# The Case Against George W Bush **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 21, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888 "2004-08-21T21:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/1 "2004-08-21T21:38:34Z")
> [@](#): > > _By Ron Reagan, originally from the August 2004 Esquire Magazine_ > [Here’s the article in its entirety](http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2004/040729_mfe_reagan_1.html) > > The comparison underscored something important. And the guy on the stool, Lynndie, and her grinning cohorts, they brought the word: The Bush administration can’t be trusted. The parade of Bush officials before various commissions and committees—Paul Wolfowitz, who couldn’t quite remember how many young Americans had been sacrificed on the altar of his ideology; John Ashcroft, lip quivering as, for a delicious, fleeting moment, it looked as if Senator Joe Biden might just come over the table at him—these were a continuing reminder. The Enron creeps, too—a reminder of how certain environments and particular habits of mind can erode common decency. People noticed. A tipping point had been reached. The issue of credibility was back on the table. The L-word was in circulation. Not the tired old bromide liberal. That’s so 1988. No, this time something much more potent: _liar_. > > Politicians will stretch the truth. They’ll exaggerate their accomplishments, paper over their gaffes. Spin has long been the lingua franca of the political realm. But George W. Bush and his administration have taken “normal” mendacity to a startling new level far beyond lies of convenience. On top of the usual massaging of public perception, they traffic in big lies, indulge in any number of symptomatic small lies, and, ultimately, have come to embody dishonesty itself. They are a lie. And people, finally, have started catching on. I saw the Ron Reagan speech at the DNC and was appreciative of how he stayed on task and didn’t directly attack GWB. The cited article is a full on attack on Dubya. The central thesis is that Bush is somehow disconnected and that he and his administration lie as a force of habit, even in situations where it’s totally unexpected. As someone who would personally prefer anyone who is “not Bush”, I am genuinely curious as to why the Democrats don’t take more of an active, attack level approach and force Bush to defend his record. Instead they seem to be playing defense in a tight game (ask British soccer fans, a sure recipe for disaster) and Kerry is constantly on his heels defending against direct and indirect attacks. Points for discussion: 1. Are the lies cited in the article true? 2. Has the mainstream media in general been culpable in ignoring lies and playing up more insignificant things? 3. To what extent, if any, have habitual Republicans chosen to denounce or disassociate with the current administration? I don’t know that Ron Reagan was ever considered a hard core conservative. But in the same issue Tucker Carlson writes an article on why he may not be able to conscientiously vote for Bush in the coming election (although he also states he would not vote for Kerry). There are also a couple of other noted Republicans (whose exact names I don’t have handy), one is the editor of a conservative journal and states the case of why he wants to vote for Bush (thought he provided great leadership in the WoT) and why he can’t vote for him (fiscal irresponsibility and pandering to the religious right), the other a leader in the religious right who says it is urgent for Bush to win so he can stack the Supreme Court and the Senate needs to stay Republican to help confirm conservative judges. So by my count, one religious right endorsement, one fiscal conservative damning with faint praise, one conservative pundit having reservations and one (very) moderate son of a Republican icon who is firmly against. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/2 "2004-08-21T22:24:07Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 1. Are the lies cited in the article true? Yes. I myself recommend **The Lies of George W. Bush** as a good reference, though there are certainly lots of other places where this administration’s distortions have been documented. > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 1. Has the mainstream media in general been culpable in ignoring lies and playing up more insignificant things? A-yup. Just think: while the mainstream media was asleep at the wheel, Michael Moore produced **Fahrenheit 9-11** using publically-available documents and facts. While the mainstream media was waffling over the “Swift Boat Veterans For Truth,” it took one nonpartisan fact-checking group little more than a week to [poke holes in their claims.](http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=231) Is it any surprise that [more and more people](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/next/2002004777_nextcomedynews15.html) are now turning to non-mainstream-media sources for news nowadays? They’re the only folks left actually _investigating_ and _reporting_ the facts. > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 1. To what extent, if any, have habitual Republicans chosen to denounce or disassociate with the current administration? I’m not aware of any surveys, but there does seem to be a schism in the Republican party, between the folks who remain faithful to the traditional GOP ideas and the folks who will support Bush simply because he’s the party’s candidate. > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I don’t know that Ron Reagan was ever considered a hard core conservative. I think he’s considered moderate-to-slightly-liberal myself, though I don’t have a source offhand for that. However, I think Ronald Reagan’s brand of conservatism isn’t very compatable with George W. Bush’s brand of conservatism, so a Reagan/Bush schism at this point isn’t implausible. