planetdan

Monday, October 25, 2004 :::

8 days.

You have 8 days left to convince everyone you know that a vote for the Bush adminstration is a selfish, under-informed, ethnocentric mistake of gargantuan proportions. Not to insult anyone, but it's the truth.

Just to remind anyone who needs reminding, we waged a pre-emptive war with a sovereign nation under the premise that they had weapons of mass destruction, the capability to create more, the desire to use them, and the desire to aid any other group who may want to use them. The independent 9/11 Commission proved otherwise, on ALL COUNTS. All of these were lies. We also did this at a time when the army was already stretched thin and the US economy was far from healthy. Now we have an overworked, weakened, underpaid army of soldiers fighting a war we can't afford and that we have no justification for (especially in terms of international opinion).

The horrifying news is that the majority of Bush supporters still believe Iraq had WMD or a major weapons program and that they provided support to al Qaeda. Bush supporters also "misperceive the world public as being not opposed to the Iraq War, favoring a Bush reelection." Read all about how uninformed Bush supporters really are, and make no mistake, the world HATES the Bush Administration, and they have a hard time making the distinction between the Bush Adminstration and the rest of America right now.

Or better yet, ask all the Bush supporters you know to give you one solid reason why they want him re-elected. If it's because of something they heard in a TV commercial, then they are uninformed. Kerry will not dessert Iraq. Kerry is not a flip-flopper (any more than Bush is, anyway). Kerry is not underqualified. If you make under $200,000 annually, Kerry will not raise your taxes. And another terrorist attack isn't any more probable with Kerry in office.

Want more reasons? Read about how the Bush administration has hired radical Christian consultants whose main purpose is to erode the distinction between church and state, and to revise history, claiming that the nation was founded as a Christian nation, which it most certainly was not.

Seriously. It's crunch time. Give me a reason for why you want to vote for Bush and I will give you a better reason for why you are wrong. Oh, and I promise I won't have any more political posts until after the election. Even I'm sick of it.

::: posted by dan at 3:48 PM :: [ link ] :: (31) comments

Comments are Closed On this Post

31 previous comments:

Hi Dan, started reading your blog a couple of weeks ago (via RSS), and while I don't expect to change anyone's opinion this late in the game (who would? -- I can't understand undecided voters 3 months ago), chalking Bush supporters up to uninformed voters isn't helpful to anyone, least of all those who purport to be against him.

If Bush wins, will it be a victory of the dumb over the smart, or will it be a victory over one ideology over another? We can legitimately disagree about who to support based on our world view and how we perceive each of the candidates would better further that view. I don't take your comments as an insult, as you remark, but mainly because I don't know you.

All of your points can be refuted by other evidence from other sources (e.g. Saddam's ties to Al Qaeda -- which incidentally does not mean Saddam's ties to 9/11, understand; Saddam's past use of WMD, etc.). We could go on and on, but the crux of the matter facing us now is this:

Do you support the vision of the world proffered by Kerry more than Bush? That's the simple question each voter will answer. Contending that a vote for one is stupid is misleading yourself to believe that there aren't legitimate and reasoned arguments for a 2nd Bush term. And you could be setting yourself up for a psychological meltdown.

I'm prepared for a Kerry win -- and for your mental health, I suggest you prepare for a Bush win.

As for the requested "one solid reason", here's mine: even with all my disagreements with Bush (as left-center, atheist voter) I can't picture Kerry being a hardass with militant Islamist terrorists more than I can picture Bush being one. If elected, Kerry very may well be, but I can't picture it. I loathe that the Democrats chose a dove at this time rather than a hawk, but it made mine and a lot of other people's decision easier...

By

Anonymous, at 5:27 PM

Asked my Bush-supporting parents the question last night over dinner. It comes down to this for them: they don't trust Kerry, and don't feel that he can keep the country from harm. While I attempted to explain to them that we wouldn't even BE in this sorry state of the union if it weren't for the entire Bush clan...but they're old and set in their ways. I'm very sorry I had to kill them and bury them in the backyard...

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Christian, at 6:04 PM

oh look dan: " I can't picture Kerry being a hardass with militant Islamist terrorists more than I can picture Bush being one." zell miller reads your blog! we wouldn't be in this situation if a certain someone wasn't a "hard ass" in the first place. 4 more years of a messianic dimwit? no thanks.

