Democrats for Bush...

[Matter]

www.techcentralstation.com/102104D.html

Democrats for Bush

By Stephen Green

Famously -- or perhaps infamously -- ABC's influential political blog The Note (fawning New Yorker magazine profile? Check.) claimed that "we still can't find a single American who voted for Al Gore in 2000 who is planning to vote for George Bush in 2004." That was last August. Since then, I've kept a scorecard of exactly which Gore voters are supporting Bush this year. Some of them, even ABC News may have heard of. {Dave's Note: OUCH}

Ed Koch -- lifelong Democrat, former Congressman, and New York City councilman and mayor -- for example

"I intend to vote in 2004 to reelect President Bush. I will do so despite the fact that I do not agree with him on any major domestic issue, from tax policy to the recently enacted prescription drug law. These issues, however, pale in importance beside the menace of international terrorism, which threatens our very survival as a nation. President Bush has earned my vote because he has shown the resolve and courage necessary to wage the war against terrorism."

Koch was a "reluctant Gore supporter" in 2000, but voted for him nonetheless.

I'm quite certain, however, that ABC has heard of former Georgia governor and current Georgia senator and forever Georgia Democrat Zell Miller. It was almost a year ago -- ten months before The Note noted that nobody they knew would switch from Gore to Bush -- that Miller called Bush "the right man at the right time" to hold the Oval Office. Miller later went on to speak at the Republican convention, an event which, although few people watched it there, ABC News covered every evening. But just in case they missed it, Miller said, "There is but one man to whom I am willing to entrust their future and that man's name is George Bush."

In 2000, Miller co-chaired Gore's leadership PAC, and, it's safe to assume, voted for him that year.

It's hard to believe The Note doesn't have at least a passing familiarity with Dick Morris, what with all the face time he gets on Fox News. Morris helped President Bill Clinton "triangulate" against the Republican Congress after the 1994 "takeover," and voted for Gore in 2000. This year, he's "thrown his support" behind Bush.

Also note the humor in The Note's reporting that Minnesota's Democratic St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly endorsed Bush, too. What's funny about that? Just that The Note noted Kelly's endorsement eight days before claiming that nobody they knew had switched from Gore to Bush since September 11. And it's not like Kelly made people read between the lines. Kelly said, quite clearly that:

"George Bush and I do not agree on a lot of issues. But in turbulent times, what the American people need more than anything is continuity of government, even with some imperfect policies."

Kelly endorsed Bill Bradley during the 2000 primary race, so it's a safe bet he was no Bush voter that year.

Less than two weeks later, The Note wrote:

"The Cincinnati Enquirer's Gregory Korte reports, 'Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey -- the Democratic mayor of a very Democratic rust-belt city -- endorsed President Bush for re-election Monday, calling him a 'friend' and a 'kind, caring, God-fearing man.'"


However, ABC News neglected to make any comment contradicting their "we know nothing!" claim, so it's easy to suppose they didn't know McKelvey, either. McKelvey met with Bush in 2000, but failed to endorse him. Should ABC chalk him up as another Gore voter who switched?

Just this week, Sarah Baxter spent four pages on the Times Online (the web version of the venerable London Times) heartily endorsing the President for reelection. Never heard of her? Well, neither had I. But she's a talented writer, and registered New York Democrat. Her words:

"I will be one of the millions voting for Bush because I trust the president's judgment on the war on terror more than Kerry's. In this election, I am a single-issue voter. It is that simple."

Admittedly, as a former Briton and Labour voter, Baxter is a rare bird. Or is she? After all, she claims that "Even in the New York metropolis, there are more of us out there than [Bush] imagines." Maybe even one or two people known by The Note.

Most of these Democrats have a single thing in common: They take the Terror War seriously, and know that Bush does, too. They also seem to know that Kerry would rather take us back to the glory days when terrorism was a mere "nuisance."

What else do Sarah Baxter, George McKelvey, Randy Kelly, Zell Miller, Dick Morris, and Ed Koch have in common? They're all Democrats who have publicly endorsed -- and plan to vote for -- George W. Bush. The other thing they have in common is, The Note apparently doesn't know any of these people.

Then again, maybe it's true enough that ABC doesn't actually know know any of them. Maybe they need to get out more.

Or maybe ABC just needs read the news.

Hmmm... very interesting, no? ;D

[cupolaa5]

Zell Miller and Democrats like him are good people who put the best needs of our country ahead of their own personal interests.My hats off to Democrats like this! I'm sure he wouldn't mind ! old glory! you know the american Flag!!!!!

[Matter]

Bingo! ;D

[wakeup]

How about conservatives for Kerry:

The Last Straw - Carl Worden Makes
His Vote Official
Carl F. Worden

That's it, I've had it.

