On Tuesday, August 5th, Senator John Kerry met with Quincy residents at the local restaurant The Fours to discuss the issues with local residents, and to answer their questions about what he is doing to address their concerns  about Massachusetts. Accompanied by U.S. Representative Bill Delahunt,  Quncy Mayor Thomas Koch and State Senator Michael Morrissey, Kerry eloquently and pervasievely spoke to a large crowd about everything from the troops in Iraq to the energy crisis. After an informative question and answer session, Kerry toured the historic Quncy center, stopping and talking with local residents and workers in small businessess. From fellow Pan-Mass Challenge participants, to workers at an ice cream store, to barbers at a local barbershop, everyone greeted Kerry with enthusiasm about his work so far as senator and questions about how he will better the Commonwealth in his next term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After being introduced by U.S. Representative Bill Delahunt, PolitickerMA wrote that Kerry began his speech by optomistically updating the audience on Ted Kennedy's improving health.  

Kerry opened his remarks by picking up right where Delahunt left off, mentioning that he spoke with Kennedy on the telephone Monday. Kennedy was "powerfully upbeat," Kerry said, and wanted to talk about health care, the Senate and the Obama campaign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The senator then touched upon the recent HBO series on John Adams, whose hometown was nearby. After watching the series, Kerry said he reread David McCullough's biography and was overwhelmed by the "seriousness of purpose" Adams possessed during the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. Kerry went to say that the same "seriousness of purpose" is why he is running for another term in the Senate.

"There isn't a single American today who isn't struggling," Kerry said, referring to the rising cost of gas, health care, home heating oil, mortgages and student loans, and the Bush administration hasn't responded.

"These guys are so out of touch," he said, "it's beyond belief." Later, Kerry called the President Bush's (R) administration and U.S. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee "dangerous."

Kerry said he hopes to return to the Senate next year because he believes, if the Democrats pick up more seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate and Obama is elected president, it will be "the first moment of progressive legislating in this country since Lyndon B. Johnson"

 

Beginning his tour of historic Quncy Center, Senator John Kerry makes  a stop into the local ice cream shop Quincy Creamery to speak with workers and to get a bite to eat. 

 

Senator John Kerry stopps on Hancock Street to greet Quincy bicycle policemen to compare stories about their recent completion of the Pan-Mass Challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Kerry takes a moment to talk with owners of a local barbershop, and to sign an autograph for a star-struck young girl.

 

 With fellow politicians Koch, Delahunt, and Morrisey close behind, Senator Kerry poses with an excited local personal trainer on the streets of historic Quincy.

 

 

The Patriot Ledger described a point along Kerry's tour through Quincy that illustrated a unique moment in which a working man directly confronted Kerry about his individual fight with the high price of home-heating oil, an issue on the minds of working-class citizens with cooler weather on the horizon.

Wollaston resident Philip Adams, 40, had just finished applying for heating-oil assistance at a social service agency on Hancock Street when he spotted Kerry and rushed across the street. He asked whether the senator was doing anything to help working-class people in Quincy with heating expenses, which are expected to rise sharply this year.

Eating a cup of ice cream from Quincy Creamery, Kerry told Adams that he had introduced legislation to provide $3 billion in energy assistance to low-income citizens. He also said he had written to the king of Saudi Arabia to ask him to donate from his oil profits to offset the financial burden on U.S. consumers.

 

All attendees of Senator Kerry's "Kerry On Your Corner" stop at local pub irish pub and restaurant The Fours thoroughly enjoyed his speech and visit to their historic town. Kerry spoke eloquently about why he wished to continue representing Massachusetts in the Senate, and the issues he felt are most important to the Commonwealth today. He thoughfully answered residents' questions both at the restaurant and as he toured the town of Quincy, allowing residents to get their voices heard and achieve the political response they desired. It is hoped that Senator Kerry's further "Kerry On Your Corner" stops around Massachusetts will be as successful and as informative to voters as this one. 

 

-- Rebecca Gilbert is a Junior at University of Maryland, studying Government and Politics.