If Moore does decide to run on the ticket of the hitherto hardly-ever-heard-from
Constitution Party (http://www.constitutionparty.com/), how will that affect the election? Does he have a chance of drawing off a decisive number of Bush voters?
It’s really strange, by the way, that so far we haven’t heard anything about a third-party challenge from Pat Buchanan, considering that he is on record as hating almost everything the Bush administration stands for, from the Iraq war to the immigration amnesty; and considering that he has run as a third-party candidate before, on the Reform Party ticket in 2000; and considering that since 2000 Buchanan has organized his own nativist-isolationist third party, the America First Party (http://www.americafirstparty.org/), which would be a perfect vehicle for his candidacy. What gives, Pat?
(In case you haven’t guessed yet, I really WANT these third-party challenges to happen! Yes, yes, let Moore or Buchanan or somebody “do a Nader” on Bush! Besides, third-party campaigns are always so entertaining!)
I rise to deplore this sort of speculation as detracting from the serious issues of the campaign as well as representing a cynical “win at any cost” approach to the solemn business of Presidential politics.
I assure the reader that this grin on my face is due entirely to a spasmodic facial reflex, and in no wise derives from any unseemly gloating.
Maybe so. There are a lot of people uneasy with Bush, yet unwilling to give their votes to a Democrat. A few voters who might have held their noses and voted for Bush might instead vote for “Judge Roy.”
The question is whether the election will be close enough in states with a Moore following to make a difference. States where Roy Moore would have appeal tend to be heavily Republican. (Alabama, e.g.) He could draw off a few votes in those states and Bush could still prevail handily.
Buchanan has been strangely silent about a possible run, but maybe it’s a matter of $$. Moore is a tiny blip on the radar screen-- I agree with spoke.
Has anyone noticed that the national campaign has officially begun (with the internet ad from the Pubs attacking Kerry)? “Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
I almost fell from my chair. Oh no! I cried. All is lost, the dirty-trick Democrats are becoming principled. But then I read further …
Whew! That was close. For a moment there I was afraid that George W Bush was going to lose the presidential election. Whew! What good luck! You can always count on the Democrats.
"…the latest Newsweek poll that found in a Kerry-Bush match-up, Kerry would win with 49% over Bush at 46%.
Other interesting results included that 52% of voters don’t want to see Bush re-elected. According to the poll, while 37% strongly want to see him re-elected, 47% strongly do not."
Does anyone remember who the original America Firsters were? That was a group of far-right-wingers in the 1930s. They thought America shouldn’t oppose Hitler. They formed a convenient umbrella under which America’s quasi-Fascists could gather. Including Charlie Coughlin, the radio priest (imagine Pat Robertson and Rush Lmbaugh rolled into one, that was Coughlin). Buchanan’s father was a fan of Coughlin, perhaps not coincidentally.
Nah. Even assuming the off-chance that Roy lasts long enough to have his name on the ballot come election day, if there’s a decent chance the Democratic nominee might win, the Tightie Righties will hold their noses and vote for Bush anyway – after all, in their minds, putting up with Bush for another four years beats having a Democrat president who’s going to start requiring them to marry gays, or somesuch.
As opposed to the dirty-tricks Republicans, who have no idea what principles are…
Moore is a fine grandstander, sure, but his real backing is dubious. He may, however, help Bush to be seen as a near-moderate, or at least not as radical as Kerry has already begun to describe him as. I’d bet it actually helps Bush more than hurts him in that regard, if it happens.
That’s great news. I’m a registered member of the CP, and it would help the party to have a nationally known candidate. I can’t say that I agree with Chief Justice Moore’s stance on Homosexuality; however, I think he’s a stand-up guy.
rjung: I agree with you that in the event of a close race between Kerry and Shrub, the overwhelming majority of the Holy Rollers would cling to Shrub with a tenacity normally associated with lampreys. However, out at the fringes there is some number of people who don’t really care about the logical aspects of the whole race and would be attracted by Moore’s shrill, lunatic rants. Even if he only peels of 100,000 or so votes from Bush, that could swing it in a race as tight as this one. Moreover, if moore does run, it might motivate Shrub to make an appearance or two at some right-wing sacred spot such as Bob Jones University, which would then hurt his appeal among moderates.
It might also simply cause Bush to spend some time and energy campaigning in Tennessee or North Carolina or wherever that he wouldn’t have bothered with otherwise. Time and resources he would have otherwise spent on Florida and Ohio and Missouri.
I think it’s indisputable that Nader got Bush elected. It would amuse me no end if Moore got Bush un-elected.
Now, Lord, I know I haven’t been a very good Methodist. Well, maybe I have, I really can’t remember what the rules were. But anything, you name it, anything.
I’ll swear to never so much as annoy a whale. Ever. I’ll go to strictly Amish technology, if they make a kerosene powered modem. I’ll strictly forswear cocaine and sporty cars. I’ll forgive all my enemies the very instant I get even. I will forgo all homosexual activity. (I know you were looking for a vow of celibacy here, but work with me a little, ok?)…
As a liberal, I’d be very happy if Moore ran and took votes from Bush, but the irony of that man running on the Constitution Party ticket would be nauseating.
It isn’t the Jesus wing of the party that Bush is taking a dump on at every opportunity. I’m sure they wish he’d do more to outlaw abortion, or require school prayer at gunpoint, or whatever, but on the whole he hasn’t done much to alienate those people.
The thing that has Karl Rove waking up screaming in the middle of the night is the idea of a strong third-party libertarian-leaning candidate. Draw off a good chunk of the people put off by Bush’s spending excesses or violations of civil liberties, and Bush doesn’t stand a chance.