# John Kerry was Lt. Governor? Why don't we know this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry-was-lt-governor-why-dont-we-know-this/266491 "2004-09-28T15:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry-was-lt-governor-why-dont-we-know-this/266491/21 "2004-09-28T21:51:09Z")
…and it’s this kind of shorthand thinking that makes me want to strangle at least half of my fellow countrymen. Kerry\>Mass.\>Dukakis\>tank\>goofy. How about Bush\>No WMD’s\>Patriot Act\>Seeya, Dubya! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry-was-lt-governor-why-dont-we-know-this/266491/22 "2004-09-28T21:53:31Z")
Sorry, **st. pauler** , I was directing my comment at the quoted paragraph, not you…I just wish people would do more thinking about this stuff…if it’s someone’s CONSIDERED opinion to be a Bushie, eh, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry-was-lt-governor-why-dont-we-know-this/266491/23 "2004-09-28T22:02:05Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > Sorry, **st. pauler** , I was directing my comment at the quoted paragraph, not you…I just wish people would do more thinking about this stuff…if it’s someone’s CONSIDERED opinion to be a Bushie, eh, so be it. No worries 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry-was-lt-governor-why-dont-we-know-this/266491/24 "2004-09-28T22:15:40Z")
> [@SnakeSpirit](#): > > 1/3rd of a tour. Yes, but it was his 2nd tour of duty. He was in the Navy and spent the first tour on a ship, the Gridley. > **[John Kerry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kerry)** > > John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American politician and diplomat, currently serving as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. He previously served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017. An attorney and former naval officer, Kerry first drew public attention as a decorated Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist. He went on to serve as a prosecutor and as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, before serving as United States Se... > [@SnakeSpirit](#): > > Roughly equivalent to joining the National Guard. Depends on how a person got into the National Guard, and what they did (or didn’t do) once they were in. > [@SnakeSpirit](#): > > Kerry was smart to collect all the purple hearts he could for minor, questionable injuries in order to get home ASAP, before he got killed. He was scared, and rightly so. “questionable injuries”? He didn’t have much choice as to whether his wounds were minor or fatal. It also wasn’t his call to give himself Purple Hearts. Considering that many young men did everything they could to avoid going to Vietnam at all, it’s, as you say, hardly surprising that one man, who had already served a four tour and was wounded 3 times already, didn’t want to tempt fate and go for a 4th. > [@](#): > > He was entitled to this early departure from Vietnam (subject to approval by the Bureau of Naval Personnel), because those who had been wounded three times, “regardless of the nature of the wound or treatment required…will not be ordered to serve in Vietnam and contiguous waters or to duty with ships or units which have been alerted for movement to that area.” As far as Kerry’s record, it’s all out there in public view, and there’s a lot to be proud of. The media isn’t going to tell people about it, it’s not like they want him elected. Kerry’s not been silent, he’s been silenced. I just started learning about Kerry myself. He was a non-entity before the Democratic Convention, but I was VERY impressed by his speech, which made me feel better about the whole thing. I was astonished when watching some of the media pundits go on about how the speech was “rushed” (it wasn’t), and focused on his Vietnam experience (it wasn’t), and didn’t focus on issues (it did, big time), and any number of other things, all of which were false. If I hadn’t seen the speech myself, I might have believed what I was told. If I was wary of the media before, that really set the alarm bells ringing. My favorite parts of the Kerry biography are his stint as a District Attorney, his getting the ball rolling on the Iran/Contra investigations (it’s no wonder Oliver North and Bush Sr. hate him), and [the BCCI investigation](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0409.sirota.html), which blew my mind when I first heard about it. It alone should get him all the respect he deserves! Here are several links regarding his background and positions. I myself haven’t read through all of these. [http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/John\_Kerry.htm](http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/John_Kerry.htm) [http://wjm.homelinux.com/archives/000089.html#more](http://wjm.homelinux.com/archives/000089.html#more) > **[John Kerry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kerry)** > > John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American politician and diplomat, currently serving as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. He previously served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017. An attorney and former naval officer, Kerry first drew public attention as a decorated Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist. He went on to serve as a prosecutor and as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, before serving as United States Se... [http://www.orlandoreport.com/profiles/john\_kerry\_voting\_record.htm](http://www.orlandoreport.com/profiles/john_kerry_voting_record.htm) > **[The Voter's Self Defense System](https://justfacts.votesmart.org)** > > Vote Smart provides free, unbiased, in-depth information about current officials, candidates, issues, legislation, and voting. Non-partisan and nonprofit since 1988. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry-was-lt-governor-why-dont-we-know-this/266491/25 "2004-09-29T04:34:41Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Forget the Lt. Governor. I’ve heard very little about his Senate record, except for bits and pieces from conservative sources that after the first WTC attack he proposed legislation to cut intelligence spending, something even Ted Kennedy couldn’t get on board with. > > He spent 4 months in Vietnam. Wouldn’t his 19 year Senate record be more important? One interesting tidbit-and I see someone mentioned it already, but I’ll still say it-he was one of the whistleblowers on Iran-Contra. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry-was-lt-governor-why-dont-we-know-this/266491.md?page=1)