Bob Kerrey

File:Bob kerrey.jpg

Senator Bob Kerrey

Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) was Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987, and a U.S. Senator from Nebraska (1989–2001) and a Democrat. As of 2006 he is president of The New School in New York City.

Biography

Kerrey was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and attended the local public schools before graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1966. Afterwards, he served in the United States Navy SEAL. special forces unit, 1966–1969, lost the lower part of one leg in the Vietnam War, and received the Medal of Honor.

Returning to Nebraska, he operated a chain of restaurants and fitness centers from 1972 to 1982 before defeating incumbent Charles Thone in the 1982 election Governor of Nebraska, serving in that office from 1983 to 1987. He refused to run for re-election in 1986, but two years later, ran for the Senate against appointed incumbent David Karnes and defeated him by 15 points. He was reelected to the Senate in 1994 and served as the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 104th Congress before retiring in 2001. An attempt to gain the 1992 Democratic nomination for president failed due to a lack of fundraising and poor results in early primary.

As a Senator, Kerrey had a relatively liberal voting record despite the fact that Nebraska is one of the most conservative states in the union. He was one of only a handful of senators, for example, to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996. Kerrey also led the opposition in the Senate to the proposed flag burning amendment, which failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority needed for passage. Also notable for a politician from the Midwest, Kerrey is strongly pro-choice on the issue of abortion. His record on fiscal issues was mixed but generally liberal. He voted against lawsuit reform, the Freedom to Farm bill, drilling in ANWR, welfare reform, and a Balanced Budget Amendment; on the other hand he is a strong supporter of free trade and limiting the size of the federal government.

Kerrey is a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (popularly known as the "9/11 Commission"), where he has accused persons like Madeleine Albright, William Cohen, and Donald Rumsfeld of pursuing US interests with insufficient aggression.

At the New School, Kerrey opposed the attempt of the United Auto Workers to unionize the adjunct (part-time) faculty, agreeing to negotiate with them only after several rulings against the administration by the National Labor Relations Board. A threatened strike of adjunct faculty at the New School was averted just before the strike deadline of October 31st, 2005.

Kerrey is presiding over an ambitious program of reorganization at the university, overhauling several divisions and bringing in the respected Arjun Appadurai as Provost. On April 14, 2005, Kerrey announced that the university was changing its name to The New School, and rebranding its eight divisions as specialized, separate entities serving different constituencies.

On April 17, 2005, The New York Times reported that Kerrey was interested in becoming a Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York City, joining such candidates as Fernando Ferrer and C. Virginia Fields in opposing the re-election of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. After much speculation over the potential ramifactions of his entry into the race, Kerrey eventually withdrew his interest in the 2005 mayoral race.

Vietnam incident

In 2001, Kerrey confessed to anguish and guilt over an incident that occurred in the Vietnam War. On February 25, 1969, he participated in a raid on the isolated peasant village of Thanh Phong, Vietnam. Based upon intelligence that Viet Cong were holding a district-level meeting at the site, his SEAL team attacked. He was awarded the Bronze Star for this action and the citation reads "The net result of his patrol was twenty-one Viet Cong killed, two hootches destroyed and two enemy weapons captured." However, Kerrey, in an interview with CNN, related it this way:

We expected it to be a very difficult mission, and we met some people we believed were the outpost and we killed them. And then (we) went on and took fire where we expected this meeting to occur and we returned very lethal fire and when the firing was over, all we had was women and children that are dead.

Another member of Kerrey's SEAL team that night, Gerhard Klann, told the New York Times that Kerrey ordered the squad to round up and kill civilians. Kerrey denies this, saying that both Klann and he agree it was a free fire zone. Kerrey was enlisted in the controversial Operation Phoenix, a CIA backed assassination program, and the reported mission took place under such pretense. This, gives legitimacy to claims that they may have indiscrimately killed civilians in the village as there were indications that a high level Vietnamese officer was in the region.

Medal of Honor Citation

His Medal of Honor citation reads:

Medal of Honor

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a SEAL team leader during action against enemy aggressor (Viet Cong) forces. Acting in response to reliable intelligence, Lt. (jg.) Kerrey led his SEAL team on a mission to capture important members of the enemy's area political cadre known to be located on an island in the bay of Nha Trang. In order to surprise the enemy, he and his team scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff to place themselves above the ledge on which the enemy was located. Splitting his team in 2 elements and coordinating both, Lt. (jg.) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy's camp. Just as they neared the end of their descent, intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lt. (jg.) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade which exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks. Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element's fire into the heart of the enemy camp. Utilizing his radio, Lt. (jg.) Kerrey called in the second element's fire support which caught the confused Viet Cong in a devastating crossfire. After successfully suppressing the enemy's fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site. Lt. (jg.) Kerrey resolutely directed his men, despite his near unconscious state, until he was eventually evacuated by helicopter. The havoc brought to the enemy by this very successful mission cannot be over-estimated. The enemy soldiers who were captured provided critical intelligence to the allied effort. Lt. (jg.) Kerrey's courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Quotes

"Santorum, that's Latin for "asshole" - Referring to newcomer Senator Rick Santorum after the first three weeks of his tenure on the senate floor

References

• CNN Story on the Thanh Phong Incident
• Clinton, Bill (2005). My Life. Vintage. ISBN 140003003X.
• The New School's website of president Bob Kerrey

Further reading

• Kerrey, Robert. When I Was a Young Man: A Memoir. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2002.