“…because I’m incapable of learning from past experiences.”
“Wishy-washy”…you people are all idiots. The job of people in the Senate and Congress is to pass a bill. The first time around, you are either for it 100% or against it. It goes back and people fiddle with it and you vote again. If the changes are in your favor, NOW you vote for it. If not, NOW you vote against it. It goes back and forth until you can agree.
“sell out his fellow veterans” is bullshit. Not only did a lot of Vietnam vets came back to the states and joined in the anti-war demonstrations (I was there to see it) but history has shown them to be correct. It was a fucked up war, for fucked up reasons and Kerry had the balls to say it.
“he grossly inflated his heroics and awards”, even if true, which is bullshit, is still a lot better than fucking lying your ass off about having daddy get you out of the National Guard and pretending you were some Tom Cruise Top Gun.
“the best man to deal with extremists” is also a pile of dung. What has he done other than create an entire universe of 12 year old Arab kids who dream of nothing more than up-ing the ante with a better 9/11. He has single-handedly ruined every relationship with every country in the world and he is leading us down a path to make the USA the most hated country since WWII Germany.
If you seriously cannot see the fallicy in voting for Dubya again, then you should check for polyps while your head is up there.
That is quite an admission of fault on your part. Kudos!
Being wishy-washy is an absolute no-no for a leader: just look at John Major.
Great post, Choie.
Thank Og! We have a leader that everyoone trusts and adores. I’m so happy that we can all agreee! Whooooo!
Fantastic post, choie.
I’m going to try, despite this being in the Pit, to be really factual and polite.
Bill H., take a look at yourself and the world. You are (among other things) anti-gun, pro-gay and pro-abortion, but you’re voting for Bush. Let’s look at the issues involved.
You’re anti-gun. presidentmatch.com lists four different gun-related issues: “safety devices on all new guns”, “background checks on gun show purchases”, “require safety course and license before new purchase” and “allow lawsuits against gun manufacturers”. Someone who’s declaredly anti-gun should favour all of these. Bush opposes all of them. Kerry favours all of them.
You’re pro-gay. presidentmatch.com lists three different gay-related issues: “constitutional gay marriage ban”, “equal rights for civil unions” and “allow gays to openly serve in the military”. Someone who’s declaredly pro-gay should oppose the first and favour the other two. Bush favours the first and opposes the other two. Kerry opposes the first and favours the other two.
You’re pro-abortion. presidentmatch.com lists four different abortion-related issues: “appoint judges who will outlaw abortions”, “outlaw ‘partial birth’ abortions”, “outlaw abortions except for rape/incest” and “parental notification for minors under 18”. Someone who’s declaredly pro-abortion should oppose all of these. Bush favours all of them. Kerry opposes all of them.
It seems to me that you should vote for Kerry, so let’s look at why you won’t:
- He is wishy-washy.
Possibly, I don’t know. Is this really a reason to vote for a man you disagree with, rather than a man you agree with?
- He sold out his fellow veterans.
He did protest the Vietnam war, yes. If he opposed the war, do you think he should have kept quiet because other soldiers were still in that war? Shouldn’t this make him speak even louder?
- Though he did see a hell of a lot more war action than Bush, he did grossly inflate his heroics and awards there.
Since my home country hasn’t been in a war for almost two centuries, the fixation on combat experience is alien to me, but provided that such experience is in fact a strong factor in choosing your candidate, doesn’t this mean you should vote for Kerry? Even if he did inflate his heroics, Bush has no heroics to inflate.
I just can’t see how, given all this, you could possibly conclude that Bush is the candidate for you, even if the things you say of Kerry are true.
Right back 'atcha.
I find it astonishing that people would actually vote for a candidate that is the complete opposite on ALL the issues they believe in.
To me, the issues are paramount. Even if ALL the accusitions against Kerry are true, because I agree with his current view on the issues to a much higher degree than Buh, he has my vote.
And for the love of fuck, even if those accusitions mean so much to you, DON’T VOTE FOR THE GUY WHO WILL ADVANCE EVERY SINGLE ISSUE IN THE OPPOSITE WAY YOU BELIEVE! There no excuse for the level of this fucking ignorance. Just stay the fuck home that day, for Christ’s sake.
