I feel like i'm not welcome as a democrat....

[Guest nikowwf]

I am, and have almost always been a democrat. I don't vote strictly party, cause in my eyes thats beyond asinine. But, I'm supporting Kerry in this election because I feel that he'd do a better job as president.

 

But that's not enough, it seems. There is this absolute insane hatred of Bush that is allowed to permeate every facet of politics. Rather than push Kerry's case, they try to villanize Bush. I don't think he's doing a good job, but to try to paint a picture that he is intentionally trying to ruin the world is ludicrous.

 

And besides that, it galvanizes Republicans, and causes mistrust in fence sitters. Fence sitters are not swayed by BUSH IS HITLER comments. They see them for what they are, and I'd argue it pushes them toward Bush's direction.

 

I'm just tired of the fact that being FOR KERRY means you must be in the BUSH IS SATAN camp and everything he has ever done must be undone, whether that is beneficial or not.

 

Venting hatred on Bush should not be a greater need than winning the election. BUt it really seems like it is...

 

just my 2 cents

niko

[Highland 0]

I wouldn't worry too much about it, since sentiment amongst many Republicans is, "If you're not with us (Republicans), then you are with the terrorists." So there's plenty of extremists on both sides.

 

I don't care who sits in the Oval Office, but Ashcroft has got to go.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Stop listening to Michael Moore, then.

 

Seriously, you're generalizing the fuck out of liberals here. Who is "they"?

[MrRant 0]

They is you hippie.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

as a moderate, you are not welcome in either party.

 

(except on election day of course)

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

As the son of a mill worker, I'll welcome you into my Party.

 

That is, if you don't disagree with what I have to say...

[NoCalMike 0]

How about not being a part of a political party, period.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Only party I'd want to be a part of is the kind where marijuana and alcohol permeate, and a few of us go out back to wrestle.

 

But yeah, I'm with NoCalMike right there. I registered as an Independent.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

What's the legal age to vote in the states?

[Jobber of the Week 0]

As a moderate, level-headed Dem myself, I can deal with it, but hope it's just a trend. It's very simliar to the Republicans during the Clinton years, and while I can deal with it because I think Bush The Second is oddly similar to Nixon prior to Watergate and thus I want to see him removed myself, I would not want to see this attitude continue. They were preaching that Clintonesque message of unity at the convention, but they actually lived it in the 90s while it's just an image without meaning today, because everyone is more divided than ever.

 

Will I vote Kerry? Actually, since I'm in a state considered a lock already I'd been toying with the idea of voting for the Libertarian candidate, if only for the symbolism of boosting their popular vote. I'd had no choice if Dean got the nomination, though, and I've just finished Moore's latest book and disliked it so much that I started skipping chapters where I knew what he was going to say just to get it over with.

 

I can deal for now with the activists being as loud and powerful as they are at the moment, but once Bush is gone I hope things turn around.

[Guest MikeSC]

As a moderate, level-headed Dem myself, I can deal with it, but hope it's just a trend. It's very simliar to the Republicans during the Clinton years, and while I can deal with it because I think Bush The Second is oddly similar to Nixon prior to Watergate and thus I want to see him removed myself, I would not want to see this attitude continue. They were preaching that Clintonesque message of unity at the convention, but they actually lived it in the 90s while it's just an image without meaning today, because everyone is more divided than ever.

 

Will I vote Kerry? Actually, since I'm in a state considered a lock already I'd been toying with the idea of voting for the Libertarian candidate, if only for the symbolism of boosting their popular vote. I'd had no choice if Dean got the nomination, though, and I've just finished Moore's latest book and disliked it so much that I started skipping chapters where I knew what he was going to say just to get it over with.

 

I can deal for now with the activists being as loud and powerful as they are at the moment, but once Bush is gone I hope things turn around.

Hate to burst your bubble, but it NEVER got to this level under Clinton. At the bare minimum, conservatives could spell out their disagreements.