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Anonymous, at 7:59 PM

I think my post may have inadvertantly boiled the election down to war vs. antiwar sentiments, but it's a strong enough issue I guess. And you're right, there are other sources (not as legitimate as the 9/11 Commission, but regardless) that could refute these claims. But we have to remember that the Bush adminstration started this war in Iraq. Now they themselves have admitted that there are no WMD. They don't think they will find any WMD. There was no link from Sadaam to al Qaeda (in terms of 9/11). And their key claim that Sadaam was seeking enriched Uranium was faulty. No, make that downright false. The war has turned Iraq into a new breeding ground for terrorists and international support for the war has always a joke. It may be too early to tell, but I don't see how anyone can think that the war in Iraq has made the world a safer place for Americans. Not to mention that it has resulted in the deaths of at least three times as many innocent civilians than September 11th.

So looking toward the future to decide which candidate would proffer a better vision of the world is not the wisest course for choosing a candidate because it misses one key ingredient: looking back to the past to see who got us into this mess in the first place. I can't in good conscience vote for Bush just because I have an inkling that he might be better able to fix the mess that HIS administration has created (by waging war under false pretenses, by having no exit plan, by stretching the troops thin, by being unable to rally the world behind his cause, etc). And Kerry has given no indication whatsoever that he will wuss out when it comes to homeland defense. So rather than reward the man who has failed miserably at every single initiative he's taken (capturing bin Laden, the war in Iraq, turning around the economy with tax cuts, creating new jobs, being plain old honest and forthright, etc), I'd rather cross my fingers and give someone else a chance.

You're definitely right when you claim that the democrats screwed up by nominating a dove instead of a hawk. Kerry obviously isn't the best candidate we could have hoped for. But he goes into the job with a clean slate and the possibility of a respected international reputation, which is something that Bush will never be able to regain.

I also agree that for my mental health I need to prepare for a Bush win. I've already found my silver lining in that respect, though: at least he won't ever be able to run again.

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dan, at 8:15 PM

Oh, someone sent me this link in regards to this post:

http://www.presidentialguidester.com/

It tries to guide you toward a candidate using all of the important election issues, not just Iraq. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's definitely interesting. Maybe you're not voting for the candidate that shares your views after all.

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dan, at 8:34 PM

Well, I think that guidster survey is fairly accuarte-it affirmed what I knew all along..that I'm a flaming liberal.

While it's obvious that neither candidate is perfect (who could be)it is also obvious that America has not improved under the Bush administration. In fact, it has seemingly moved backwards in time in a way that both sickens and scares me. While all of our views are swayed by our own beliefs it is hard to ignore the reality that is the majority of Americans lives: unemployment, the declining state of affordable healthcare, the declining support for our schools under a *No Child Left Behind Act* that was originally created in the 1960s, representatives in govermenmet trying to make constitutional bans based on personal/religious beleifs, living through an unjust war, being considered ex-patriotic if you voice any oppinion against said war, and the list goes on.
I will be greatly saddened if Bush is reelected. For me, Kerry is the obvious better choice.

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lynne, at 9:05 PM

I am one of the "rich people" that received a tax cut from Pres. Bush. I am a veteran. I am a conservative. I believe in reward for risk, smaller government, family values, and a strong military. I have yet to meet the Democrat that could answer the question "Do you believe in personal responsibility?". I have witnessed the after effects of the "non-existent" WMD's in Iraq. I have been sickened by Kerry's actions when he returned from Vietnam. I am ashamed that more people do not stand up for the President in this time of need.
As far as Premptive?? Are you a complete Hermit?REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the military barracks in Saudi Arabia!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11/2001! You must live in a cave! THOUSANDS of Americans. And a military that fights to protect YOUR freedom to be a vile uninformed sycophant. I have no idea how you can actually function from day to day.

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Anonymous, at 10:51 PM

Just so you know, we aren't at war with Muslims. We're at war with Iraq, and we're supposedly at war with terrorists. "Muslim" is not synonymous with "terrorist" or "Iraq", and the very fact that you use those words interchangeably pretty much proves that you are uniformed, or at the very least misguided, but I won't go as far as to call you a vile sycophant because that's just not decent and because I respect that you're a veteran.

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dan, at 11:08 PM

I'm a dual US/UK national living in the UK, and I think you've got to give Bush credit for one amazing achievement. In the wake of 9/11, the world was on the side of the US. He singlehandedly reversed that opinion. In spectacular fashion, no less. The day I received my absentee ballot was surpassed only by the day I posted it back with a vote against that evil idiot.

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Anonymous, at 1:24 AM

Dan, good for you for posting about the election. Isn't it interesting that the people posting in opposition to your viewpoint do so "anonymously"? Maybe those of you who did post those comments don't have a blogger profile, and I take that into consideration. But keep in mind, this is PLANETDAN. If Dan chooses to post his opinion in HIS forum, that's his right. For the veteran person who made all the references to muslims, your idea to call Dan a cavedweller is seriously misguided and non-germane to the topic. This is his blog, his opinion, and his call to action to persuade the undecided to vote for Kerry. It's his goddamn right.

