Hillary plants question in GOP debate
TH-It turns out that Keith Kerr, retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve, who submitted a YouTube question about gays in the military, is actually a member of Hillary Clinton’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Americans For Hillary Steering Committee. He’s also part of a film production crew trying overturn the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Maybe he’s the only one who had that type of question. They questions were supposed to be screened so I don’t think you could say this was “planted”.
caroline
You are right, I am sure other people could of asked the question. The point is this is a GOP debate and if you are affiliated with a candidate in the other Party this should of been disclosed bottom line! This is Clinton/Bush like!
John,
How naive!
Is the colonel not allowed to pursue personal issues across party lines?
I’m listed on the Hilliary Steering Committee for Georgia!
I’ve never met Hilliary. I’ve never done anything related to the campaign except make a donation of FIVE dollars!
Someone who doesn’t even know me put me on the committee.
I didn’t know I was on the steering committee until I started getting the emails!
Does that mean I can’t ask a question via the internet about the national debt? Social Security?
Is the freaken Republican Party so afraid of the voting public AND Hilliary Clinton that the GOP MUST EXCLUDE legitimate questions from legal residents and valid voters?
How Bush like, indeed …
Now, John, have you ever worked a national campaign for a Democratic Candidate? Senate or Presidential?
Do I need to repeat my stories about how GOP operatives openly disrupted private appearances by Edwards in Florida when I worked security?
At best, John, you’re just naive.
You’re not man enough to know what I really think about you.
Mad Dog
John,
Bush required loyalty oaths so I don’t think it’s the same no matter how much you might want it to be.
I think the question he posed was a valid one and was totally appropriate for the candidates to answer. If, however, he is actively part (unlike like MD) of Hillary’s campaign then it probably should have been disclosed. But, what difference would it have made? The nature of the question remains the same.
caroline,
Over 5000 questions were submitted with hundreds about gays in the military…see for yourself on cnn.com.
On this subject, I agree with John. The position on that committee should have been disclosed…even the host of the debate Anderson Cooper said so when asked after it was over.
Anderson Coooper should ask why his question was used then if there were plenty of others that had similar questions.
I agree with Aubrey.
The source isn’t the issue.
Nor, is the question the issue.
As Aubrey says, the answer is the issue.
We need solutions.Not childish finger pointing.
Not buying it Mike. If a GOPer somehow managed to get through the liberal CNN gauntlet as a planted question, you would be raising hell.
bb,
The really neat thing about the truth?
You don’t get to control it.
If you don’t want the crossover votes, just say no now.
MD
http://online.logcabin.org/photo_gallery/2004_convention.html
Interesting that Gen. Kerr seems to be a log cabin republican.
Hiding my Lincoln Logs
Truly making a joke as the man seems to swing both ways or both ends of the political spectrum
bb,
Comments on caroline outing the real crossover?
MSNBC tried a simple experiment to prove CNN’s BS response was just that, BS.
Google — Keith Kerr Hillary Clinton — http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=2196
It would have been that easy to find that Kerr is part of the Clinton campaign. CNN claims to have vetted every question…BS!
Mike,
Kerr spoke at a LCR convention…not quite the same as being appointed to a committee by a frontrunning presidential candidate.
This is much ado about nothing other than exposing the Clinton News Network again for their bias toward the former first family.
Bart,
As I’ve said, it wasn’t hard for me to get on the steering committee for Georgia. A five dollar donation, a few passing comments to other Democrats, and never being vetted. Suddenly, I had daily emails that I opened and would read. Then, I’m getting emails for the Steering Committee with information on conference calls.
Now, to fully disclosure every possible angle of how I might have been selected, I had a phone call from a North Georgia Democrat asking would I work for Hilliary. Of course I said yes. There was no discussion of salary, position, duties.
Just would you work for Hilliary. If so, I’ll put your name on a list and you’ll be contacted about meeting with ‘the campaign’ in Washington or at the Clinton home. I forget where.
