Elderly in Florida could determine the next president of US....

[kentuck]

The old folks in Florida have been following this prescription drug plan pretty closely. This could spell bad news for Bush and the Repubs in next year's election.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/30/national/30VOIC.html?hp

<snip>
In the condominiums and on the palm-shaded beaches here, where Medicare is a frequent topic of conversation, few people expect to get much help from the new drug benefit just approved by Congress.

They express disappointment but little surprise because, they say, they never had high hopes. They say they feel they were sold out, by Republicans and AARP, which endorsed a Medicare bill drafted mainly by Republicans. But the Democrats, they say, did not fight hard enough for a better drug benefit.

<snip>
"It's not going to help me," said Mr. DeBlasis, who spends half the year here and half in Marlboro, N.J., where he was an architect. "Let's hope Congress revises this thing before it takes effect in 2006."

Residents of this coastal city, nestled between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, display a formidable knowledge of Medicare. In interviews, several mentioned that Congress was providing $400 billion over 10 years for the new drug benefit. One woman knew the exact vote by which the Senate approved the Medicare bill on Tuesday, 54 to 44. The measure goes now to President Bush, who has made it a centerpiece of his domestic agenda.

....more

[wryter2000]

1. Only

Only if their votes are counted.

[KG]

2. dems best use of limited resources

is to put FL in the loss column. as long the BFEE is running FL massive voter fraud is a given.

[Bombtrack]

3. The whole point of the bill was to get more of the senior vote

I know how Florida politics fits into the national election pretty well, particulalry since I attend college in south florida, the seniors capital of the country.

They might be slightly more important than usual, but not more than soccer moms and dads, after that they might be the next most important group though. And the only 2 candidates who might be able to beat Bush in the Nascar dads are edwards and Clark, with a Kerr-Graham ticket possibly splitting the group.

If you didn't know soccer moms and dads is the term for white, middle class, college educated, suburbanite parents who regard themselves as independants between the ages of 28 and 55.

Nascar moms and dads tend to be lower middle class/working class versions of them who reside in more rural areas

[sventvkg]

13. We DO NOT NEED WHITE NASCAR DADS TO WIN....

White men are overwhelmingly for Bush...Don't ask me why but I think that says a lot..They are a minority group anyway.. We NEED to get the African-Americans and Latin Americans to Vote...We can write off STUPID WHITE MEN if we get the Minoritys(who are really a majority in this country now) out there to vote..Your thinking is old, out of date and Flawed and is indicative of Failed DNC tactics....Move on brother...Move on...

[kerry-is-my-prez]

4. I live in Republican SW Florida and have seen many seniors

who are pretty p.o.'d at BushCo. THEY have the time to follow what's going on and hate seeing what's happening to this country. They can see how it's changed and they also were around when McCarthy and Hitler came to be.

I'm one of two under 65 in the group. We have about 6-8 Repubs who hate Bush probably MORE than we do and about 20 Indi's. The Pubs are switching over to the Dem Party until they're rid of BushCo. I hate to tell them - but it's going to be a while until they get rid of the neo-con stench from that party.

95% of them are all p.o.'d about the Medicare Bill and my guess is our group will be getting even bigger after this issue came into play.

In just 3 meetings we've grown from a group of 10 to a group of about 60 - with almost no marketing. Two of the people used to be on the Repub. Exec. Committee until they resigned. They write letters to the local paper ripping apart Bush on a weekly basis.

Those seniors make us look like a bunch of wimps. They're out protesting with walkers.

It's very heartening to see both Seniors who are this feisty and care that much and Repubs who have teamed up with us Dems to get rid of BushCo.

I keep telling them that they are the new hippies and that they will be the ones to save this country - sort of like the hippies back in the 60's.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

6. seniors and retirees are so effective because they put time into it

All it takes is about 5 hours a week and you can form tight knit networks and organizations.

"Those seniors make us look like a bunch of wimps."

Yep.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

5. Please don't forget people that we are NOT a red state. Gore won our

state. We were "swindled" down here. It pisses me off when they call us a "red" state.

[Bombtrack]

10. but there was just a poll where Bush vs dem had a 20 point lead

or about that, it was very unfavorable for us. Are only shot at it's 27 votes is either Edwards, Clark, or Kerry/Graham.

[Cleita]

7. Seniors not only in Florida but across the country.

We aren't taken in by the doublespeak.

[loudnclear]

8. Yeah, just like they did in 2000!

Don't depend on it. Get out there and vote for yourself and take as many eleigible voters as you can to the polls with you. A lot of the people you are counting on in this group will be dead come election time.

[LeahMira]

9. Optimist, are you?

A lot of the people you are counting on in this group will be dead come election time.

Well, aren't you the little bundle of cheer?

Think of it this way... there will be more coming along to replace them. The baby boomers are coming right along and they're not stupid. They may not have retired to Florida just yet, but everybody else seems to be marketing to them these days!

[SharonAnn]

11. Congress created this bill, they're not going to "fix" it unless

there's a Democratic majority.

[sventvkg]

12. They seem to be just as pissed at the Dems for being wimps...

"But the Democrats, they say, did not fight hard enough for a better drug benefit."

There is the quote and it's clear they want the party cleaned out and rebuilt as well....As far as the established Clinton-controlled DNC, they are loosers and if they continue to try to "Stop Dean" instead of support WHOMEVER the candidate is, they are only serving to further their own Failed doctrine....

It is good to hear the Older set is so up on the medicare thing and it also seems they are very proactive in their opposition to it. I'm hoping they finally woke up out of their Stupor and will vote Bush out because overall they voted Jeb right back in and exept for the Liberal SE counties, most of the rest of the state went to Jeb...And he was taking their STate prescription drug benefits away and they knew it!!!!! This gives me hope but it shows there is a serious powerstruggle going on in the Dem Party and Their fighting to "Stop Dean" is just not going to be good for the Democrats on the whole in my opinion...And people may very well vote with said dissatisfation of the current DNC in mind...I hope they do because they are a Failed leadership with Failed tactics and it now seems more intersted in their own power then the good of the people...Need to clean them out...