That being said, I wanted to touch on some points about this election that get far too little attention - US domestic issues. The mainstream media has us so focused on the calamity of the Iraq War, I think people need to get out of the "tunnel vison" when they enter the voting booth next week. Many of you will cast votes at precincts set up in schools, churches, and the like. Take some time to look around before you walk inside. Think about how the Bush admin enacted "No Child Left Behind" without proper funding (leaving children further behind). Think about the cuts in funding for post-secondary education: sure more Pell grants and Stafford loans are going out, but for less money. Think about your working class neighbors who continue to try and make ends meet while their jobs are being outsourced and wages cut as big business gets tax breaks for doing so. Think about healthcare and why people are flocking to border cities like Windsor, Thunder Bay, and other Canadian locales to buy prescriptions while US drugmakers experience a windfall. Think about social security, pensions, and other benefits that will become extinct while the federal deficit skyrockets. It goes on and on and on.

Furthermore, Dan is right on with the world view of Bush and the USA. On BBC radio a few days back, some Scottish bloke wished the world could elect the US president, since the power of position affects the globe. The Bush admin is responsible for a huge credibility crisis, a load of mistrust both here and abroad. I think that any American who tries to promote Bush's actions to a foriegner as "positive" will have to be one hell of a salesman. The world is disgusted with his actions. The UN? Can't stand him. Americans set up the UN, and now we pay no attention to their collective voice of concern.

As a "God and Country" democrat, trade labor unionist, and devout Christian, I support our troops. How can you not? I also am concerned about terrorism and national security. However, I am also concerned for our kids, our elderly, and the working man and woman. I refuse to completely polarize myself on one political issue. The choice is clear. Vote for change...help is on the way!

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pierre, at 1:40 AM

AMEN BROTHER!!!!!!!

George W Bush and his administration have been absolutely horrendous in destroying America's place in the world. More people in other countries hate us now. More people are without jobs, the "jobs" that are being created pay less, with fewer benefits. I am a veteran and I can not in good consciense vote for a guy that has overextended our military and created a breeding groud for terrorists. Iraq is a debacle. Sure we removed a tyrant from power but now the country is in absolute chaos. The underinformed and stubborn Right wingers will vote for Bush on 11/2/04. The rest of us will wisely vote for someone else.

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Trekgeekscott, at 7:14 AM

I, too, am so tired of this election I could puke. I can't wait until it's over. But before it's over I really need to get on my soapbox, too. As someone who goes to a very contemporary "born-again" church I am actually very disappointed there are those who call themselves Christian, but don't uphold any Christian values (i.e. Love your neighbor as yourself). To me, the obvious choice for presidential candidate is John Kerry. If God calls us to serve, and we are only serving people that are wealthy, heterosexual, white people in a majority in this country, then we are not including everyone - and that it simply NOT OK. What happened to the Golden Rule? Treat people as you would like to be treated? Would you want someone shoving their opinion and their religion down your throat? No!! Well, then same for women who don't want their right to choose taken away from them, or committed gay couples to have a civil union. It might not be for me, but it's not my RIGHT to tell people how to live their lives. For those who say this country was founded on christianity I have to say to them that this country was founded on FREEDOM of speech, FREEDOM of religion, and FREEDOM from tyranny. Sorry, I'm just tired of right-wingers saying that you are not patriotic and not christian of you are democrat. Isn't that the same thing Hitler did to get people to support him???

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MommyT, at 8:36 AM

Read your Blog on a somewhat frequent basis. Good stuff.

I recently took a trip to Europe for work. On the flight back I sat next to a gentleman who's an American citizen and lived in Belgium since serving in Vietnam. He considered himself relatively middle of the road, sometimes conservative. We had a great discussion on politics and the very different European view of the world.

He pointed out that if Bush had focused on Afganastan, instead of diverting everyone's focus to Iraq, he would have voted for him. Knowing a few people serving in Afganastan, I've heard the stories of how bad it is over there and how little coverage other than the recent elections it gets.

Then this guy went on to point out that Bush is not a republican because he does not support the 3 main republican points:
1. Fiscally conservative—we have the largest defecit in history. That's not fiscally conservative
2. Smaller Government—largest growth in government in about 100 years
3. Lower Taxes—yes, I got my $300 ONE year but my take home percentage hasn't changed. ONLY big business and the wealthy have truely benefited. However, the fact that we have a large deficet and worse social services than in recent memory, makes me wonder where all the money went.

