Had a long talk with my “political conscience” last night

[underpants]

Old buddy of mine. He swears that he is “middle of the road” Democrat. He is surrounded by Rush-listening Fox News watching don’t-tax-me Republicans mostly self employed construction industry contractors.

Here is the report

They are sick of Bush. They don’t want to talk about him anymore but even they admit that they have nowhere to go.

They don’t trust Rudy-he is a conservative Democrat in their eyes but mostly they just think he looks slimey (perception is king remember). When I told him that Kucinich only trails Rudy in one poll by 14 points he said, “Holy crap they really are in trouble”

Even though they aren’t the religious types there is NO WAY they will ever vote for a Mormon. Romney is not even in the room for all they care.

Somehow Fred Thompson’s history as a lobbyist got inside their perimeter. The filter is not working. This is the constant theme with them and us (my buddy and I) the “outsider” has prime pickings—everyone is tired of the entanglements and lobbyists and “oh that is just the way it is done” conventions. A third party looks good to all sides, two of them actually.

I try not to infuse too much into this I just want to hear how they see things. My buddy thinks I am “out there” politically , too left for him, but he gives me props for calling all kinds of stuff (the war for instance) way before it happens (thanks to DU and the “blogosphere” ), basically I am his portal into the net world.

Rummy is unspeakable. To all of them. The Tillman story is just too much. Completely over.

They like Edwards. They like his story. The believe him. He told me that they rolled their collective eyes about the haircut thing “We have much more important things to worry about”

In two SHOCKERS and I mean SHOCKERS (if you know what I mean) they don’t mind Obama and Hillary too much. My jaw almost hit the floor. These guys all raked it in when Bill was in office. They do, however, see Hillary as too much of a DC insider –this accounts for some of the support for Obama (he is new to the scene).


All in all it was a good talk. I did finally let him in on some stuff that he didn’t know about (Cheney not being in any branch of the government) and he was pleased to hear that there actually is some sort of impeachment motion going on in Congress (he usually would shy away from such a thing) adding as I have said, “Just impeach him. They won’t throw him out of office but make it official. Put it on the books”.

[soothsayer]

1. Interesting perspective. Thanks!

[CTyankee]

2. I just posted elsewhere about Edwards's electability.

Republicans are lazy. It's just easier to exploit ready made Hillary hatred and race hatred. Now they have this attractive guy, with a strong wife who is fighting cancer, to contend with. So they go after his "prettiness." I don't see that as a deal breaker with the American voter.

[underpants]

6. I forgot about the Gingrich part

I was posting this and hit something and had to start over.

They have one last hope. One last person recognizable enough to make a run at POTUS... Newt. My buddy said that it is pretty clear that he is all they have left to hope for.

I pointed out to him that as he watches all this cluster____ going on he has to remember who was SUPPOSED to be already crowned and running a national campaign.........our own George Allen. *POOF* Former Senator Macacawitz. 20 seconds that changed everything.

[Demeter]

9. Gingrich--The Great White Hope?

:rofl: :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Demeter]

10. Hell, He's Not Even Bob Hope!

[havocmom]

12. Laugh only if we can make damned sure all the women (and men who care about women)

know his history.

Our job is to remind America just how petty and self serving the newt has ALWAYS been

Never let anyone forget the tacky way he has done his wife upgrades or how he held funding up because Clinton was busy writing a eulogy in Air Force One and couldn't entertain the self-centered Newt in the style in which the newt thought he was entitled.

People have a lot of distractions and memories are short. We need to keep refreshing memories about the newt's extended case of Terrible Two behaviors so we don't let him get close enough to steal any elections.

[peacetalksforall]

3. PUT IT ON THE BOOKS! Eureka! Great slogan - perfect! Thank

him for me. Or thank yourself if you phrased it in your own words.

PUT IT ON THE BOOKS!!!!!

