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February 11, 2004
Hard to respect the Republicans
I didn't vote for Bob Dole in 1996, and I wouldn't have voted for McCain in 2000, but I respected them. But Bush II is just ridiculous. He's been shameless in letting his campaign contributors take what they want from the country - it sounds like my history class on the robber barons. He doesn't work with the other side, and he's not a reasonable man. He's just plain dangerous, and until he's ousted from office, or until Republicans put an honorable man like John McCain at the head of the party, I'm going to have a hard time respecting anyone who votes Republican. -- Matt EdwardsFebruary 11, 2004 in Bush Administration | Permalink
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Comments
I have a hard time responding to Republican friends who want to know what is wrong with Bush.
I don't want to really say what I feel, because it would only alienate them, but I almost want to laugh in their faces and say, "How long do you have?"
Seriously, does anyone have a succinct way of stating the whole litany of abuses this administration is guilty of? I do want to sway those people, not anger them!
Posted by: Irene Budoff at Feb 19, 2004 10:00:49 PM
I think the key is to get them out of "talking points" mode and get them to start thinking critically.
Try this. Get them to tell you what they like about Bush and the GOP, and have an answer ready for each of their points. Example:
"He's winning the war on terrorism."
"Is he? Osama and Al Quada are still out there, but we're over in Iraq where its been proven there was was no Al-Quada connection."
What kind of positive points are you hearing about Bush? Put 'em up here, we'll hash out some good answers.
Peace.
Posted by: Martin Matheny at Feb 20, 2004 8:45:23 AM
I like the idea of good answers to pro-Bush people. The one I get a lot is "the economy is getting better". Now I know it isn't but what's a good way to convince people?
Posted by: Independent at Feb 20, 2004 1:30:20 PM
Its not just pro-Bush, but pro-Republican in general.
- In fact, George Bush is on track to become the first President since Hoover to oversee a net job loss during his administration. In plain English, we are going to lose more jobs than we created in the years 2001 - 2004
- Consumer Confidence is very low.
- Most economists (including quite a few Nobel Laureates) agree that a deficit this high is not good for the economy, long or short term.
These are a couple to start with, but let's hear from the rest of the world. What other good talking points do you use on the economy?
Posted by: Martin Matheny at Feb 20, 2004 1:57:20 PM
"President" Bush came out today saying that he supported a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit same sex marriage. Although I consider myself to be a moderate independent, this has me outraged!! Underlying the diverging opinions and moral considerations that we all may have is the simple fact that this is wrong. In supporting such an amendment, Bush is attempting to limit the fundamental freedoms and liberties of the citizens of this country by the very document that protects them. In a free society, there is no room for this "separate but equal” attitude towards its citizens.
The Supreme Court of the United States, acting in its capacity as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution, has repeatedly ruled that moral opprobrium is not an appropriate ground for statutory enactment or legislative reform. The constitution of this country is not a document that should be recklessly amended on the unfounded whim of a president who is restricting his reasoning to his own moral capacity. Recall that the last time that our government tried to write personal preference into the constitution, it didn’t work very well.
This is just another example of how the current administration lacks a social conscious. It is also an example of why now, more than any other time is recent years, we need more democrats in office.
Posted by: rememberprohibition! at Feb 24, 2004 1:09:56 PM
check www.cursor.org, a story headlined 'mcfactory
jobs.' there's mention of attempt to re-classify
fast-food work from 'service' to 'manufacturing.'
a rearranging-the-chairs-on-the-titanic move,
wh/ will be dutifully regurgitated as
'economic growth activity'
by the the know-nothing corporate media. i agree w/ above. draft your own talking points & don't
get baited by lame character attacks.
Posted by: brent buice at Feb 24, 2004 2:15:03 PM
http://www.house.gov/dingell/Manufacturing_letter_02-23-04.pdf
John Dingell says it best.
Posted by: martin matheny at Feb 24, 2004 3:21:45 PM
I think, in response to Irene's question about
how to successfully have a conversation with a Republican, that it is very important to establish common ground with the person you are talking to. This may be difficult (and that may be an understatement). However, it is still my hope that a lot of people have good intentions. I just think that the problem is that many of them just haven't gotten the entire scope of information. (If they had, they wouldn't still be Bush supporters.) I think that it can be potentially effective to point out that President Bush is not even a good stereotypical conservative. He has not decreased government spending or made our government more efficient. He has NOT protected the individual's rights and freedoms either. "Free speech zones???" (Check out NY Times archives). He's only had 11 press conferences, and this during wartime. Unfortunately, the public is not aware of this. So, if you ever happen across a Republican who does not just let these valid criticisms roll off of them, try those points.
Posted by: Sarah Ambrose at Mar 2, 2004 8:01:11 PM
"Hard to respect the Republicans?
You have no idea how hypocritical that is.
It hard to respect people who put sneer-quotes around Persident Bush's title.
It is hard to respect people who accuse the President of a plethora of things while refraining from presenting a shred of evidence.
It is hard to respect people who say the economy is in the tank when the unemployment rate, stock market, and home sales are better than they have been in my 35 years on this planet.
It's hard to respect people who say it's a "proven fact" that there is no connection between Iraq and Al Queda while the New York times referrs to documents found as a "smoking gun" connection between Iraq and Al Queda.
It's hard to respect people who say we aren't winning the war on terror while 75% of Al Queda's leadership is dead ot captured while Usama and his close buds hide in a hole.
It's hard to respect people whose only political view is "I hate Bush".
You people are weak-minded, self-righteous, political nothings.
Posted by: Heresone at Mar 4, 2004 12:17:47 PM
As a response to Heresone:
If you look through the previous posts, please note that there are many valid issue-based points raised as to President Bush's leadership. I assure you that many of my friends who dislike Bush have developed their disrespect of him because of the policies he has pushed for and the actions he has taken that represent our nation to the rest of the world, instead of the other way around. However, your accusation is interesting to me. I do think that it is only detrimental to the purposes of those who oppose Bush to mock him. In focusing on the upcoming election, and the future in general, the democractic party needs to not appear bitter and snobby. Your accusation is also interesting because it is not based on hard sources - a bit hypocritical. And I don't think that you will have much luck in convincing anyone of your beliefs while simultaneously yelling at them.
Posted by: Sarah Ambrose at Mar 4, 2004 6:24:26 PM