Many people also only vote on single issues, such as Bush's Anti-Abortion stance. These people should not be allowed to vote. Not anti-abortionist, single issue voters. Or people who only see Kerry week on Iraq and Bush strong on it. How can anyone say he's strong on terrorism when 9/11 happened under his watch?

There is more at stake than what MIGHT happen in Iraq or the potential of another terrorist attack. This president has lied to us. ABOUT REAL ISSUES. Are you aware that he's had 4 official press conferences. That's less than Nixon. By now a normal admistration would have had 40. What else is he hiding?

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Anonymous, at 9:06 AM

Great post!

MommyT, if you're still reading, check out this post of Estaphania's blog: http://andifeelfine.blogspot.com/2004/10/bushs-false-religion.html -- it's a fascinating handling of Bush's "religious" life. (Hint: It's not terribly faith-based.)

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Dennis!, at 9:57 AM

Thanks Dennis. I just hope there are more like us. It scares me to death to think that we could have four more years of this presidency.

Another website I like is www.sojourners.com.

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MommyT, at 10:57 AM

I live in the UK. Aside from everything other thing I disagree with Bush about, I'm surprised the environment isn't more of an issue in the election. Bush has an atrocius record of supporting fossil fuel use, lifting pollution restrictions on big business etc. He refused to sign up to the Kyoto treaty on the basis that it would be bad for American jobs (i.e. business).

There are some things you just have no choice but to work on, and this is one of them he's just plain ignoring. It's symptomatic of his lack of respect for the rest of the world and the deep corruption in his government. The stuff your politicians get away with is unheard of in the UK (Cheney, I'm thinking of you). I don't suppose it will be enourmously different with Kerry but hopefully his financial backers are just part of the baked-bean lobby or something insteal of oil.

Plus, Bush is a smug, ignorant tosser who wears a permanent smirk. And looks like a monkey.

--
Adam

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Anonymous, at 11:45 AM

Okay, seriously, could we all use our hindsight to second guess decisions made by Bush, the CIA, the Senate Intelligence committees, and whoever else any more!!!! The decision-makers and leaders at the time made the decisions they made. If we now find that the CIA or FBI or who the crap ever had flawed intelligence, a flawed system or whatever...what good does it do us with past decisions? Can you honestly imagine the criticism that would've followed if...

A. Bush did nothing, and the info (flawed or not) was made public that Saddam was months/years away from WMD, and/or had ties to terrorist groups?

B. Once he found out the intelligence was not accurate, sudddenly pulled out troops, or took some kind of similar action. You can't tell me that his opponents would've commended him for owning up to a decision made on

We have the most screwed-up partisan, bickering, petty, selfish political system and representatives than ever before, but I'll still vote, and still hope for some day when I don't have to pick the lesser of two evils.

My decision comes down to protecting life, not taxes (I'm fine paying more), or the environment (which Bush has royally hosed). It was nice for Kerry to make it so easy with his Supreme Court test. If he hadn't done that, this election would've been a lot tougher for me.

Sorry for the analymous post, too lazy to register - Tim A.

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Anonymous, at 1:06 PM

Dan, what I love most about you is that you're one of the very few Americans I have met who aren't so completely ignorant like that Anonymous person.

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Roba, at 1:14 PM

Protecting life? Bush and his administration have sacrificed over one thousand American lives (not to mention the lives of thousands of Iraqis) in the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It is debatable whether that choice, based on the information at the time, was right or wrong. However, for Bush to joke about the search for weapons of mass destruction at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner was disgusting and irresponsible. People died searching for weapons of destruction. Bush's comments and actions hardly seem like those of a Commander-in-Chief, let alone an individual who values and protects life.

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Tsering324, at 2:32 PM

I don't really have anything to add, except that everyone should view the following movie to understand just how the rest of the world views our current administration:

http://www.knife-party.net/flash/barry.html

It is quicktime and takes a while to download, but it is worth it.

B*

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Anonymous, at 3:59 PM

I think what it comes down to for me is this..."It's time to start taking care of us, the U.S., at home. Let the rest of the world take responsibility for themselves and stop rewarding them for discontinuing their production of WMD. I don't know how Gore or Kerry would've responded to 9/11, to waste time speculating is rediculous. I too will cross my fingers and hope that John Kerry will continue to fight terrorism, but bring our troops home and in the mean time, take care of U.S. (us). We can worry that the (D) party is not willing to rush into war type situations, and in the next 4 years a dirty bomb could be ignighted on our soil. But whose to say it couldn't happen under the (R) watch. We're going to "pay for it" one way or another, be it higher taxes to pay for healthcare, senior citizens, and children or higher taxes to pay for war and buying off the playground bullies from other countries. When it comes to taxes, we all loose either way. I'd rather see it go to my family and children at home and not to rebuild some other country or buy off some international mob.

