John Kerry for President 2004 Campaign Brochure

‘Courage Ideals Vision’

“In war and in peace, young Americans have proven themselves over and over again, and they have sustained and strengthened our democracy for more than two centuries. To protect our nation and meet our potential, we will have to harness the faith, the energy, and the

commitment of people of all ages in communities across the country.

Nothing I hope to do as President will be more vital than reconnecting America’s public life to the ideal of full and active citizenship. I have proposed a comprehensive national service plan, and as President I will call on young people both to help strengthen America’s security and to address unmet needs. This will simultaneously engage young people, strengthen our society, enhance our economy and advance our American values.”   

- John Kerry

Jobs and the Economy:

The single most important challenge to Young Americans is the stagnant Bush economy.  After inheriting an economy that created 22 million jobs over the previous eight years, under George Bush

more than 3 million jobs have been lost, and thousands of Americans have stopped looking for work.

John Kerry has pledged to replace all those jobs in the first 500 days of his administration. His plan for energy independence would create 500,000 good paying energy sector jobs, and he supports creating American jobs and renewing our cities by building infrastructure, investing in school construction and modernization, targeted tax credits and cleaning up polluted areas in our country.

Rewarding Service:

The Bush Administration has placed AmeriCorps on the chopping block. John Kerry believes that young Americans are not just the future of this nation, but critical contributors to reaffirming American traditions and values.

Programs like AmeriCorps and YouthBuild allow Young Americans to give back to their communities and to learn leadership and practical skills that will last them a lifetime.

As President, John Kerry  will challenge and encourage Young Americans to serve their communities and country.

Civil Rights:

John Kerry will appoint an  Attorney General who will protect the civil liberties of  ALL Americans. John Kerry believes in civil rights and equal rights for all Americans. Kerry has supported every major

piece of civil rights legislation while in the Senate and will continue to fight for civil rights as President.

He wants all Americans to be free from persecution and discrimination based upon gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Kerry will support judicial nominees who will preserve the rights of all citizens; oppose all efforts to undermine affirmative action; uphold the prosecution of hate crimes; eliminate racial profiling; and fight against discrimination in the workplace.

Education:

College students are suffering under the Bush Administration. John Kerry believes that every

child who is willing to aim high and work hard should have access to college. Kerry has worked to expand and protect federal student loan programs and federal scholarships. Kerry also supports

young people who want to make America better through public service. His “Service for College” initiative grants volunteers free college tuition to state schools for two years service within their community.

Environment:

Nowhere is there a more determined, more dangerous more concerted and stealth assault on our values and future than George W. Bush’s disregard for the environment.

John Kerry has been a leader in the environmental movement throughout his career. Kerry was called the Senate’s most outspoken environmentalist and was named an Environmental Hero by the League of Conservation Voters. His work led to the passage of tougher smog standards in the Clean Air Act of 1990. He fought hard to block the efforts that would weaken the Clean Air Act and joined a bipartisan proposal to limit mercury, sulfur, nitrogen andcarbon dioxide from power plants.

Kerry also worked to guarantee cleaner and safer drinking water by strengthening the Safe Drinking Water Act, and fought efforts to weaken it. He will strengthen the environmental cop-on-the-beat, and prosecute environmental criminals.

He will also actively pursue environmental justice for communities that have been the victims of

years of corporate environmental assaults.

Foreign Policy:

“I am prepared to use force when necessary to protect our country, and I will guarantee that we will have a military second to nobody. I also know that even the United States of America, as great and strong as we are, needs to make some friends on this planet.” John Kerry fought for America in Vietnam and has served throughout his tenure in the Senate on the Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry’s experience with the military and foreign policy issues gives him an understanding of how to sustain America’s national security and create favorable relations with other nations. He fully supports

America’s war on terror and has sponsored legislation to tighten airport security and to stem the sale

of illegal weapons. Kerry also advocates foreign policy that will ensure human rights are upheld in other nations, authored legislation to increase research and development of vaccines for African nations and has supported efforts to aid the people of war torn nations.

Affordable Health Care for All:

“I intend to be a President who goes to the Oval Office each morning resolved that health care will not merely be the rhetoric of a campaign, a promise made and lost, but that with unwavering determination, for as long as it takes - we will at long last make health care available and affordable - a right and not a privilege - for every American.”

John Kerry has a plan to deal with the alarming increases in health care costs and the growing number of uninsured. His plan would allow Americans to buy into the same health care plan that the President and Members of Congress are in while providing help for those who cannot afford insurance. It is the only plan that offers access to affordable coverage for every American.

More on John Kerry

John Kerry’s interest and commitment to progressive politics started at an early age. He led the political union on his college campus - and cut his teeth in grassroots activism organizing his fellow students to become involved in the civil rights movement.

Kerry enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Yale University and received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three decorations of the Purple Heart for his combat service in Vietnam.

Kerry was a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America, a spokesperson for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and in 1971, at the age of 27, led protests in Washington, DC

against the war and the treatment of veterans.

John Kerry has served as a prosecutor, a lawyer in private practice and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1982. He has served in the United States Senate since 1985.