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/3 "2004-08-21T23:04:37Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 1. Are the lies cited in the article true? I won’t try to vouch for all of them, but here’s one of them: He claimed, in the 2000 debates, that he had supported a Patient’s Bill of Rights as Governor of Texas. He claimed that as president, he would do the same. > [@](#): > > [http://www.c-span.org/campaign2000/...bate\_101700.asp](http://www.c-span.org/campaign2000/...bate_101700.asp) > > I do support a national patients’ bill of rights. As a matter of fact, I brought Republicans and Democrats together to do just that in the state of Texas to get a patients’ bill of rights through. It requires a different kind of leadership style to do it, though. You see, in order to get something done on behalf of the people, you have to put partisanship aside, and that’s what we did in my state. > > \ > > If I’m the president, we’re going to have emergency room care, we’re going to have gag orders, women will have direct access to OB/GYN, people will be able to take their HMO insurance company to court. That’s what I’ve done in Texas, and that’s the kind of leadership style I’ll bring to Washington. That was a complete fabrication, as evidenced here… > [@](#): > > [http://dir.salon.com/politics/featu...ents/index.html](http://dir.salon.com/politics/featu...ents/index.html) > > The “bill of rights” legislation gets a boost from a bipartisan team – while the White House plots its downfall. > > A patients bill of rights did get introduced Tuesday by a bipartisan crew led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and its sponsors expect that they will even get the 60 votes necessary to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. And that’s much to the chagrin of the White House, which had done its best to put the patients bill on ice, and almost succeeded. > > On Monday, the White House summoned Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., who had helped draft the legislation last year, and another main supporter, Rep. Greg Ganske, R-Iowa, to meet with President Bush’s advisors on healthcare, including Bush’s deputy chief of staff for domestic policy, Josh Bolten; Ann Phelps, a former legislative aide to Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. – one of the only physicians in Congress who seems to have good feelings about HMOs – and senior advisor Karl Rove, Mephistopheles to Bush’s Faust. > > During the three-hour meeting, Norwood and Ganske, a dentist and a reconstructive surgeon, were asked not to introduce their bill. > > \ > > …the major snag consists of provisions that would lift federal restrictions preventing HMO patients from suing their providers over unfair coverage denials. > > \ > > Despite his campaign rhetoric in favor of a patients bill of rights, Bush fought such a bill tooth and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill coauthored by Republican state Rep. John Smithee in 1995. He had his insurance commissioner draft into law some of the less controversial bits of the bill – like letting women choose gynecologists as their primary-care doctors – but constantly opposed a patient’s right to sue an HMO over coverage denied that resulted in adverse health effects. Faced with a vetoproof majority in 1997, he had his legislative aide, Vance McMahan, do everything he could to sabotage the bill, to the point that Republican legislators complained on the floor of the Texas Senate. Then, faced with a vetoproof majority, Bush let the bill become law without his signature. > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 1. Has the mainstream media in general been culpable in ignoring lies and playing up more insignificant things? Can’t vouch for all of them, but here’s an admission by Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, as well as Daniel Okrent of the New York Times: > [@](#): > > [Leading US Daily Admits Underplaying Stories Critical of White House Push for Iraq War](http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0812-01.htm) > > “Administration assertions were on the front page. Things that challenged the administration were on A18 on Sunday or A24 on Monday,” said Pentagon correspondent Thomas Ricks. > > “There was an attitude among editors: Look, we’re going to war, why do we even worry about all this contrary stuff?” he added. > > In retrospect, said Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., "we were so focused on trying to figure out what the administration was doing that we were not giving the same play to people who said it wouldn’t be a good idea to go to war and were questioning the administration’s rationale. > > “Not enough of those stories were put on the front page. That was a mistake on my part.” > > \ > > “We should have warned readers we had information that the basis for (the war) was shakier” than widely believed, he said. “Those are exactly the kind of statements that should be published on the front page.” > > In May, The New York Times issued a similar critique of its coverage in the run-up to the war, saying administration claims were published with insufficient doubt. > > “Some of the Times’s coverage in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq was credulous; much of it was inappropriately italicized by lavish front-page display and heavy-breathing headlines,” Public Editor Daniel Okrent said at the time. > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 1. To what extent, if any, have habitual Republicans chosen to denounce or disassociate with the current administration? Can’t vouch for all of them (obviously), but at one time I had considered posting a thread about the disparity between Republicans (and to some degree, independents) for Kerry (or ABB) and Democrats for Bush, and wondering why these Republicans who are speaking out against Bush don’t seem to be reflected in the polling numbers. Here’s some of the info I gathered (primarily anecdotal, of course)… In [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5130656&postcount=8), **Phlosphr** says: > [@](#): > > My father is a devout Roman Catholic, and Republican, yet he is voting Kerry to try and get Bush out. In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=266263), **Liberal** comes out for Kerry: > [@](#): > > I have to say that I am going to have to bite the bullet once and for all and make the decision to vote for Kerry, and I encourage all those who cherish freedom to do the same. In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=267541), **Blackclaw** tells us “Why [he] won’t vote for Bush - An Essay from a Republican.” [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3090289&postcount=30) we have **Airman Doors** proclaiming: > [@](#): > > I’m sick to shit of hearing about the great Bush and his wonderful policies. I used to be a true believer. I am no longer. At this point, all I’d like is for 2004 to roll around so I can vote him out. In Ron Reagan’s scathing [essay about Bush The Liar in Esquire](http://www.esquire.com/cgi-bin/printtool/print.cgi?pages=5&filename=/features/articles/2004/040729_mfe_reagan.html&x=20&y=11) (same link as in the OP), he says: > [@](#): > > …you could feel, a couple of months back, as summer spread across the country, the ground shifting beneath your feet… I began to get calls from friends whose parents had always voted Republican, “but not this time.” I have my own anectodal “Republican against Bush” story, as well. My father is an Independent-leaning Republican who voted for Bush in '00, but who is so disgusted with him that he won’t for him again this year. While not quite the same as swinging all the way to the Kerry/Edwards team, he’s decided that he’s voting for Nader if he can get on the ballot in his state (Missouri - which it looks like he will) but if not, he’s not voting for President at all. Some would say a vote for Nader _is_ a vote for Bush, but I don’t believe that to be the case here. It’s actually one _fewer_ vote _for_ Bush, that he otherwise would have had. There are [these guys](http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4106.shtml): > [@](#): > > George Meagher of Charleston, South Carolina, is a veteran and lifelong Republican who, by his own admission, put his “heart and soul” into working for George W. Bush in 2000. Meagher organized veterans and once proudly displayed pictures of him and his wife with Bush. > > No more. Meagher may vote Democratic this fall because he’s fed up with what he sees as lies and deceit by President Bush and the Republican leadership in Washington. > [@](#): > > John Scarnado, a registered Republican and sales manager from Austin, Tex., voted for Bush in 2000 but now says he will vote for John Kerry if the Massachusetts Senator wins the Democratic nomination. > [@](#): > > Londonderry, New Hampshire farmer Mike Cross, who voted Republican in 2000 and who says he doesn’t care much for John Kerry but has “had enough of George W. Bush.” There are several “Republicans For Kerry” sites, [http://www.republicansforkerry.org/](http://www.republicansforkerry.org/), [http://republicansagainstbush.info/](http://republicansagainstbush.info/), [Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rfke2004/), [http://anotherrepublicanforkerry.com/](http://anotherrepublicanforkerry.com/) and [http://www.republicansforkerry04.org/](http://www.republicansforkerry04.org/), and one pretty good “Independents for Kerry” site; [http://www.independentsforkerry.org/](http://www.independentsforkerry.org/). They are content rich and appear to have quite a few members/participants. And they relate their experiences meeting other Republicans for Kerry, like this (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > [www.republicansforkerry04.org/whowhere6.html](http://www.republicansforkerry04.org/whowhere6.html) > > Yesterday, I went to a meeting for a moderate congressman, Martin Frost. His race is one of the most visible in the country because he is fighting with Republican Pete Session, in the district that has been redefined by Tom Delay. **I talked to six people, but three of whom were Republicans