I've been a registered Republican since I pulled my first lever in a voting booth, and I've voted as a loyal Republican for Republican candidates consistently every year. I am 55 years of age. I am considered a right-wing Christian conservative and strict constitutionist who knows the Framers of the Constitution expected strict adherence to that original document unless and until it is amended.

You don't get much more conservative and constitutionally-minded than I am, and that is why I just cast my Oregon vote-by-mail ballot for Democrat John Kerry as the next president of the United States. So did my wife -- and she's a very independent thinker. I know there are thousands of lifelong Republican/Independent conservatives who are going to do the same thing on November 2nd, because they've written and told me so.

Jacksonville, OR: She was holding a 5-year old girl before she was dealt with

Mail Tribune Photo
The absolute last straw for me took place at the Bush rally, held in Central Point, Oregon on October 14th. President Bush stayed in Jacksonville, Oregon overnight after the rally, and protesters and police clashed on the streets. I sent out a photo of a Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy, all Nazi'd up in black leather riot control gear and grinning evilly as he shoved a woman holding her 5 year-old daughter. It wasn't the finest hour for local law enforcement, but even that wasn't the last straw for me. No, the last straw for me happened just before the Bush rally itself.

Three local teachers got tickets to the Bush rally, passed all the security checkpoints and scrutiny and got in. They never created or caused a disturbance, and they were perfectly peaceful members of the audience waiting to hear Bush speak. But before they got to hear Bush, they were expelled from the rally by Bush rally staff who objected to the words printed on the T-shirts they were wearing.

Tania Tong & Candice Julian - Medford teachers got booted from Bush rally

Mail Tribune Photo
No, the words on the T-shirts the ladies were wearing did not disparage Bush, nor did they suggest support for Kerry or any other candidate. The words did not condemn or support the war in Iraq, nor did they slam any Administration policy. No, the T-shirts the three women wore showed an American flag, and under it the words, "Protect Our Civil Liberties". That was all -- I kid you not.

That was it. That was the last straw for me. That was the defining moment I'll never forget. That was my epiphany.

Bryan Platt, Chairman of the Jackson County Republican Central Committee, said he stood 100 percent behind the person who made the decision to exclude the women, removing any doubt that one or two individuals exceeded their authority and blew it. No, it was solid, Republican neo-conservative fascist policy on open display, and the Brown Shirts weren't about to apologize for it. No way.

I am now a man without a political party. I will never again register as a Republican unless the party returns to what it was before the fascists took it over. I'm certainly not a Democrat or a liberal, but I might just register as a Democrat to help them avoid mistakes in the next primary, like running another John Kerry for president. Any moderate, pro-gun southern Democrat would have easily swept Bush aside this election. As it is, the race is so close it could go either way at this point.

My decision to vote for Kerry was a vote to get Bush and his administration out. I could have voted for a third party candidate who couldn't possibly win, but that would have translated into a vote for Bush, and I just couldn't do that. Too many kids in uniform have already been killed and maimed for nothing, and I see it as my primary duty to save as many of them as I can. If my vote for a third party candidate means Bush wins and more kids come home dead and mutilated, then I have abrogated my duty as an American, as a Christian and as a decent human being. I didn't know better during the Vietnam War, when I voted for Nixon twice, but I would be without excuse if I did it again now.

This election is different: In this election, we all have to answer the call to vote wisely. Lives depend on it, and God is watching how we vote as well. When an individual sins, God deals with him individually. When a whole nation sins, God deals with the nation nationally. It's right there in the Bible.

The way I see it, the threat Bush presents is just too great. I know what Bush did with his first four years on good behavior, and so do you. What scares the bejeebers out of me is what Bush would do with four more years with nothing to lose -- and an assumed mandate from the people for what he did the first four. At least a Kerry Administration would be strapped down by a Republican Congress, so I'm not too worried about major gun control bills being passed, and as far as abortion is concerned, it really doesn't matter what a president believes, because that issue is decided only by the Judiciary Branch now.

Regardless of the proclaimed Bush position on abortion, he never issued an executive order banning any form of abortion because he knew such an order would be overturned by the courts. Oh, and that phony Late-Term Abortion Ban Bush signed? It's as good as dead -- and I have a niggling feeling it was intended to be killed even as they wrote it. The lower Federal Courts are already finding it unconstitutional, and why?, because the people who authored it left no possibility for a woman to use late term abortion to save her life, let alone to preserve her health. In lieu of that provision, any first year law student knew the federal courts would overturn it, so why did seasoned lawyers/legislators write it that way? Don't even try to convince me they overlooked something as obvious as that.

I still believe this election is going to Kerry, no matter what the polls predict. Last time, it was so close the Supreme Court had to decide the outcome. This time, a huge number of former Bush Republicans like me have bolted to Kerry. Unless a large number of former Gore supporters are going to vote for Bush this time, I don't see how Bush can get re-elected. Add to that the massive numbers of young voters who are registered to vote for the first time under threat of a draft, and I see Bush being shown the door by more than a close vote. But we'll see...

