Another bush supporter bites the dust..........

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

I tried to take a nap but am too wound up, dammit. I walked outside and saw my neighbor. I noticed the two bush stickers he used to have on his truck are gone. I asked him what happened to them (hoping no one took them off, but around here, that is unlikely). He said "oh" lowered his head and walked across the grass to me.

"Well," he said, not looking at me, "I guess it's ok to tell you this. Um, I'm not supporting him anymore."

"You're not?"

"Nope. Yeah, I just......had enough."

"Had enough of what? And what did it for you?"

"That debate. Moonbeam (not my real name, but he used my real name), I was mortified. Seriously, I thought I knew who I was voting for in 2000. It's like finding out the president is made of sugar. He's dissolving before my eyes. It's just really depressing."

We talked further and he described to me the horror of realizing that the Wizard of Oz was really just a sad, pathetic man behind a curtain. He is an independent who was taken in my bush's "aw shucks" persona four years ago and he had previously voted for Clinton but got so sick of all the blow job stuff, he was disgusted and explained to me that he thought it would just continue if Gore were president (the witch hunting). Kind of a weird reason to vote for bush, I think, but there ya go.

Anyway, he had the stickers on his truck for about a month. When I asked him if he is voting for Kerry, he said "most likely." He said his wife is quite thrilled, as she hasn't liked bush for a while. He laughed and said "At least I'm making my wife happy, too."

I congratulated him for being clear-eyed and honest with himself.

So there goes another.

[RoyalWickedness]

1. That is truly wonderful!

One at a time, folks, one at a time...

[lilymidnite]

2. Will you tell us what state you're in?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

5. Texas

so no one will really care, but still. I predict Kerry's numbers will be higher than Gore's in 2000 here (Gore got 38% of the vote here in 2000).

[brooklynite]

24. Yes they will

At a party we threw this week for my wife's firm, one of the guests was Clinton's former Deputy Treasury Secretary. I made the same observation, and he pointed out that it was important, regardless of the state you were in, to vote for Kerry to make sure the national vote is a high as possible, in case we get into more legal unpleasantness.

[LiberalFighter]

28. Good Point!!!!!!!!

Not just the legal thing but also providing support to others that want to vote and support Democrats.

[girl gone mad]

31. Where are you in TX?

I'm in Denton. Don't see too many Bush/Cheney or W04 stickers around here, especially compared to last time. So far, I've only seen one other Kerry sticker in my small town, though.

[crispini]

3. Yeah!!!!!!

I love individual stories like this. One of the best things about DU.

[benburch]

4. One at a time.

This gives me hope.

[fudge stripe cookays]

6. YEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!

Dean scream for you!

After him, we're going to Arlington! And we're going to Hurst! And we're going to Euless! And Irving! And Bedford! And Fort Worth! And Irving!

Girl, your stories are keeping me going. Between this and the in-laws story, I'm all smiles! Woo hoo!

FSC

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

13. You are so funny lady!

Me and my friend are working on our costumes this weekend! Rock on!!!

[fudge stripe cookays]

21. Yay!

The props are coming along!

We're broke this weekend, but I still have lots of work to do! And Al may have to hand deliver the rest of the invites (the postage was a bit painful last time!)

Can't wait to see the costumes! I'm still putting mine together too!
FSC

[Trajan]

7. Someone left the idiot in the rain ....

and he withered to a stump of a man ....

[JuniperLea]

8. good job!

we should always be kind, caring and considerate of the repubs who have opened their minds. maybe they will spread the word if they are accepted with open arms.

i'm hearing a lot of stories like this lately.

[Niquie]

9. Well, that makes my day!

Thanks for sharing. I work in a office full of Bushies. There's no convincing them. But at least they've stopped debating me. After witnessing the cycloptic chimp sans chimp brain last week and Uriah Heep on Tuesday, I think they're hiding from me.

[cheshire]

22. Uriah Heep, LOL That is not far to a good band. LOL

[Longhorn]

I have to admire someone who can admit that he was wrong.

I'm not very good at it myself. I admire your neighbor for actually admitting it to you. I'm sure you made him feel good about it, too!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

15. We actually ended up hugging

as he looked pretty despondent.

I kinda felt sorry for him, to tell you the truth.

[LiberalFighter]

29. You should had told him that there no reason to be despondent

He should be happy that he finally sees thru gw*

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. That's wonderful!

Let's hope Bush doesn't re WOW him tonight.

[skygazer]

11. I've been registering voters here in Cal.

I've had at least two people every day who have told me they want to switch their party from Republican to Democrat. They each have a story to tell. For some, it was the debate. For others, it's the war. For one guy, it was jobs.

I had a 90 year old woman walk up to my table and ask me who she has to call to have him impeached! She was a tiny, frail thing and she said, "don't be surprised if you see me out on a street corner with a sign in my hand saying 'Impeach Bush'".

The illusion is crumbling. The curtain has been pulled back.

