get Out the Vote money for Jim Webb to help win the primary. I mean, we've been out there fighting, I think, you know, as effectively as anybody, and I'm not going to, you know, be somehow put on the defensive about an effort we made that I think has been second to nobody in the history of the party.
RevDeb: I wouldn't presume to put you on the defensive. I think the reason that the netroots are really excited about this is the fact that there are so many races now in play that weren't before, and we're trying to find out how anybody can come to the fore and chip in and get us over that hump.
JK: That's exactly what I'm doing. Today we went out and, to back it up, Teresa and I are personally putting thousands of dollars of personal money in to help people. So we're backing it up.
And here's a small part of what he said about the netroots:
RevDeb: The message that I got from John is that you were interested in hearing from us, and I'm kind of curious about that. Why were we called to say, "Please come and see us."
JK: Because you guys are, I think, very important to the communication structure of America now. I think you're on a cutting edge communications transformation that's taking place. And I think, for those of us in public life, if we're going to be effective, as well as knowledgeable, we'd better listen, and we'd better be in touch.
RevDeb: So what do you want?
JK: Well, I want to know what you're feeling, what you're thinking. What's the, you know, where do you find the most effective portals for reaching people at this point in time? Because they're shifting, in a way. I mean, I noticed that, you know, television news is down.
RevDeb: Olbermann's going up.
JK: Thank God. I'm glad to see him going up. I think he's going up because he's saying something. But I think that where people are getting their news is changing. Am I wrong?
I don't want to excerpt the entire interview, because I think everybody should give MassGroup some mojo for stepping up to the plate, doing the interview, and sharing it with everyone out there.
The truth is, John Kerry has never nor will he ever insult the netroots, because he has too much respect for all of us as citizens to be that callous. For the first and last time, David Wade was referring to the heyjohn.org site when he called them cowards who anonymously set up a smear campaign and wouldn't reveal themselves. I hope that some of you would take what the good Senator said above and in the whole interview to put the myth aside that he's been anything less than a good team player for the Democrats. As a Virginian, I highlighted the part he said about Webb, because Kerry was there for him in his first major electoral test -- the primary -- and the money he raised plus his endorsement and appearance with Webb was a large factor in him defeating Harris Miller. I know it influenced my vote. Now we're at a moment where we could win this thing, and I think those who were there for candidates like Jim Webb at the beginning deserve praise not scorn.
Finally, I got a real kick out of the interviewers, folks just like us, calling Senator Kerry "John" at the end of the interview. He doesn't think himself above us, but rather partners in taking this country back. So let's get to work these last two weeks, stop bashing fellow Democrats, and win this damned thing!!
Link to the download here.
UPDATED: Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy just gave an additional $1 million to the DSCC and the DCCC. Yes they do listen. Perhaps a thank you is in order to the two senators from Massachusetts?
Link to Taylor Marsh:
http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=24726
Link to Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake:
http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/10/25/stand-up-stuff-from-a-stand-up-guy/#comments