# Père the Rhymer has decided to vote for McCain **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 17, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414 "2008-10-17T18:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/41 "2008-10-17T22:28:09Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/42 "2008-10-17T23:19:02Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > If it makes you feel any better, I just found out my uncle is voting for Obama. > > He’s a very stereotypical Western PA hillbilly, with lots and lots of guns. Who has gone to Alaska to hunt “bar.” He was in the Navy. He’s not particularly a nice fellow (although he’s nice to me - his sons would tell you otherwise). > > But I thought that was a nice glimmer of hope for the country when I found out that he was not blindly voting for McCain. > > So rest easy to know that a middle-aged white hillbilly is trading his vote with your older black grandad. Your comment reminded me of a photo. I’m sure it’s been on the board already, but since I stay out of most political threads I have no idea for sure if it’s been posted. [Obama’s newest fans!](http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20080927/2008_09_26t210334_450x313_us_usa_politics.jpg?x=400&y=278&q=85&sig=o9LpKArB647qCL5kkimGdg--) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/43 "2008-10-17T23:20:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Anyway…he watched the tail end of the debate the other night and discovered something he had apparently been unaware of: the candidates’ position on Roe v. Wade, and by extension abortion. Believing abortion to be murder, he was troubled to discover Obama is pro-choice. He’s consulted with this pastor, and the two of them have decided that, although they trust Obama more on the economy, foreign policy, and almost everything else, abortion is a deal-breaker. Dad’s position is basically that the recovery of the economy and victory in the is ultimately in God’s hands, not the administration’s, and that God is punishing the country for permitting abortion (and homosexuality) by means of the economic downturn and the problems in Iraq & Afghanistan. if we get right on that one issue, everything else will thus miraculously fall into place. :dubious: You are probably not giving your dad enough credit if you believe your dad was unaware of the party positions on abortion. More likely he’s now in a position that his top priority is to make himself “right with God” before he goes into the hereafter. Which makes me ponder if at a certain age we shouldn’t withdraw the right to vote for the elderly who may be influenced by considerations contrary to what’s best for the country. Just ponder, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/44 "2008-10-18T00:59:16Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I’ve talked to quite a few people for whom Obama’s abortion record is a deal-breaker. Even for me – and I consider myself quite moderate, and not a fundamentalist – I will vote for Obama with a bruised conscience because of his stand on abortion. Still, all the other issues in aggragate outweigh this one issue. > > I just have to tell myself that the President has very little influence over abortion law, the courts do; and Bush (for all his failures) at least left a Court that will lean conservative even with one or two Obama appointments. Have you read his [Call to Renewal Keynote Address](http://www.barackobama.com/2006/06/28/call_to_renewal_keynote_address.php)? You might feel better about your vote once you do. [Rednecks for Obama](http://rednecks4obama.com/) are from my home state. I love these guys! ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/45 "2008-10-18T01:13:52Z")
**Skald** , at least your father actually has a reason for not voting for Obama, even if it is just one. My father was going to vote for him, but last month, he told my sister and I that he won’t be able to now. He thinks Obama is the anti-Christ. He isn’t going to vote for McCain, but he can’t vote for Obama. :smack: Why does he think this? He read it somewhere, online. :smack: :smack: :smack: I had the hardest time not turning to him and telling him that was the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard him say. And every time I think about it, I _still_ want to say it. ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/46 "2008-10-18T03:00:26Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I’ve talked to quite a few people for whom Obama’s abortion record is a deal-breaker. I know quite a few people who take the opposite view, in particular after McCain’s comments on the “health” of the mother in the last debate (McCain’s air quotes, not mine). Quite a change from his previous record. Bringing Palin on the ticket, with her views, helped seal the deal for the single-issue-pro-choice voters I know. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/47 "2008-10-18T03:32:32Z")
[Here’s](http://prolifeproobama.com/) a website for Obama supporters who are pro-life. Maybe you could take a look at it and see if anything resonates with him? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/48 "2008-10-18T03:37:57Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Your comment reminded me of a photo. I’m sure it’s been on the board already, but since I stay out of most political threads I have no idea for sure if it’s been posted. > > [Obama’s newest fans!](http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20080927/2008_09_26t210334_450x313_us_usa_politics.jpg?x=400&y=278&q=85&sig=o9LpKArB647qCL5kkimGdg--) I didn’t want to bring this up in the happiness about my uncle but… He was leaning McCain until McCain brought a woman onboard. And he’ll tell you that’s why he’s voting for Obama. Because he’s more misogynist than racist. That’s progress…uh…right? (cool organization, tho!) ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/49 "2008-10-18T03:44:40Z")
> [@C3](#): > > [Here’s](http://prolifeproobama.com/) a website for Obama supporters who are pro-life. Maybe you could take a look at it and see if anything resonates with him? That website is fantastic. It presents such a nuanced view. I’m used to social conservatives thinking all about punishment as a deterrent the the exclusion of all else. It’s a pleasure to see some actual smart people being social conservatives instead of knuckledraggers. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/50 "2008-10-18T03:57:21Z")
> [@Telperien](#): > > After that. In that case, it might well have been pretended. “Oh, if only they’d nominated the other guy, I might have voted for them!” when in reality he never really intended to. But I’m sure you already knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/51 "2008-10-18T04:43:40Z")
