Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) in a National Press Club speech urged Democrats to not be Republican clones saying that if they do they “will lose again, and deserve to lose.” Citing the small margin in Ohio, Kennedy pointed out that a change of only 60,000 votes would have defeated an incumbent president. He rejected the idea that the November election was a mandate for Bush policies.
“I categorically reject the deceptive and dangerous claim that the outcome last November was somehow a sweeping, or a modest, or even a miniature mandate for reactionary measures like privatizing Social Security, redistributing the tax burden…, or packing the federal courts with reactionary judges,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy reaffirmed the Democratic Party’s commitment to women’s reproductive rights.
