For Kerry Supporters Only

[Crankyshank]

I think a lot of people have difficulty understanding not all Democrats are liberals. Liberal is such a bad word nowadays that I think some people are afraid of becoming a radical pinko liberal. So they vote for someone they don't necessarily agree with because of it.
Note: I am not saying that's why everyone is voting for Bush, or even why the majority is voting for him.


Something I don't understand, is the reasoning I've seen quite a bit that they are voting for Bush because he's had 3 years experience fighting terrorists and Kerry has none. Hello? Before 9-11 how much experience did Bush have against terrorists? um none?

 

[snoopy]

Whatever happens on November 2, I don't expect this division among Americans to change.

I hate to keep getting back to that thread the other day -- "Bush Haters, do you condone his assasination", but I can't get my mind off it. The OP is a close personal friend of mine, and I keep wondering if she really thinks all Democrats are Bush "haters", or or does she really think that any reasonable person would condone such a violent act? I mean, she knows me, she knows I'm a Democrat, does she actually think that this is something someone she calls friend would condone?

I just wonder, are we really seeing each side for its individual components, or just lumping everyone together? I probably AM lumping Republicans together at times, I really want to stop myself from doing that. But threads like those are so upsetting to me and I don't expect them to automatically disappear on November 3.

 

[Bichon Barb]

I didn't see that thread, Snoopy.

No, I'm definitely not lumping all Dems or Reps together. Like I said, I'm not registered under either party. And I think there are a lot of people like me--who see pros and cons to each party and vote for the candidate--not his party.

As a matter of fact, I initially supported Bush's decision to go into Iraq. I believed the President when he said that there were WMD and we were in danger. I believed that most Iraqis wanted us there.

 

[Sandy V.]

Can I be the visiting Republican for a minute and put my two cents' in about Bichon Barb's questions?

Before I say anything, I want you to know that my intent is not to inflame anybody. You have very intelligent people here with very reasoned beliefs about why Kerry is the man for the job, and I respect that. I believe that Bush is the right man to stay in office, and I hope to get my point across without getting flamed.

Without making too many generalizations, my belief is that the people in the Midwest, South, and much of the Rocky Mountain region are just much more "anti-big-government" or anti-government interference in their daily affairs. Many pockets of these regions of the country are still agrarian, and as a farmer's daughter, you've never seen someone who wants to be left alone as much as a farmer does (most of them, anyway). I realize that many Democrats feel the same way about large government, but I believe that the feeling is more intense "inland".

Again, because of more wide open spaces, we have a great deal of the military installations in these regions. I live between Denver and Colorado Springs, and there are 6 Air Force and Army facilities within a close distance. We are heavily dependent upon them for our economies, and, in return, they provide a lot of services to our communities. The close relationship fosters a lot of support and respect for the military because we live and work with so many of them. So we are very supportive of a strong defense (as are many Democrats).

As far as the religious indoctrination, I'm not very religious, so I don't know about this one. It appears to me that both parties use church attendance as photo opportunities, and I don't care for it. I will acknowledge that there probably are churches encouraging people to vote for certain candidates based upon their views on abortion, same-sex marriage, etc. Statistically, more people in these regions regularly attend church than on either coast, so it does play a larger role.

Fiscally, I think it goes back to the anti-government involvment in their affairs, and the people I know who will be voting for Bush just aren't convinced that Kerry's proposed programs can be paid for in the manner he proposes (not trying to start a debate here; just stating an opinion ).

Again, I'm not trying to take over your thread. Just wanted to let you know what this Republican thinks.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming, and I hope everyone has a good day. I think the election will be VERY close, and I just hope that there's not too much wrangling in the courts afterward.

 

[faithinkarma]

The latest American research Group polls :

Florida B 46% K 49%

Ohio B 47% K 49%

Pennsylvania B 47% K 50%


http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/

Not that I believe the polls mean ****. It is going to be all about turn out, and we are going to win BIG.

 

[caitycaity]

and I keep wondering if she really thinks all Democrats are Bush "haters", or or does she really think that any reasonable person would condone such a violent act?

i found myself wondering the same thing after reading that thread.

sandy v - thanks for your nice, polite, post.

 

[Crankyshank]

Sandy V, very nice post

I couldn't bring myself to read beyond the first few posts of that thread. I was just completely disgusted that anyone would insinuate that democrats would want to see the President killed.

What many Republicans here don't seem to comprehend is that just because you don't agree with someone's politics, doesn't mean you hate them.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Thank you for such a thoughtful post Sandy V.

My DH owns a small business. We sell products to companies who manufacture equipment for the military. So I understand where you are coming from on that point.

