[Mb-civic] Carter to Zell Miller, Miller about Kerry

[Michael Butler]

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Zell Miller Responds to Zell Miller    €

     Letter to Zell Miller: 'You Have Betrayed Our Trust'
    By Jimmy Carter
    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

     Wednesday 08 September 2004

     To Sen. Zell Miller:

     You seem to have forgotten that loyal Democrats elected you as mayor
[of Young Harris] and as state senator. Loyal Democrats, including members
of my family and me, elected you as state senator, lieutenant governor and
governor. It was a loyal Democrat, Lester Maddox, who assigned you to high
positions in the state government when you were out of office. It was a
loyal Democrat, Roy Barnes, who appointed you as U.S. senator when you were
out of office. By your historically unprecedented disloyalty, you have
betrayed our trust.

     Great Georgia Democrats who served in the past, including Walter
George, Richard Russell, Herman Talmadge and Sam Nunn, disagreed strongly
with the policies of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon
Johnson and me, but they remained loyal to the party in which they gained
their public office. Other Democrats, because of philosophical differences
or the race issue, like Bo Callaway and Strom Thurmond, at least had the
decency to become Republicans.

     Everyone knows that you were chosen to speak at the Republican National
Convention because of your being a "Democrat," and it's quite possible that
your rabid speech damaged our party and paid the GOP some transient
dividends.

     Perhaps more troublesome of all is seeing you adopt an established and
very effective Republican campaign technique of destroying the character of
opponents by wild and false allegations. The Bush campaign's personal
attacks on the character of John McCain in South Carolina in 2000 was a
vivid example. The claim that war hero Max Cleland was a disloyal American
and an ally of Osama bin Laden should have given you pause, but you have
joined in this ploy by your bizarre claims that another war hero, John
Kerry, would not defend the security of our nation except with spitballs.
(This is the same man whom you described previously as "one of this nation's
authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders - and
a good friend.")

     I, myself, served in the Navy from 1942 to 1953, and, as president,
greatly strengthened our military forces and protected our nation and its
interests in every way. I don't believe this warrants your referring to me
as a pacifist.

     Zell, I have known you for 42 years and have, in the past, respected
you as a trustworthy political leader and a personal friend. But now, there
are many of us loyal Democrats who feel uncomfortable in seeing that you
have chosen the rich over the poor, unilateral pre-emptive war over a strong
nation united with others for peace, lies and obfuscation over the truth,
and the political technique of personal character assassination as a way to
win elections or to garner a few moments of applause. These are not the
characteristics of great Democrats whose legacy you and I have inherited.

     Sincerely, and with deepest regrets,
    Jimmy Carter

 And now look at what Zell Miller said:


    Introduction of Senator John Kerry
    Democratic Party of Georgia's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

    Thursday 01 March 2001

     It is good to be back in Georgia and to be with you. I have been coming
to these dinners since the 1950s, and have missed very few.

     I'm proud to be Georgia's junior senator and I'm honored to serve with
Max Cleland, who is as loved and respected as anyone in that body. One of
our very highest priorities must be to make sure this man is re-elected in
2002 so he can continue to serve this state and nation.

     I continue to be impressed with all that Governor Barnes and Lieutenant
Governor Taylor and the Speaker and the General Assembly are getting done
over at the Gold Dome. Georgia is fortunate to have this kind of leadership.

     My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's
authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders - and
a good friend.

     He was once a lieutenant governor - but he didn't stay in that office
16 years, like someone else I know. It just took two years before the people
of Massachusetts moved him into the United States Senate in 1984.

     In his 16 years in the Senate, John Kerry has fought against government
waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington.

     Early in his Senate career in 1986, John signed on to the
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill, and he fought for balanced
budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so.

     John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education,
boost the economy and protect the environment. Business Week magazine named
him one of the top pro-technology legislators and made him a member of its
"Digital Dozen."

     John was re-elected in 1990 and again in 1996 - when he defeated
popular Republican Governor William Weld in the most closely watched Senate
race in the country.

     John is a graduate of Yale University and was a gunboat officer in the
Navy. He received a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three awards of the Purple
Heart for combat duty in Vietnam. He later co-founded the Vietnam Veterans
of America.

     He is married to Teresa Heinz and they have two daughters.

     As many of you know, I have great affection - some might say an
obsession - for my two Labrador retrievers, Gus and Woodrow. It turns out
John is a fellow dog lover, too, and he better be. His German Shepherd, Kim,
is about to have puppies. And I just want him to know ... Gus and Woodrow
had nothing to do with that.

     Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Senator John Kerry.

  

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