Don’t. He doesn’t really disagree with Bush on any issues, it’s just a ploy so he doesn’t have to defend his views. Never take anything people post on the internet at face value.
I can understand voting for a candidate with different stances on issues than you yourself have if you feel he is the candidate who can best be trusted to act with decisiveness, intelligence, and integrity on new issues as they come up.
And John Kerry is hardly inspirational on his ability to take a definite stance and stick to it, on a number of issues.
But then compare him to Mr. Bush – who has, I think, broken nearly every promise he ever made to the American people, and is demonstrably a liar when it will achieve his political ends (Why was it that we invaded Iraq, again?).
And while neither candidate has a whole lot of libertarian credentials, at least Mr. Kerry is by and large not particularly interested in insisting the rest of the country live according to his personal beliefs, as Mr. Bush’s proposals with regard to the Federal Marriage Amendment and his choices of activist judges amply demonstrate.
Look, I know this is going to be insulting, but after talking to thousands of voters and hearing this same line over and over, I’ve just lost sympathy for it. People recite this litany habitually, every damn year. It’s lazy, it’s cynical, and at the end of the day, I just can’t take it anymore. Kerry is a decent guy with a long and pretty darn solid career. He set up rape crisis centers. He has a great environmental record, and he’s been pretty darn moderate on most issues. He spent his time in the Senate carrying over his days as a prosecutor to many key Senate investigations: the sort of skepticism we could use today. He’s been a veterans’ rights advocate for his entire career.
But of course, ANYONE can be attacked. A powerful PR machine can make anybody look the fool. And Bill H., you are exactly the sort of person that helps those guys in Rove’s machine earn their paychecks. They see you, and they pat each other on the back and go out for a smoke, jobs well done.
Forgive me for just being tired of it.
I don’t really care who the OP votes for, but let’s not forget Bush’s flip-flops.
He was against nation-building, now he’s for it.
He pledged to renew the weapons ban, now he’s doing nothing about it.
He was against the new Dep’t of Homeland Security, then he was for it.
He was against the 9/11 commission, then he was for it.
He promised not to touch the social security surplus, then he did.
He said we’d get Bin Laden dead or alive, now he says he isn’t important.
Further, here’s a list of 30 more Bush flip-flops. So, call Kerry wishy-washy if you want, but at least wake up to the fact that Bush does it, too.
He is obviously scared to death of the terrorists that lurk behind every tree and under every stone, and will gladly give up his own personal freedom to hear someone promise peace of mind. It is a testament to the Bush smear and fear campaign that otherwise liberal voters can be so frightened as to vote for someone who, in ever other respect, does not represent their views. Rove is a fucking evil genius, you have to give him that much.
I think it was Ben Franklin who said, “Those who give up freedom for security will have neither.”
Churchill: “They [the Munich appeasers] had to choose between dishonor and war. They chose dishonor. And they will have war.”
Bill H., I’m curious. The only person in this thread you’ve responded to is the one who basically said you were brainwashed. Many other posters in this thread have offered cogent, reasoned, and (in my opinion) valid explanations as to why your opinion of Kerry is mistaken, yet you’ve replied to none of them. Why not?
Honestly, I find it difficult to believe that you can have the beliefs you stated in your OP and yet still will vote for Bush. I mean, I have to take your word that you do hold those beliefs, but in that case I cannot find a better definition of cutting of your nose to spite your face.
I can’t speak for Bill, but in my case the answer is “Absolutely.” Character is one of the prime considerations for choosing a leader. Bush has shown that he is a leader; Kerry has yet so to do. America needs a leader who can stand up on the international stage. Hell, I’d vote for Anthony Wedgewood-Benn (a retired far-left MP) before I’d vote for John Major (ex Conservative PM), even though the latter is closer to me politically. Need I remind everyone how Major was a complete and utter disaster?
Perhaps it would help Bill could answer this: if Tony Blair were leading the Democrats, would you vote for him?
shrug Even if Kerry’s purported wishy-washiness applied to every issue he took a stance on, I’d still much rather have a leader with whom I agree 50% of the time, as opposed to a leader with whom I agree 0% of the time. 