I met a "real" republican - who detests Bush*

[Scott Lee]

Hey, YOU are shocked? Imagine my surprise.

I was at a bus stop here at New Mexico State University, and this very nice African-American woman asked me if I had a cigarette. Even though I couldn't accomodate her (I don't smoke), we struck up a conversation. Guess who brought up Bush and Asscroft? SHE did.

Right after she described herself as a republican.

I was honest with her, I asked her how in the world she could be a republican and hate Bush and his cadre so badly (her vitriol against the man almost put mine to shame). She explained that BushCo does not represent her ideology. She was animated in her rage about what Asscrack is doing to the constitution. She was quite eloquent in describing her politics as favoring a Republic as a loose federal coalition of free states. My Gods, after all this time - was I seeing a REAL republican? She explained that the horror we see today is from the NEOconservatives who are anything but real republicans.

Then things got around to my Red politics and to my surprise she wasn't put off at all. As a matter of fact, we swapped cards and became fast friends.

Here's the issue this encounter brought to my attention. Is there a whole pool of "real" republicans out there who depise President War and everything he's doing? Can they be wooed and mobilized against him, much in the same way that southern dems voted for Bush in the last selection? We could be missing a marvelous opportunity here. What we have in common with these folks is an abiding distaste for four more years of Pres. War.

Feedback please! Could you bring yourself to work (temporarily) with a staunchly anti-Bush republican? Are there many more out there? How do we find them?

[maxsolomon]

1. the political spectrum is a circle

not a line where one can go infinitely far away from the other side. that's the manichean 'us vs. them' trap we're in now.

if you go far left enough, you'll find agreement with those moving right. its called POPULISM i think.

[ShimokitaJer]

7. Wouldn't that put populists next to libertarians on the circle?

Scary as that may sound, I think you're right.

A big part of the problem, though, is the way the parties have come to represent positions that are no longer in accord with their central tenets, but they are still referred to as though they continue to hold true their old ideals. The Republican party has come so far from the "Party of Lincoln" and the conservationist ideals of Teddy Roosevelt that it is unrecognizable. And though the Democrats still hold the high ground on civil rights, the corporatism of many of Clinton's policies such as NAFTA and the WTO goes beyond anything the old Republicans did.

"True" Republicans and "True" Democrats are no longer considered a meaningful part of the political landscape. All that seems to matter now are the labels we can apply to demonize the other side.

[proud patriot]

2. Any patriot who loves the Constitution thus is anti bush I can work with

I don't care what letter is next to his/her name .

My grandparents despise bush and are True Blue Conservatives .

[JNelson6563]

3. me too, at the last Dean meet-up

I even signed 'em up as new Democrats. :-)

Julie

[roguevalley]

4. I live in the midst of repugs and none of them want Bush. None of them

support him or think he's been good for this country.
I hope this means he's toast next year. I pray it does.

[Skittles]

5. "real" republicans still disgust me

not as much, but still

[NeonLX]

6. My MIL has voted for the republican in every presidential election...

...starting in '52, but she claims that she will be sitting out 2004. The Iraq war was the final straw for her.

[Scott Lee]

8. Sitting out? no no no!!!

See if you can get her to VOTE her disgust at the Chimp in Chief. Any chance she will?

[dkamin]

9. one of my best friends

was president of our law school's federalist society, became increasingly pissed off at the neo-cons (i first heard the term from him before it became fashionable in the media), is now the most anti-Bush person i know.

the breakdown between republicans and democrats, in my opinion, used to be along ideological lines (do you believe in limited govt. or social safety net, etc.). i think it now breaks down along moral lines.

among those people i know who are a) intelligent, b) follow politics even the tiniest bit, and c) care about this country, all of them hate bush. the pro-bush forces at this point are a large coalition of the ignorant (very very big group), the stupid (also a very very large group, much overlapping with the previous group), and the evil/immoral/callous/greedy, with the last driving the agenda.

[ArkDem]

10. What are the odds of an African-American woman

who is a republican bumming a cigarette off you at a bus stop? It boggles the mind! A republican using public transportation....

[AlabamaYankee]

11. As long asd they vote for the Democrat

I'll work with anybody, but the pickings will be slim. Unfortunately here in "RoyMooreLand" critical thinking skills have pretty much gone the way of the river sturgeon. There are still some around, but deeply endangered.

[Nadienne]

12. Divide and conquer!

For a long time, I've realized that Bu** Sh** isn't really a republican. I can't quite figure out what exactly he is... capitalist, maybe, or nazi... Profiteerist (if that's a type of government; certainly seems to be these days)

The differences between his values and true republican values ought to be exploited.

[jhfenton]

13. Anti-Bush Republicans

You're encounter is not surprising. Most of the libertarian-leaning conservatives I know detest Bush, for a variety of reasons. Many of them are the same reasons that many left-leaning Democrats detest Bush. Bush is not a true conservative. He's a neo-con. He has made no effort to reduce the size of the federal government, rather he has tried to expand it in carefully selected directions. Any one who truly believes in federalism -- as this woman obviously did, and as I do -- has to be appalled by Bush.