who had voted for Bush, and one had actually campaigned for Bush in 2000. This time, they are not only going to vote for John Kerry, they are also going to involved in Martin Frost’s campaign, and work to defeat the redistricting plan**. So even in Dallas, there are moderate Republicans are willing to cross the party line to campaign for moderates. “Country before the Party” always, and especially at this moment: this is the kind of Republican we are trying to attract and to support. It is an important aspect of our identity. While there are, indeed, a couple of websites listed as “Democrats for Bush,” I found them to be pretty sparsely populated and primarily centered around the controversial Georgia Senator Zell Miller. For example, here’s one website, [老湿机69福利区无码,午夜男女很黄的视频,欧洲人与动牲交Α欧美精品,噗嗤噗嗤好涨好爽太深了](http://www.vnsfvetakerry.com/democrats_for_bush.htm), with no links, no participation and one, lone, article. [Here’s](http://democrats.bushblog.us/) another guy’s 'blog, but again, not much in the way of content or participation. The only one with much in the way of content or commentary seems to be [this one](http://democrats4bush.com/), where you’ll certainly find similar comments to the ones I’ve listed above, however, there seem to be far, far fewer of them than the other way around. Compare: [Why Kerry](http://www.republicansforkerry04.org/whykerry1.html) vs [Why Bush](http://democrats4bush.com/demcomments.shtml). And the supposed “Independents for Bush” links right back to the same democrats4bush website (and has the same exact layout and design), which leads me to believe it’s just one small group of people who rounded up a bunch of URLs so it would seem like they’re all different groups. There do seem to be some earlier polls that indicate a fairly large percentage of Republican voters are switching sides this time around. From an above link (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > Publicly, Republican strategists say they are not worried about dissension in the GOP ranks but privately they admit real concern. > > **"The fallout is significant," admits one GOP pollster.** “We could be seeing as much as 15 percent of Republicans who won’t vote for the President’s reelection.” > > This jives with a recent nationwide CBS News poll that shows 11 percent of those who voted for Bush in 2000 now say they will support the Democratic candidate. Another poll by Princeton Survey Associates finds 19 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of independents say they can’t support Bush’s re-election. So why doesn’t it feel like these people are being represented in the overall polls and why on earth is this race supposedly still so tight? Got me. I’ll never figure people out. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/4 "2004-08-21T23:10:08Z")
\ I thought I’d checked all my links. I obviously missed a couple. Here’s fixes: 2000 Presidential debates transcripts: [http://www.c-span.org/campaign2000/transcript/debate\_101700.asp](http://www.c-span.org/campaign2000/transcript/debate_101700.asp) [Salon.com](http://Salon.com) article about Bush’s actual stand on the Patient’s Bill of Rights: [http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/02/07/patients/index.html](http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/02/07/patients/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/5 "2004-08-21T23:17:53Z")
You forgot the funniest Republicans-voting-for-Kerry site out there: [http://johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/](http://johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/6 "2004-08-22T01:11:56Z")
Republicans for Kerry: Not only am I voting for Kerry this september, but my father, a republican vietnam war veteran who was in (over) Cambodia in '68, will be as well. Of his own free will and without my discussing politics with him. Interestingly, so will his father, a 97 year old man, republican since the day he was born. This is the same grandfather that wound up arming Israel in his scrap metal days. Turns out he knew Nader as a boy, too. Nader’s parents owned a diner somewhere, I’m assuming Conneticut, but I may be wrong. My grandfather used to stop there somewhat regularly. As it happens, when it’s a mom and pop diner, the kid usually gets raised in the kitchen. My grandfather says that Nader as a kid was the most annoying and pain in the neck kid he ever knew. And this is a grown man remembering a kid. And a grown man of good will. Not all that relevant, but an interesting story I heard today. (We went shooting as a family.) ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/7 "2004-08-22T02:46:37Z")
:d ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/8 "2004-08-22T02:56:59Z")
I received an email today purporting to be a speech from former NY Mayer Koch, claiming that he was voting for Bush even though he’s been a long-time Democrat. Does anyone know whether this is true, or is just another one of the lies that have been floating about with appalling frequency? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/9 "2004-08-22T03:17:12Z")
[http://www.thevillager.com/villager\_22/whatshedoin.html](http://www.thevillager.com/villager_22/whatshedoin.html) It’s true, it’s darn true. Ed’s gone loopy since 9/11. Well. Not loopy. He flipped over, a lot of people have, to the hard right. I guess that’s really about it. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/10 "2004-08-22T14:42:21Z")
