(no subject)
Guav (throwingstardna) outlines an interesting liberal motivation for voting for Bush.
My response to this:
As Guav said, a majority of the people who are voting for Bush don't actually know what the man is about. I think that's the problem. After all that's happened, if people still don't/won't bother to figure out what he is about, they never will. Four more years won't change that, regardless of what happens. The West, which comprises a majority of his support, isn't like NYC or Boston; people don't sit around vehemently discussing failed policies and political actions. They're concerned with their own families, not the world. All they know is that the man is the president and he seems like someone they can relate to when he speaks. If a person has just this one characteristic, then they'll respect him as a president and leave it at that. Believe it or not, this is how the midwest interprets the world. And being an adamant Christian only helps.
Ideally, four more catastrophic years of Bush would change their minds, but I don't think the chances of that happening are worth the risks of what Bush will do during that time*. Unfortunately, if Kerry is elected, there is hardly any chance that he will do something to sway the Christian Republicans away from men like Bush. Which means that in 2008, they could all very well be voting for another one. The country has moved in a direction where the Republican party is now led by men with a radical religious idealogue, and the left is led by whoever has enough money and political connections to stand up against them. This leaves liberals voting against a candidate rather than for one, and outcast Republicans voting for someone they don't support in the least because they are afraid of the hostile nature and direction of the GOP. As long as this continues, elections will be a bitter and contested issue. We are, and will continue to be, a nation divided.
As for the people who are educated and knowledgeable of the issues and still support Bush, well... they're fucked up.
*Catastrophic Supreme Court appointments; new legislation; handling of Iraq; world relations; our economy; the image of condolence from our people that the world will perceive; environmental policies; etc.
My response to this:
As Guav said, a majority of the people who are voting for Bush don't actually know what the man is about. I think that's the problem. After all that's happened, if people still don't/won't bother to figure out what he is about, they never will. Four more years won't change that, regardless of what happens. The West, which comprises a majority of his support, isn't like NYC or Boston; people don't sit around vehemently discussing failed policies and political actions. They're concerned with their own families, not the world. All they know is that the man is the president and he seems like someone they can relate to when he speaks. If a person has just this one characteristic, then they'll respect him as a president and leave it at that. Believe it or not, this is how the midwest interprets the world. And being an adamant Christian only helps.
Ideally, four more catastrophic years of Bush would change their minds, but I don't think the chances of that happening are worth the risks of what Bush will do during that time*. Unfortunately, if Kerry is elected, there is hardly any chance that he will do something to sway the Christian Republicans away from men like Bush. Which means that in 2008, they could all very well be voting for another one. The country has moved in a direction where the Republican party is now led by men with a radical religious idealogue, and the left is led by whoever has enough money and political connections to stand up against them. This leaves liberals voting against a candidate rather than for one, and outcast Republicans voting for someone they don't support in the least because they are afraid of the hostile nature and direction of the GOP. As long as this continues, elections will be a bitter and contested issue. We are, and will continue to be, a nation divided.
As for the people who are educated and knowledgeable of the issues and still support Bush, well... they're fucked up.
*Catastrophic Supreme Court appointments; new legislation; handling of Iraq; world relations; our economy; the image of condolence from our people that the world will perceive; environmental policies; etc.