[comtec]

5. Actually... that's a good idea

Conviction is probably impossible with the Gopussies being still as strong as they are.
but yeah, impeach bush, impeach cheny, impeach gonzo (probable conviction) and get it on the books, these are BAD BAD PEOPLE!!!!
Maybe we can get the shrub SCOTUS people too?
god I can hope at least :)

[havocmom]

4. Reflects what I am hearing people say in my VERY red county.

Small, rural population, ranchers & farmers mainly. VERY GOP. Hell, when I came to town and registered to vote, I was informed I was the sixth registered DEM in the county. A year later one of the six died.

We are talking RED county here. And I am hearing the same chatter. People aren't buying the neocon smoke and mirrors anymore. They see that the crooks need to go. They see that the war was just cover for the heist of the US Treasury. They don't like the spying on Americans.

Katrina was the big event, but early on in the war, when local kids wrote home begging for packages of food AND WATER to be sent to them in Iraq, pennies started dropping all over the place. People started asking questions and looking beyond FAUX hoax reports.

The waves of information have been crashing and so have people's erroneous assumptions that the GOP were the good guys. By 2004, I think Howard Dean may well have pulled up even with bush had he been the DEM nominee.

Now, there are only two people around here that I can think of who have anything favorable to say about bush.

[underpants]

7. Sheesh they count when the Dems die?!?!?

:rofl::scared:

[havocmom]

8. Hey, when the population is THIS small, we all notice when anybody goes missing.

The really funny (and scary) stuff is the questions individuals ask me about liberals, sociology, AND THE REAL NEWS, when none of their neighbors are around to hear. ;) Since I have been here, there are a few more registered DEMs.

They have me as proof that liberals and DEMs are not as advertised by Rush. Most have decided I am a good person/neighbor so it makes 'em curious about the other lies about DEMs they have had pounded into their heads. Of course, it does help that no babies have gone missing since I showed up. I am not skinny and all their kids are accounted for so perhaps liberals don't eat small children.

Seriously, there are a lot of good folks here. Observing them for several years, I have concluded most are GOP simply out of habit, tradition, and the need for some sort of social gathering that doesn't revolve around the bar or church. The word got out about me after I was invited to a Republican Women's Luncheon meeting and declined on the count of my party affiliation. THAT got some tongues wagging. Then came the quiet, and pretty damned naive, questions.

I figure a lot of us liberals in smaller, very red rural communities, are a bit like ambassadors. We can show our neighbors what we really are and by that example, make them wonder what else the Rushes and Hannities of the air are lying about. We can show our neighbors that all of us AMERICANS have more in common with each other than regular citizens (who vote GOP) have in common with the horse thieves the GOP runs for offices. And if urban liberals would listen a bit to what we have to tell them about our GOP neighbors, we could turn a lot of red areas. If we, rural ambassadors, could bridge the divide and dispel misconceptions on BOTH SIDES of the cultural/political chasam, we might just get the nation taken back from the crooks who hijacked it all.

Personally, I would like to see a cultural enrichment organization, like those groups that do foreign student exchange programs, set up to allow young urban dwellers and young farm/ranch kids swap places for a spell. It would help each population appreciate the challenges, and strong points of the other group. It would make us more likely to be AMERICANS and appreciate ALL our beautiful country. It would make it harder for con-men to perpetrate myths to divide We The People for their own political agendas.

[underpants]

11. That is part of Dean's plan as I see it

Yes we are real. Here look for yourself we aren't monsters or ______ (insert stereotype). We are real people with families and cars and houses and the whole thing.

I think simply showing up is huge.

[havocmom]

13. Yep. And Dean played real well with these people.

Lots of folks here would have voted for him in Nov of 2004.

Dems need to really listen to the good doctor. ;)

[Demeter]

14. Which Is Why Dean Got Shafted

[havocmom]

15. Yep. And that shafting put one more wedge between people

Which is, of course, how those who steal power manage to do such things.