Bottom line, we need to stand together and stop letting political parties polarize our country. We have indeed become a country divided... I'm frightened for our future.

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Colleen, at 7:52 PM

I am in the Army, I was in Iraq (it was beyond horrible) I'm a Democrat, and I'm voting for Bush. Kerry for President, sounds good. Kerry for Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, NEVER. I don't trust Kerry as a military leader. And as much as I hate to do this, I'm voting on a single issue this year.

Maggie

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Anonymous, at 11:00 PM

2 things:

- No WMD. After seeing the mass graves found over there, that's all the justification I needed for us going over. It became immaterial why we went over in the first place, and very clear that it needed to be done.
- Bush voters are uninformed. Certainly you wouldn't make the rash generalization that ALL Bush voters are uninformed. But less informed on the average, sure, they're conservatives, it's in their nature. You just stated the obvious inherent difference between conservatives and liberals. Way to go, keep up the good work.

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mt68, at 10:15 AM

If you hate to do it, then why do it? You aren't voting for one issue. You are voting for many and again, shouldn't vote if you don't care about the rest of the issues.

You contradict yourself when you say Kerry would be a good President but not a good Commander in Chief. You want to choose a man who's seen military duty over one who ran from it, lied about it and yet is so damned cocky? Don't you think he's over compensating?

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Anonymous, at 10:26 AM

"No WMD. After seeing the mass graves found over there, that's all the justification I needed for us going over. It became immaterial why we went over in the first place, and very clear that it needed to be done."

so where else should we go? There are many more countries with mass graves, should we invade and create more mass graves with bombs? You do know that we are killing THOUSANDS of Iraqis every week to justify the 3000 deaths in NYC, D.C. and Pennsylvania. There are other ways to improve a country than invasion and nation building. Remember when Bush said he'd NEVER DO THAT in his 2000 election debate?

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Anonymous, at 10:31 AM

The fact that this election is even close leaves me with an impending sense of doom. I generally have a pretty cynical view of the public-at-large and their level of intelligence but this defies all rational thought.

I, too, am sick of the rhetoric and it is absolutely frightening what people will believe if someone on television tells them it's true even in the face of irrefutable evidence to the contrary...but I guess Bush and his compadres figured that out some time ago...and it appears to be working. Ugh.

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Will, at 12:14 PM

I've been avoiding this discussion. Not because I'm afraid of it (that's just silly) but rather because of the high emotions that lead people to "speak" without thinking. To tell someone they shouldn't vote just because that individual has decided to vote based on one issue is ludacris. I do think as citizens of the greatest nation on Earth that is it not only our privilidge but also our responsibility to research all of the candidates & their views on all of the issues in all of the races. However, I realize that this is not realistic for a number of people. I would never presume to tell others they shouldn't vote because of the reason they are voting. Even I'm not that much of an elitest.

Yes, I hope Kerry wins. Yes, I want President Bush out of office. I didn't vote for President Bush in 2000 for many reasons, and I won't vote for him now for those same reasons- to name just a few: the possible restructuring of the US Supreme Court, the environment, and the separation of church & state.

The United States must still play a vital role in the world, & we can't hope to stick to only the issues at home. Like or not, we are involved as we live within a world economy now. I just don't think President Bush is the right man for the job. And others may agree or disagree. But I would NEVER tell them not to vote because they've made their decision on one issue. It is their right & responsibilty to vote. And even though I hope people become as informed as they possibly can before casting their vote, I would never presume to be as high & mighty as to advise anyone not to vote. And whomever would advise someone not to vote, should seriously reconsider how hard our fore-fathers fought for our right to vote.

Our votes are personal & each one counts. One should *never* tell another they don't deserve to be counted.

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hot babe, at 5:50 PM

It IS a huge responsibility to vote and everyone should do it. In fact i think the first Tuesday in November should be a national holiday so EVERYONE can vote. But to vote on a single issue is ludicrous. EVERYONE has the opportunity to find out more about the candidates than only being concerned about one of their stances. And because I believe every vote counts, each vote should mean more than one emotional topic. There's so much more to the world than that. Take a few minutes to learn more. We are inundated with so much information and easy access to it, that no one has the excuse to say that one issue is all they care about.

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Anonymous, at 8:57 AM

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