What I do know is that any party that would find the words, "Protect Our Civil Liberties" offensive or even threatening, is a party I won't belong to anymore.

That was the last straw.


Carl F. Worden

[bibster]

I supported the internet inventor Al Gore last time around and I will not support flipper this time around.

Neither will my wife, who is a lifelong democrat.

[Matter]

Notice the big-time Democrats like Zell Miller who are defecting. That's indicative of a problem, whether you like GWB or not.

[wakeup]

More on defecting conservatives:

Conservatives speak out against Bush:
Bill Flanagan, a conservative who voted for George W. Bush in 2004 now says, "The combination of lies and boys coming home in body bags is just too awful... I could vote for Kerry. I could vote for any Democrat unless he's a real dummy."

Brian Youmans, a Republican, writes, "I feel that Republicans should speak out against Bush, not only because of the damage which Bush is doing to our country and its international reputation, but because of the damage he is doing to the Republican party. The Republican party is not the party of warmongering, fascism, and stupidity - it is known for its defence of civil liberties, its good management, and its prudent conduct of foreign affairs. By not standing up to Bush, we risk a generation of election losses when the American people wake up from their obsession with safety after the 9/11 attacks. We should demand changes in Bush administration policy, and a new standard-bearer for 2004."

Jim Rego, a Republican manager at Xerox, says, "I won't be voting for Bush in the fall. I think he's destroyed the economy... I'm interested in anybody who actually will bring the deficit back down. I think George Bush has bungled the economy. I think Iraq was a mistake... I would vote for either one of the Democratic candidates right now."

John Scarnado, a good Texas Republican, says, "I'm upset about Iraq and the vice president and his affiliation with Halliburton. I think the Bush administration is coming out to look like old boy politics, and I don't have a good feel about that."

In Beachwood, Ohio, a conservative Republican judge comments, "I feel like a complete traitor, and if you'd asked me four months ago, the answer would have been different, but we are really disgusted. It's the lies, the war, the economy. We have very good friends who are staunch Republicans, who don't even want to hear the name George Bush anymore."

Republican George Meagher, founder of the American Military Museum, comments, "Given the outcome and how dissatisfied I am with the administration, it's hard to think about now... People like me, we're all choking a bit at not supporting the president. But when I think about 500 people killed and what we've done to Iraq, and what we've done to our country, I mean, we're already $2 trillion in debt again."

Republican Tom Pelikan says,

"It's painful for me... and for many other Republicans to oppose our President. But loyalty has to be earned, not just expected."

Even Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, a good, loyal conservative, has said, "I do think that this administration did a miserable job of planning in a post-Saddam Iraq." He's also referred to the out-of-control budgets from the Bush Administration by saying, "Republicans used to believe in balanced budgets. Republicans used to believe in fiscal responsibility, limited international entanglements and limited government. We have lost our way. We have come loose from our moorings."

Republican politician Pete McCloskey complains: "The administration has stopped designating 'critical habitat' for listed species except under court order. It has stopped adding to the list of threatened and endangered species unless ordered to do so by a judge. It has moved to exempt the Forest Service from abiding by the law on the pretext of fire prevention. It is working to weaken the requirement that endangered species be protected from pesticides. And that list barely scratches the surface. The assault on the law is widespread and relentless. The administration and its comrades in arms argue that the law is ineffective, expensive and in need of drastic overhaul. In truth, they are acting as agents for the timber industry, the mining industry, land developers, big agriculture and other economic interests that sometimes find their profits slightly decreased in the short run by the need to obey this law."

Republican conservative Dave Herrington has commented, "One would think that Republicans would be in favor of letting the market work itself out by creating more competition in the world of energy supply. However, in the Bush Administration's recent budget, funding to support the development of solar energy technology was seriously restricted. This would be OK if we also eliminated all favors to the oil industry. However, Bush also advocates making our public lands in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge available to the oil industry, creating billions of dollars of potential revenue for the oil industry. This is a far cry from encouraging free-market capitalism!"

These conservatives are just a few of the many principled voices who are speaking out about the real problems the Republican Party faces under the leadership of George W. Bush. It's not easy for us to criticize a Republican leader, but if we are to be honest and faithful to our conservative ideals, we have no choice to say NO to Mr. Bush in 2004.

[TNRighty]

Speaking of Zell, Koch, and other defecting Democrats (God bless their souls), the mainstream media has been relatively silent when it comes to stories such as this. BUT, can you imagine the media orgy that would ensue if prominent Republicans decided to go public with their intentions to vote for Kerry?

[Matter]

Let's discuss the number of troops who support GWB.