It’s not our fault; it’s yours.

That’s what Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told reporters after touring a facility in Boston Friday. His comments were picked up Saturday by the conservative-leaning Boston Herald.

“We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening,” Kerry told reporters.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I think a lot of the anger today – while it’s appropriate because Washington is broken – is not directed at the right people,” Kerry added. “[Rep.] Barney [Frank (D-MA)] is prepared, as others are, to explain what we’re doing. I think when people hear the facts and they see what we’re doing, it frankly makes sense.”

In the Herald article, a Republican consultant fired back, saying Kerry’s comments were emblematic of comments made during the 2004 presidential election, which Kerry conceded to George W. Bush.

“I think that arrogance sums up why John Kerry didn’t get elected president,” John Feehery, a Washington D.C.-based Republican consultant, told the paper. “He’s out of touch.”

Democrats have been fighting to hold the House and Senate in the coming midterm November elections. Polls show Democrats’ support eroding.

Phil Johnston, former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic party, replied, “That’s absurd. He’s just making the point that people have real lives to lead and most people are not spending a lot of time worrying about politics, particularly in a tough economy. I’ve known John Kerry for 35 years and he doesn’t look down on people.”