I do think it is important that the government keep their nose in people's business when it comes to safety. I want to be sure that the milk I am drinking is safe. I want to make sure that businesses aren't dumping their waste in the lakes and rivers of this country.

And I don't think that the current administration is keeping out of peoples' lives. Bush wants to dictate peoples' morality. JMHO.

 

[ThAnswr]

Originally posted by faithinkarma
well well well.....look what has happened while I was "away".

A week or so ago, I decided to ban myself. I simply did not like the anger I was feeling about some of the posts I was reading. I had already been spending less and less time online, and devoting the extra time volunteering for the DNC. So going "cold turkey" was not as difficult as you might think.

Then today I got PM and opened up the DIS. And once there, I was unable to resist the urge to just check out the community board. I was a good girl and avoided the Bush only thread, but I did open this one. I have not read it all yet, but have enjoyed what I did read. The whole thread has a "community" feel to it. And even the trolls did not bother me, since I have had most of them on ignore for a long time now.

So "HI" everyone. It is good to be back

Welcome back, FIK. You've been missed.

 

[Sandy V.]

You're welcome, caitycaity, Crankyshank, and Bichon Barb.


One of my greatest concerns about the CB is how well we'll be able to "get over" the election results, no matter who is elected. There are so many nice people here, but with half of the country bound to be disappointed and angry with the results, I hope people try and be nice to one another!!

Again, best wishes to all of you.

 

[bubie2.5]

Hi Sandy V., nice post.

 

[faithinkarma]

This, while not to everyone's taste ( certainly way too young for my taste ), has an extremely powerful ending. I believe one thing that is going to make a huge impact on the outcome of this election is the number of young people who are going to vote this time. Videos like this will be helping to motivate them. Check it out, it is worth the time.

Windows Media Player

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/interscope/eminem/encor...

Real Player

http://boss.streamos.com/real/interscope/eminem/encore/...

Quicktime

http://movies10.archive.org/3/movies/Mosh2/GNN_Mosh_bb2...

or

http://boss.streamos.com/qtime/interscope/eminem/encore...

 

[Sandy V.]

Hi back, bubie2.5.

No reason we can't all be pleasant to one another, even though many of us are passionate for our own candidates.

By the way, I think Clinton stumping for Kerry really helps him rally Democratic support and maybe even that of some of the undecideds (and that's bad for Bush), but health-wise, should he really be out there?

 

[snoopy]

Great post, Sandy, thanks for lending your rational insight.

On the subject of Clinton's health, I was at first a little alarmed, as he appeared somewhat weak still. But he really needed to rally for Kerry and I felt really proud that he did.

 

[Nancy]

Originally posted by faithinkarma
The Kerry daughters were amazing. What intelligent mature charming young women ! They handled all questions with grace and poise beyond their years. Their parents must be so proud of them !

Hi Bush lurker here...please don't hate me!

i just want to say that I saw the Kerry girls on LK last night and think they are remarkable...very poised and intelligent. I was impressed with them at the DNC and again last night.

Back to your regularly scheduled Kerry thread.

 

[Bichon Barb]

I thought Clinton looked a little fragile.

Anyone remember that little thing we used to call the "Debate Board". People used to "disagree " on there all the time. But most people agreed to disagree and stayed friendly. (Not everyone--but most.)

Go ahead and flame me, but I think that at least with the DB, you knew where you stood and where others stood. I think that on the CB, people tend to take differences of opinion more personally and can be pretty nasty.

 

[BuckNaked]

Originally posted by denisenh
Kerry will work for middle class America. Vote for him.

you say: That situation does indeed reward failure and punish success.
If you don't vote Kerry, this is essentially what you are doing.

So as not to debate on this thread, I'll start another explaining why I disagree with you on the issue of whether or not Kerry will work for the middle class.

 

[Sandy V.]

You're welcome, Snoopy. As for "rational", my teenagers may have a different view on that!

I'm a politics junkie. Back in college 20+ years ago, most of my friends could never understand why I used to stay glued to the television on primary and general election nights. I find it gratifying that so many people are interested in this election, and, more importantly, have registered to vote. Especially the young people (even though this probably favors Kerry in most instances ).

While I personally don't care for Clinton's politics, he is, as was stated on Fox News at the Democratic convention, the "Rock Star" of the Democratic party. The man can draw a crowd and speak like no one else.

 

[Bichon Barb]

This is the message I'm getting, FIK:

Sorry, the file you have requested could not be found
or has been intentionally disabled by the content owner

 

[snoopy]

I'm getting the same error messages to faithinkarma's links.

Hi Nancy! I agree, Kerry's daughters are very poised and appear to be very intelligent.