Saturday, March 06, 2004

Duplicity

Webster’s Dictionary defines "duplicity" as "contradictory doubleness of thought, speech or action esp: the belying of one’s true intentions by deceptive words or action." Since "duplicity" derives from the same word root as "duplicate," it connotes a special quality of dishonesty associated with doublespeak or straddling two sides of an issue.

No better word characterizes the efforts of Senator John Kerry to shape a political philosophy (such as it is) to take two sides that are mutually contradictory. Here’s the opening from the New York Times article: "Kerry’s Shifts: Nuanced Ideas or Flip-Flops?"

When Senator John Kerry was speaking to Jewish leaders a few days ago, he said Israel's construction of a barrier between it and Palestinian territories was a legitimate act of self-defense. But in October, he told an Arab-American group that it was "provocative and counterproductive" and a "barrier to peace."

On Feb. 5, Mr. Kerry reacted to Massachusetts' highest court's decision legalizing same-sex marriages by saying, "I personally believe the court is dead wrong." But when asked on Feb. 24 why he believed the decision was not correct, he shot back, "I didn't say it wasn't."

Throughout his campaign, Mr. Kerry has shown a knack for espousing both sides of divisive issues. Earlier in the race he struggled to square his vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq with his loud criticism of the war and his eventual vote against $87 billion for military operations and reconstruction.

Speaking of Iraq, today Senator Kerry gave the Democrats’ weekly radio address and made the following statement:

"But I will never send our troops into harm's way without enough firepower and support."

A minor point: Kerry voted "yea" to send our troops into harm’s way then voted against the supplemental bill to provide additional support to the troops. In Kerry’s duplicitous rationalization, a vote for the war in Iraq is a vote against it, a vote against funding for U.S. troops is a vote for our soldiers, his vote for NAFTA is a vote against free trade, Israel can defend itself unless it can’t, and gay marriage is acceptable unless it’s not.

This isn’t a "fluidity" of thought or "nuanced" consideration of an issue. It’s duplicity.

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