—And people who dont like either party feel compelled to choose the lesser of two evils instead of VOTING FOR SOMEONE THEY FRICK’N BELIEVE IN.—
In our system of election, voting for someone they FRICKING BELIEVE IN is tantamount to pissing in the wind. It doesn’t work like that. Minority parties that run their own competative candidates tend to convince the central parties to move AWAY from their positions (seeing them as disloyal and harder to win back than the much nearer center) than towards them.
—However, if this conflict in Iraq is still going on come the next election (I doubt it, but hey, you never know), I’d probably vote for him–because changing leaders in the middle of a war just strikes me as a bad idea.—
Why, exactly?
Does it strike you as being that the President is running the actual war part of the war, or might not the Pentagon somehow involved, at least in some capacity or other?
I will not vote for George W. under any circumstances. But Laura’s not so bad.
The current President does not have the leadership skills required for the job. As President of the current most powerful nation on earth, he is supposed to be a world leader and not just a national leader.
Just watching the join news conference with Tony Blair is very revealing about who we are dealing with here. And you don’t even have to hear his words to know how bad it is. If you have studied even a little bit about body language, then you probably noticed that on one question he shrugged and opened his hands outward three times. Translated, that means “I’m not responsible…you figure it out…I don’t know what I should say. I’m in over my head of this question.” Body language is not always completely accurate, but it did seem to match what he was saying. Meanwhile, Tony Blair was eloquent – even if I don’t agree with his position.
I’m not very happy with the Democrats either. There are other options!
One thing I know. I have voted for two white males for the last time.
I’m looking at it from the point of view of someone who really doesn’t get how things in Washington work. I understand, of course, that Bush isn’t running everything involving the war. However, now that we’re there, we’ve got to finish it. I’d rather have someone in there that’s committed to finishing the job.
Of course, if the Democratic candidate will do that, that would make me happy.
Well, the Bush administration hijacked our already-dodgy election process in order to get their man installed. Gore was no prize, but at least he was honest.
Bush has been in bed with religious conservatives and all kinds of right-wing lobbies. He’s diffident toward the environment and is raping the economy with lopsided tax cuts that will cripple America with deficits for at least a generation.
Internationally, Bush has squandered sympathy from the world after September 11, turning the warmest feelings the world has ever had toward America into the bitterest venom in eighteen months. Bush is prosecuting a war against Iraq on flimsy and largely fabricated evidence, as well as with passionate indifference toward world opinion. He violated America’s principle of never indulging in preëmptive strikes.
I don’t believe that the current war is going to lead to anything good, and that it will lead to a whole lot of bad. Even if it turns out that I’m wrong about that, the way we got to this point is shameful and contrary to principles that I feel are distinctly American, and make me feel ashamed of my nation, which I was proud of even during the Reagan administration.
In sum, there’s no way in hell I’m voting for Bush. If the Democrats can’t come up with someone better than Bush, then it’s safe to say that the American experiment is a failure and, whether that worse candidate wins or loses, I’m leaving this country. I can’t imagine it’ll get that bad, but there’s my line in the sand.
Furthermore: switching leaders in the middle of a conflict (and I don’t doubt this conflict will still be going on in some capacity next year) is perfectly fine in the kind of country where you have elected leaders. Dictatorships might have problems with that, but republics don’t.
He and I share little in common about how this country should be run… but are in perfect agreement with this. If you love America, you stay and work to make it better.
Fuck it.
This time around, I’m gonna vote for whoever offers leadership, vision, and has the backbone to do the right thing. So, I guess that puts Bush out of the running.
I’d probably vote for Bush if someone came along and scrambled my cerebral cortex to the point where I couldn’t feed or dress myself. Probably register as a Republican, too. 'Cause I’d hate all that peace and prosperity that Dems like.
All right, I don’t really mean that I’d abandon my country. That’s just something I say out of exasperation. Further (and I didn’t make it as clear as I’d wanted to) I meant that I don’t believe it’s even possible for the Democrats to come up with someone worse than Bush, and if they could, I’d be looking into ways of leaving the planet. I’ll consider expatriation only if things get so bad here that the only way to affect change would be from abroad. Until then, I do intend to stay and fight…
…or go and fight. I’m currently looking into leaving this country, but when I say leaving it, I mean the United States Foreign Service. I’ve begun the process of testing for it. It’s been a difficult inner debate, but I’ve concluded that even though I abhor what the current administration is doing, my talents would best serve my country in the Foreign Service, showing the world that we’re not all supporters of the Bush administration and its embarrassingly xenocentric efforts. Besides, Bush can’t stay in power forever, and I sincerely believe he’s got a very good chance of getting defeated next year (though nothing’s guaranteed, of course.)
Gore’s own strategy, the one the Supreme Court ruled against, would NOT have given him the election, as determined by an independent analysis of the Florida ballots commissioned by a consortium of newspapers after the election. IOW, the SC ultimately was irrelevant, and had they permitted Gore to proceed exactly as he requested, in the manner the Florida SC permitted, BUSH WOULD STILL HAVE WON. “Won,” as in, “elected in compliance with the rules that existed for both parties at the time of the election.”
If Bush ain’t your kind of president, so be it. That’s what makes this contry great, that everyone is entitled to his opinion. But at what point can we dispense with the glib and meaningless “he stole the election” nonsense? Oh, right, never. It’s just too catchy a phrase.
Gosh bizzwire, how emphatic, how expressive, how empty of content. Just think bizzwire, at this very moment our troops are fighting and dying over in Iraq to protect your right to say “Fuck it”.
Well fuck it bizzwire, next time around I will proudly vote for…
GEORGE W BUSH : A MAN OF COURAGE.
A MAN MADE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.
So what? The fact remains that if we’d counted all the votes cast in Florida, like you’re supposed to do during elections, Gore would be president right now.
It shouldn’t matter that you like Bush so much. The American election system’s weakness has been exploited by opportunists who derailed our democracy, and even if you’re content with the men who eventually got installed in the government because of it, you should at least be concerned about the implications of this, and not just who had the winning legal strategies.
Oh, is that why they’re fighting and dying over there? To protect American freedom of speech? Wow, that’s actually the most sensible justification for the war I’ve heard so far. Or are they really just fighting for bizzwire’s right to say, “Fuck it?” Wow, bizzwire, you’ve got some powerful friends, dude. (Note to self: don’t try to oppress bizzwire.)
I hear our troops are also dying to protect our right to do the hokey-pokey. And to defend America’s borders from psychic penguins. These may just be rumors though.
If Bob would strain his memory, he will recall that the Florida legislature, dominated by patriots with unwavering committment to Truth and Justice, had publicly stated that regardless of the results of any recount, they would perform thier solemn duty and turn in a slate of electors in favor or Fearless Misleader. As it happened, SCROTUS headed this unseemly performance off with thier own unseemly performance.
Thus it is demonstrated that the Republicans were willing to use any manuever necessary to keep thier grubbenmitten on the levers of power.