 

Quite frankly, if Bush wins and the Dems EVER win the House, they will impeach him as quickly as humanly possible. They are setting the stage to dispute the election should they lose Florida.

 

Fact is, if Kerry wins, he's impotent politically. He'll be the only President ever to have absolutely ZERO mandate for his plans. If Bush wins, we could legitimately see revolution since the left has become so unhinged over the past few years --- sad that when "peace" groups are specifically asked if they'd eschew violence and they refuse to even answer the question, it's not viewed seriously.

-=Mike

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

LotC: 18. Funny how at 18 you can kill yourself with cancer (legal age to purchase tobacco), decide the future of your nation (vote), and die for what you believe in (join the military), but you can't buy a bottle of Corona.

[Guest MikeSC]

LotC: 18. Funny how at 18 you can kill yourself with cancer (legal age to purchase tobacco), decide the future of your nation (vote), and die for what you believe in (join the military), but you can't buy a bottle of Corona.

It does not make a lot of sense, admittedly.

-=Mike

[Guest syncer55]

Its crazy that they think your old enough to vote but not drink.

 

How do these laws come together.

[NoCalMike 0]

I never understood the complaining about one's poilitical party. If you don't like it, leave it, and just register as an independent. Just cause someone votes for Bush or Kerry doesn't make them a Republican or Democrat, and since you don't have to be registered as a certain party to vote for that candidate for president, who gives a damn!?!

[NoCalMike 0]

Hate to burst your bubble, but it NEVER got to this level under Clinton. At the bare minimum, conservatives could spell out their disagreements.

 

Quite frankly, if Bush wins and the Dems EVER win the House, they will impeach him as quickly as humanly possible. They are setting the stage to dispute the election should they lose Florida.

 

Fact is, if Kerry wins, he's impotent politically. He'll be the only President ever to have absolutely ZERO mandate for his plans. If Bush wins, we could legitimately see revolution since the left has become so unhinged over the past few years --- sad that when "peace" groups are specifically asked if they'd eschew violence and they refuse to even answer the question, it's not viewed seriously.

-=Mike

Maybe so, but for one it has been kicked up a notch since it is now an election year, and feel however you may, but the Clinton years surely set the stage for the future of the way perceive the "opposite party" There was just as many "Clinton = Commie" shirts being sold as "Bush = Hitler" shirts.

[Guest Vitamin X]

It would really make a lot more sense the other way around. I think the reasoning behind not lowering the legal age on drinking and gambling is that they don't view 18-year olds as responsible enough to handle those things without getting addicted or creating problems in society. Really, at 18, they're all just kids at that age fresh out of high school and while our culture has come far enough to have our kids grow up and possibly be more mature about things of that nature (seeing as how underage drinking goes on to a far extent anyways), there's still a big difference between the mentality of one who's just got out of high school versus someone who's done a couple years as an adult. Then again, I actually oppose alcohol and nicotine being available at all if marijuana isn't, but now I'm just going far off-topic...

[NoCalMike 0]

It would really make a lot more sense the other way around. I think the reasoning behind not lowering the legal age on drinking and gambling is that they don't view 18-year olds as responsible enough to handle those things without getting addicted or creating problems in society. Really, at 18, they're all just kids at that age fresh out of high school and while our culture has come far enough to have our kids grow up and possibly be more mature about things of that nature (seeing as how underage drinking goes on to a far extent anyways), there's still a big difference between the mentality of one who's just got out of high school versus someone who's done a couple years as an adult. Then again, I actually oppose alcohol and nicotine being available at all if marijuana isn't, but now I'm just going far off-topic...

eh, maybe, but anyone who wants to do it is not deterred for it being against the law. I haven't met anyone EVER that has said, "Gee, I really wanted to smoke a joint and get drunk, IF ONLY IT WASN'T FOR THE DAMN LAW......AHHH" People either drink/do drugs or they don't. The laws on this subject haven't really mattered what-so-ever, in a long time if ever.