Gotta love people who vote for the right guy for the wrong reasons. Please tell your dad that Rand says thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/52 "2008-10-18T04:50:21Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Gotta love people who vote for the right guy for the wrong reasons. Please tell your dad that Rand says thanks. The joke is on you, he’s a black man in the south. There’s no way the republicans will let him vote. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/53 "2008-10-18T04:59:42Z")
So . . . why is it that these global events are ultimately in the Christian god’s hands, but whether or not some girl has an abortion has to be left to the Republicans? Is god too busy watching sparrows drop out of trees to bother guiliting out teenagers? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/54 "2008-10-18T17:31:10Z")
I’m afraid my husband will vote for McCain too. We don’t talk politics, but if he gives me an opening, I jump in. This morning we saw a McCain ad, with Obama saying “air strikes and bombing civilians”. My husband’s a Vietnam vet and naturally he took offense at this out of context quote. I tried to explain the context but he wasn’t having it. I also told him McCain voted against the GI bill. Then I played my trump card – “You’re okay with Sarah Palin as president?” He said no, but then he said Biden wasn’t any better. I asked him what was wrong with Biden. “He’s stupid.” “How is he stupid?” “I’m not talking politics with you!” Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to talk to him when the Hawkeye game is on. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/55 "2008-10-18T19:46:54Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > You are probably not giving your dad enough credit if you believe your dad was unaware of the party positions on abortion. > > More likely he’s now in a position that his top priority is to make himself “right with God” before he goes into the hereafter. I dno’t believe in the hereafter or making things right with God, but if I did, I’d say that my dad has been right with God for a long, long time, and knows it. I don’t mean that he’s self-righteous: I mean that he takes great effort to be a very good man, and mostly succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/56 "2008-10-18T22:44:19Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > So . . . why is it that these global events are ultimately in the Christian god’s hands, but whether or not some girl has an abortion has to be left to the Republicans? Is god too busy watching sparrows drop out of trees to bother guiliting out teenagers? The key is to not try to understand how these people’s minds operate, because they just don’t. See also many Obama supporters. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/57 "2008-10-18T22:47:02Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > The key is to not try to understand how these people’s minds operate, because they just don’t. See also many Obama supporters. I’m so glad I put this in the Pit, as it allows me to tell you to fuck yourself. Which you definitely should, by the way, with as large and rusty a pipe as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/58 "2008-10-18T23:01:40Z")
I feel your pain. While my mother was alive, my dad voted Democrat, but since then, he has trended Republican for reasons that are poor at best and nonsensical at worst. For instance, he was in favor of the Iraq War “because of 9/11.” He’s convinced they had weapons of mass destruction but hid them before the Americans got there. He’s against Obama because of Bill Ayers. When I mentioned McCain’s health insurance plan was going to cost me money, he said, “Yeah, it’s a bad plan but don’t worry, it’ll never pass Congress.” He agrees that the Obama tax plan would benefit us financially, but he’s voting for McCain because of the estate tax issue. He hates fundamentalist Christians and rich people, but apparently dislikes the idea of a black president and Joe Biden more. And yes, I do love the guy, and he’s not even really a racist, nor is he stupid. He’s just a 73 year old Jew from NY who has some quite byzantine and unfathomable ideas about how the world works. Talking politics with him is bad for my stomach lining. But I can’t WAIT to hear the discussion around the Thanksgiving table this year, no matter who wins. My brother makes my dad look like Rachel Maddow. ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/59 "2008-10-19T03:04:41Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > And yes, I do love the guy, and he’s not even really a racist, nor is he stupid. He’s just a 73 year old Jew from NY who has some quite byzantine and unfathomable ideas about how the world works. Talking politics with him is bad for my stomach lining. My mother is a bit younger than your dad, and she’s not a Jew, but reading this made me laugh. That is my mother. Maybe it’s a New York thing? She is a social liberal who loved Nixon. Actually, when I say loved, I mean adored, worshipped and deified Nixon. She was so disillusioned at the “railroading” he received (these are not my words) that she stopped voting.\* And still won’t vote, despite being angry at the government for the mess the economy is in. She did love Clinton, however. And Hillary. Lord, she loves Hillary. She believes Obama will be just like Jimmy Carter. When I ask her to elaborate she really can’t because she actually knows nothing about his positions. But, he reminds her of Jimmy and that’s it. \*Mom thinks that Nixon had the misfortune of getting caught and was made an example of, which is not fair, as **they** all did what he did anyway. Kennedy did it! He did! She just knows it! FDR did too! And Lincoln! And Washington! All of them guilty! Guilty! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414/60 "2008-10-19T03:08:58Z")
> [@Lilacs](#): > > \*Mom thinks that Nixon had the misfortune of getting caught and was made an example of, which is not fair, as **they** all did what he did anyway. Kennedy did it! He did! She just knows it! FDR did too! And Lincoln! And Washington! All of them guilty! Guilty! That’s not unreasonable. If you knew HALF the stuff Kimmy & I talked Jack Kennedy (and the Russians) into on our last time-travel jaunt, you’d never sleep easy again. I won’t go into details just in case Aquaman’s around, but suffice to say that in the unRhymerfucked history, there was no Cuban missile crisis, Communism fell in '66, Jack served three terms, and you guys were all posting from your flying cars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pere-the-rhymer-has-decided-to-vote-for-mccain/468414.md?page=4)