So he flipped flop in a non-Kerry way. Because Kerry flip-flops from liberal to liberal, but this guy… well, he just flipped. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/11 "2004-08-22T15:41:15Z")
In this election, there will be Republicans voting for the Democrat, and Democrats voting for the Republican. Of the latter, you can count Zell Miller, Ed Koch, and St. Paul mayor Randy Kelly. There are, of course, many others. Crossover voting happens in every presidential election, and happens in both directions. Incidentally, I find it interesting that nobody is reporting that both Nancy Reagan and Michael Reagan have endorsed President Bush. Aren’t they Reagans too? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/12 "2004-08-22T18:31:52Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Incidentally, I find it interesting that nobody is reporting that both Nancy Reagan and Michael Reagan have endorsed President Bush. Aren’t they Reagans too? Yeah, so? This news is right up their with “Pope Found to be Catholic; Film at eleven.” It’s when a Reagan _breaks_ from the elephant herd that newsworthiness is found. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/13 "2004-08-22T18:41:30Z")
Keep telling yourself that, Mr. Moto. You can try crossing your fingers and praying, too. But your best hope at a “win”, and it’s no small one, horribly enough, is Diebold. Outside of that, Bush is history. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/14 "2004-08-22T19:02:32Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > You forgot the funniest Republicans-voting-for-Kerry site out there: > > [http://johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/](http://johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/) > > 😃 He says he is registered Independent, not Republican. Nice site, though. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/15 "2004-08-22T19:16:41Z")
He also says he doesn’t vote, as a general rule. My personal Betty Noyer is people who don’t _fucking_ vote! Goddammit! Shitfuckpisscrap! We are the electors! We choose the leaders of the most powerful nation in human history. Whether we chose this responsibility or had it thrust upon us by the whims of history and geography don’t mean shit to a tree! There is a ghostly chorus in the thousands, perhaps millions, of people who have given thier all in the oftimes vain hope of grasping that wondrous power, to _choose_! Any American who ignores that sacred gift and impelling duty is an ass-scratching shit for brains with no more good sense than God gave a goose, a sniveling, worthless, piece of… _( **E.** flails about and collapses in frothing rage, a la John Belushi…_ ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/16 "2004-08-22T20:11:07Z")
Filmmaker Errol Morris (_The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War_) interviewed a cross-section of Republican/conservative Americans who are not voting for Bush, for a variety of reasons. He fashioned them into an assortment of [TV spots](https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/switchad_winners.html?ad_id=15&id=), some of which will be broadcast on TV during the Republican convention. Fascinating viewing. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/17 "2004-08-22T20:25:26Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > It’s true, it’s darn true. Ed’s gone loopy since 9/11. Not true! Koch has _always_ been loopy. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/18 "2004-08-22T20:35:13Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He also says he doesn’t vote, as a general rule. My personal Betty Noyer is people who don’t _fucking_ vote! Goddammit! Shitfuckpisscrap! > > We are the electors! We choose the leaders of the most powerful nation in human history. Whether we chose this responsibility or had it thrust upon us by the whims of history and geography don’t mean shit to a tree! There is a ghostly chorus in the thousands, perhaps millions, of people who have given thier all in the oftimes vain hope of grasping that wondrous power, to _choose_! Any American who ignores that sacred gift and impelling duty is an ass-scratching shit for brains with no more good sense than God gave a goose, a sniveling, worthless, piece of… > > _( **E.** flails about and collapses in frothing rage, a la John Belushi…_ It’s nice to see you care. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/19 "2004-08-22T20:38:03Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Filmmaker Errol Morris (_The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War_) interviewed a cross-section of Republican/conservative Americans who are not voting for Bush, for a variety of reasons. He fashioned them into an assortment of [TV spots](https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/switchad_winners.html?ad_id=15&id=), some of which will be broadcast on TV during the Republican convention. Fascinating viewing. A year ago, I was pariah. Today I’m a demographic. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888/20 "2004-08-22T20:46:41Z")
_Away out here they have a name for rain and wind and fire. The rain is Tess, the fire’s Joe and they call the windy…pariah!_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-george-w-bush/260888.md?page=2)