[Vern Gagne 0]

I think Bush The Second is oddly similar to Nixon prior to Watergate and thus I want to see him removed myself,

You couldn't find to more opposite personalities. Nixon was a paranoid jackass. Bush seems like a genuinely nice guy, who for whatever reason the extreme left hate.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Karl Rove.

[Guest Olympic Slam]

Its crazy that they think your old enough to vote but not drink.

 

How do these laws come together.

Abusing alcohol is far more deadly than someone "abusing" one meanignless vote.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

You couldn't find to more opposite personalities. Nixon was a paranoid jackass. Bush seems like a genuinely nice guy, who for whatever reason the extreme left hate.

Reagan was a scary fella. The guy was a HAWK with all capital letters. It was a pretty uncomfortable time in America but he's generally viewed as being honest with the American public. Sure, he was blowing the deficit up to massive levels, but it was all military so that we could take it to the Soviets and end the Cold War. And he didn't try to deny it either. "I'm not concerned about the deficit, it's big enough to take care of itself."

 

Bush may the cowboy hat and the smile, but he runs an incredibly secretive government. His deficit spending is almost like a liberal with hundreds of millions of dollars in NON-military alone, and he fights an invisible enemy that he perceives to be all over the globe and has spent most of his terms defending this view from critics.

 

Smells like Nixon to me.

[Guest thebigjig]

I think Bush The Second is oddly similar to Nixon prior to Watergate and thus I want to see him removed myself,

You couldn't find to more opposite personalities. Nixon was a paranoid jackass. Bush seems like a genuinely nice guy, who for whatever reason the extreme left hate.

Oh okay... so THATS why the left doesn't like the guy...

 

because he's nice...

 

yeah, thanks for clearing that up

[AndrewTS 0]

Agreed with the original post. Bush's policies don't win me over, however, the vast amount of bile, childish accusations, bitching, crying, and complaining over everything by many people make me sympathetic to him out of spite.

 

Kerry himself raising such a fuss and claiming there's a Bush conspiracy to try to soil his reputation as a Vietnam vet doesn't really make me side with the guy either. Rather than attacking the groups themselves, he's hurting himself in my eyes by putting the blame on his opponent. It'd be like Bush claiming that the "Liberal media" is being directly controlled by Kerry and are spreading false stories just because some Kerry fans are heavily against Bush. Also, I'd prefer the whole war record issue, on either side, could simply be set aside because I don't give a damn in either case. Although Bush really should be telling them to shut the hell up, even if he doesn't have control over them. However, in the game of politics you aren't likely to tell some one to can it who is trying to damage your opponent's reputation.

 

I wish they'd focus on the important issues, for once.

 

"I never understood the complaining about one's poilitical party. If you don't like it, leave it, and just register as an independent."

 

THOSE nutjobs?!??!

[Justice 0]

Bush may the cowboy hat and the smile, but he runs an incredibly secretive government. His deficit spending is almost like a liberal with hundreds of millions of dollars in NON-military alone, and he fights an invisible enemy that he perceives to be all over the globe and has spent most of his terms defending this view from critics.

 

Smells like Nixon to me.

That's still not an accurate comparison. Much of his spending is not that secretive, and to compare him to Nixon levels of paranoia is absurd: Nixon was more paranoid of his opponents in-country rather than outside of it. Nixon's personality was very... well, abrasive. Bush might play the cowboy part well with a bit of cockiness, but I've never seen anything to suggest him to be anything like Nixon the man in personality, and hell, even in administration. It just seems like a really stretched comparison.

 

And I highlighted those words because, well, he isn't the only one that perceives terrorism and terrorists to be all over the world.