No contact. No resume. Just suddenly emails. Which all stopped as suddenly as it started.
No clue if it was the Clinton people or not.
From reading the emails, the conference calls were never made. They rescheduled and eventually canceled them all.
So maybe I was on the steering committee and maybe I wasn’t.
But, the emails were addressed to ‘the steering committee’ as I recall.
Having said all that, I do have a point.
Your link does go to a Clinton web page. But, read the details.
In big bold print it says,
LGBT Americans For Hillary Steering Committee Members (Committee In Formation)*:
That’s the Committee In Formation from the first press release in June of 2007?
It’s interesting, Bart, but only very mildly interesting.
Will the GOP offer a candidate in 2008 who isn’t afraid of Hilliary?
Will the GOP candidate offer the country more than I hate Hilliary as a qualification as leader of the Free World?
And, by speaking within your frame of Hilliary is dishonest, I lend your allegations credibility.
I would again suggest very politely that we find better solutions to the serious problems. Less “He said. She said.”
MD
p.s. I always assume infiltration by spies. Might be my paranoia. Might be that I’ve done it enough times myself. But, I do close the door to my office just like I lock the door to my house.
It’s just not news that an activist would cross party lines to position an issue before a national audience. Issues drive the debate, not the personalities.
You can find a good list of Kerr’s accomplishments in life at Servicemember Legal Defense Network.
Link
No mention of the steering committee or Clinton or the Log Cabin peoples. However, that page was updated today so it could have been deleted.
” … on CNN, Kerr said he had not been active in the identified groups. He said, “Several friends asked me if I would allow my name to be listed as and I agreed because she is such a strong advocate of gays and lesbian rights.”
Kerr said he was a member of the Log Cabin Republican[s] and that question “was a private initiative on my own,” not something encouraged by the Clinton campaign.
Mike,
I realize how easy it is to get on a steering committee.
My point is, CNN should either admit that it was a setup or that they suck at vetting the people who they chose for the debate questions.
There were literally hundreds of questions from people about DADT. Why did CNN choose this guy?
Bart,
I really don’t know why CNN picked a guy who’s a member of the Log Cabin Republicans and a retired colonel and openly gay to ask a loaded question about gays in the military/DADT.
On the front side, it looks good to have a well spoken military guy asking the ‘tough’ questions.
A ratings issue among other things.
On the back side it harms CNN but only with people already distrustful of CNN.
It could be a no lose for CNN.
Just tough for Hilliary.
You should consider, however unlikely, it was a mistake.
You should consider it also possible it was intentional.
Controversy does sell.
I’m only assuming it has nothing to do with Hilliary Clinton.
In my experience, humble that it is, a good campaign can ONLY help on election day maybe 3 or 4 points.
A bad campaign hurts all the way into defeat, at least ten points on election day.
So the first rule, if there are any rules, Do No Harm! Because your best effort will only mean something in a close race.
Only CNN knows why they chose the man. And, I don’t expect to read the collective mind. Nor, do I ever expect a straight, no bs answer.
Just move on. There are other fish in the sea.
MD
Thus the reason I wrote early this morning — This is much ado about nothing other than exposing the Clinton News Network again for their bias toward the former first family.
Bart,
Actually, you haven’t proven that at all.
The net effect to the Clinton Campaign has been negative.
IF the question had been asked and the alleged linkage never made, Clinton gets no benefit.
Unless, you see a reason, a rational reason, for Clinton, who isn’t the nominee and might not be the nominee and has yet to win a single delegate, to plant an openly gay member of the Republican party at a Republican dust up.
Best case scenario for Clinton that I see, Clinton gets nothing.
Worse case, she gets the blame.
Kerr gets face time for his issue.
CNN gets ratings for the controversy.
If CNN is a ‘friend’ of the Clintons, then right now the CliNtoNs doN’t Need No eNemies.
MD
And, Bart …
Are you sure you’re not exposing your bias?
MD