Hybrid Car

The Flying Nun

This has to be irony. Mexico and the US are different countries. Polls in the US reveal substantial support for Bush. In the rest of the world they overwhelmingly do not. So for supporting Bush to be like consuming porn (Internet or otherwise) you’d have to conduct your survey in the US and get the same results.

Don’t be surprised, Phil, why would you find America-lovin’ Bush supporters in some foreen country? Heck, they oughta round up everyone with a passport and tag ‘em under the PATRIOT act as “agents of a foreign power” because by gum this sort of checking on people outside the US sounds dirty to me. “Exit” poll sounds just about right from OUR good ol’ Jesusland, err, U. S. A. !!!!

If recovery has to look like 1999 before you all will stop calling it “weak”, then I guess we’ll just have to settle in for a lifetime of weakness.

It’d be nice to see a government that didn’t spend us into the poorhouse, but frankly a choice between Democrats and Republicans on that score is like being offered the choice of getting beaten to death with a wooden rod or a steel one. Either way, the ending is going to be bad, and the path is going to be no picnic either.

I voted Libertarian this year without regret. But of the major parties, I’ll settle for the candidate who’s finally willing to admit that Social Security as presently constituted is a massive scam that’s going to bankrupt us all if it’s not fixed _immediately_.

John,
I honestly believe that you and your ‘country’s red majority’ have gotten horribly fooled by your candidate. While you may not admit it, fear of the unknown is the primary means that has been used to gather you around your shepard. I am afraid the the middle-state/middle class is just about to get their pockets picked, even though they will not realize it for a few years (think national sales tax, privatized retirement funds and continued corporate welfare)

It is difficult to develop contrary arguments to a bunch of name-calling and lies that are repeatedly hurled by the ‘country’s red majority’, however that is what the Democrats will need to do, and their candidate (much like Bill Clinton) will need to be able to do this without looking like he just came out of a bar fight.

Now I know that you will call the liberals the name callers (typical bully tactics) and disclaim your fears (even though you choose a platform that harkens back to the 19th century), but I want you to go find a warm happy place and take the time to really analyze the situation that we are in… A looming deficeit, weak economic recovery and a miasmic war front with no end in sight. This is the situation that the ‘red leader’ has brought us to, and this is a preferable position to you than dealing with a changing social, economic and geopolitical situation that the country is facing.

It all seems pretty childish

As a fiscally conservative liberal it was difficult for me to vote for Kerry but a lot easier than voting for the Prez, who has currently run a huge deficit, and plans on invading my privacy by passing laws dictating who I can and cannot marry and whether or not I have a choice regarding what grows inside of my body. It always seems ironic that the party which is pro-gun is anti-choice. As a woman I am always going to vote on the latter over the former. While I respect republicans and I never spit on people, I also avoid discussing politics with Bush supporter because I get too emotional and disrespectful. This is because I feel threatened by Bush, I feel my rights, my privacy, my liberties and my finances are all in jeopardy with this man at our helm. I agree that Kerry could not do much better but I doubt any one could do worse. Under Bush we have increased the deficit, been attacked on our own soil, made more enemies than ever, the economy has gotten worse, unemployment is higher than ever, more inroad against Roe vs Wade have been made, Citizens have lost more liberties than ever under the Patriot Act. The government can now hold you forever with out pressing charges – all they have to do is suspect you of terrorism. So far, the only argument Bush supporters on this forum have made (and I appreciate your dialogue) is that Bush is better than Kerry and he supports Gun choice. Oh, and that you feel liberals disrespect you but I think it has been pointed out that both sides seem to equally disrespect each other.

McRutter.

The whining of us conservatives in blue areas is nothing compared the circle-jerks of self pity happening among blue state liberals, who live in baffled incomprehension of our country’s red majority, accusing those who disagree with them of being ignorant bible-thumpers. We just did stand up. We walked the walk and got our man elected. All of the energy and bile spent by the left-wing bloglings in accusing Bush and his supporters of being ignorant war-mongers should have been spent in mobilizing Ohio liberals.

-j

Wow.

Having voted for Kerry, I can honestly say that his campaign and its message seemed wooden and hollow to me. I tried to get excited about his speeches, but I could almost feel the energy being drained from the room’s audience as he droned on – and I was only watching on TV!

Many of Kerry’s ideas were good starters, but he did little to get advance them beyond a posture and to get specific details out to the people (beyond pointing them to web sites containing policy details). News from the front – you have to connect with real people, and that means explaining in some detail what you stand for and what exactly you plan on doing, face-to-face. The majority does not yet connect to the national debate through the internet.

Bill Clinton was expert at this kind of personal connection to his audience. This kind of charisma just isn’t in Kerry’s repertoire, no offense to him. However, his campaign should have moved more “meat” into his standard stump speeches to get people discussing the real war and economic issues – not dead-letter office stories about Vietnam service, not social distractions like gay marriage.

Kerry never forced Bush to alter or reconsider his stance on a single issue during the campaign. As maddening as this may make Bush appear to individual Americans who happen to value personal reflection as a necessary component of maturity, it is sadly true that a majority of people in the U.S. viewed such consistency as an expression of “good values” and voted for the candidate whose “values” they could readily understand.

The only thing I have to add is that a study by the Program on International Policy Attitudes shows that the beliefs of Bush supporters on some very important issues are at odds with reality:

http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Pres_Election_04/Report10_21_04.pdf

The conclusion (given by the researchers) is that Bush supporters cling to beliefs that have been “visibly refuted” because 1) the Bush administration continues to confirm those (incorrect) beliefs, and/or 2) Bush supporters “suppress awareness of unsettling information.”