[Guest Vitamin X]

It would really make a lot more sense the other way around. I think the reasoning behind not lowering the legal age on drinking and gambling is that they don't view 18-year olds as responsible enough to handle those things without getting addicted or creating problems in society. Really, at 18, they're all just kids at that age fresh out of high school and while our culture has come far enough to have our kids grow up and possibly be more mature about things of that nature (seeing as how underage drinking goes on to a far extent anyways), there's still a big difference between the mentality of one who's just got out of high school versus someone who's done a couple years as an adult. Then again, I actually oppose alcohol and nicotine being available at all if marijuana isn't, but now I'm just going far off-topic...

eh, maybe, but anyone who wants to do it is not deterred for it being against the law. I haven't met anyone EVER that has said, "Gee, I really wanted to smoke a joint and get drunk, IF ONLY IT WASN'T FOR THE DAMN LAW......AHHH" People either drink/do drugs or they don't. The laws on this subject haven't really mattered what-so-ever, in a long time if ever.

I beg to differ. I think there's a lot of people who actually make the legality of it an issue in their decision of doing it or not.. Some kids will do it JUST because it's illegal, and others will stay away from it because it has the potential to cause them problems with drug testing or getting arrested. The laws do matter quite a bit, because if the law isn't working at deterring people for something that isn't as bad for two things that are illegal, then why spend millions, admittedly billions of dollars, on enforcing it, promoting it (we've all seen those mundane "Marijuana: It's more harmful than we all thought" which is absolutely ludicrous), and of course arresting people who aren't doing anything worse than a guy who's had a few beers.. legally.. and gets into his car and drives off to get home are.

 

OK, now I'm far off-topic.

[NoCalMike 0]

Bush may the cowboy hat and the smile, but he runs an incredibly secretive government. His deficit spending is almost like a liberal with hundreds of millions of dollars in NON-military alone, and he fights an invisible enemy that he perceives to be all over the globe and has spent most of his terms defending this view from critics.

 

Smells like Nixon to me.

Well considering Bush and the cowboys persona was basically one big fucking facade, complete with folding line still in his jacket when he would appear in front of the camera, "digging dirt" or "having a hoe-down" or whatever his people told him would appeal to the midwest. He is from connecticut and the entire ranch was bought for him three months before his campaign.

[Guest BDC]

The shoe I'm waiting for to drop in this whole election is when the general public thinks about the "Bush=Hitler" thing and blows a gasket. I'm sorry, but I think that's one of the most disgusting thing that anyone would have to deal with: to being compared with a genocidal mass murderer.

[NoCalMike 0]

The shoe I'm waiting for to drop in this whole election is when the general public thinks about the "Bush=Hitler" thing and blows a gasket. I'm sorry, but I think that's one of the most disgusting thing that anyone would have to deal with: to being compared with a genocidal mass murderer.

Well considering Gore and Ted Kennedy also were. The Bush = Hitler has died down, and was overblown from the start anyway. It was another example of sensationalism in the media, there are just as many folks in Kentucky who think Kerry and the democrats are part of Al Qaeda, as there are in Mass that think Bush = Hitler.......hindsight is 20/20 on this specific topic, and no other rationalization will be excepted by me personally. .

[Guest thebigjig]

Bush may the cowboy hat and the smile, but he runs an incredibly secretive government. His deficit spending is almost like a liberal with hundreds of millions of dollars in NON-military alone, and he fights an invisible enemy that he perceives to be all over the globe and has spent most of his terms defending this view from critics.

 

Smells like Nixon to me.

Well considering Bush and the cowboys persona was basically one big fucking facade, complete with folding line still in his jacket when he would appear in front of the camera, "digging dirt" or "having a hoe-down" or whatever his people told him would appeal to the midwest. He is from connecticut and the entire ranch was bought for him three months before his campaign.

But the image worked...

 

I am SHOCKED at how many people in this country think that Bush is a blue collar hard workin' man who spent his entire life in Texas in an oil field

 

Usually they're the same people that make fun of Kerry for being rich, and usually feel that God appointed Bush to save us from the Demons of the Clinton years