[Lorien]

12. Very same thing from my friend's boss

who is a MEGA Freeper. He said the Iraq war was getting to be a bit much, but the debate killed his support for * completely. He said he seemed like a wimp and his answers were horrible. My friend asked him who he would be voting for now, and his boss sighed sadly, saying "well, I guess I have to vote for the better man, and that's Kerry". :-)

[CitySky]

14. YeeeeEEEE-HAW!

:party: :party: :party:

I hereby move to nominate Moonbeam "Best DU Storyteller." Any seconds?

Meanwhile, Moonbeam, I'll see your 38% and raise you 5!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

16. Rock on

I'm predicting 51% for Kerry in TEXAS!!!

(Ok, maybe it won't be that high, but I guarantee the pundits will find Texas numbers surprising.....we've been stoked up for over a year for this election....)

[CitySky]

20. Completely Agree

They are going to fall right out of their cushy Aeron chairs when the numbers come in.

[calimary]

33. I'd vote for that!

It's SO encouraging! Part of what I love about DU.

I ran errands today - got my nails touched up a THIRD time (the lady with the little nail place in the neighborhood has done it for me on the day of each debate so far, so by now, I regard this ritual as something of a good luck charm. she's middle-aged and Vietnamese. She saw my Kerry button and started, under her breath, telling me how frightened she was about the election and how scared she was that bush might win. She talked about the war (hers, in Vietnam, and how horrible it was, even in Saigon where she'd lived). I told her I'd protested that war, AND this one, too. I felt SO bad about this - now he's scaring little Vietnamese women!!!

Everywhere I went, people were nervous and frankly, downright scared. One young woman I saw at this minimall in the neighborhood was terrified that she wasn't going to be able to vote. The deadline here in California is the 18th. She'd registered online and hadn't heard back and she was afraid she'd miss out. Post offices are out of registration forms. I called the local Dem HQ and they reassured her, and told her not only that they'd help, but that they still had forms, that she had time, that she was gonna be okay - and that they were open til 9pm so she could reach there after she got off work.

That was yesterday. Today, too, the same thing. In the office supply store - young black woman behind the counter told me she and some of the other people working there had been insulted by some guy a few days earlier. He'd mentioned something about their education and then added - "well, maybe bush can fix it." She rolled her eyes when she recounted this. She said they all looked at each other. I expressed my regrets that they were treated that way, and told her not to worry - just to make sure to vote.

But shoot, it just makes me so angry - this teeny little Vietnamese woman who works SO incredibly hard and has her own small business and remembers - is terrified by this schmuck and the way things are going. These young women working in the shops and stores around here - they're all nervous and upset. The lady in my physical therapist's office was nervous, this week, too, because she hadn't yet heard back from trying to register to vote online, either.

DAMMIT! DAMN HIM! bush is just SCARING these people. Hardworking, good-hearted, sincere, caring, concerned people. And he's toying with their fears and scaring them.

Just - well - ICKY. But MAN is there a lot of anti-bush sentiment out there. Seems like SO much more lately. Yes, I'm in liberal So Cal. But even so, I drive 5 or 6 blocks and see cars parked, car after car with Kerry stickers. Maybe one "w" sticker, and then seven, eight, or nine Kerry stickers. I've been seeing a few more "w" and bush/cheney stickers lately, but RESOUNDINGLY, LOPSIDEDLY more Kerry stickers. So while I, too, am still filled with trepidation, it gives me encouragement.

Remember guys. Remember what Moonbeam Starlight did. She was so kind and supportive of this disillusioned, crestfallen, probably broken-hearted guy who honestly and sincerely put his faith in that schmuck. Remember those staffers at the office supply place - who were insulted by some cavalier bush supporter. Remember, they're AWFULLY tender out there. Sounds like WE know how to take care of 'em better.

[grace0418]

17. Excellent story Moonbeam

You should show him this thread and let him know there are a lot of nice people over here on the other side!

Go towards the light!

[unblock]

18. not a wierd reason at all. there are probably a LOT of people like that

i mean, people who vote for republicans not because they think it's better to have republicans in office, but because they thinkg it's better NOT to have republicans OUT of office.

when republicans are out of office, THEY engineer fake scandals and disgraces so people feel bad about government and the presidency and so on. when republicans are in office, THEY engineer feel-good stories and prevent the real scandals from gaining traction.

it's a wonderful thing to control the media....

in an earlier post, i mentioned that this is why mrs. unblock does the driving. it's not that she's any better at driving (in fact i think i'm better) it's just that she readily admits she's a TERRIBLE passenger. she hates not being in control of the car and that makes it unpleasant for both of us. so she drives.

same reason for voting for republicans. they make people miserable when they're NOT in office. when they're IN office, they do real damage, but at least they give the illusion....

[kymar57]

23. LOL

excellent analogy mr un

[cheshire]

19. Your names not Moonbeam? Just kidding. I pray his is one of millions. YAAA

[noamnety]

25. my freeper coworker is about to crack

He's not just a Bush supporter, but a freeper. We've had a few moments of being barely civil in the last month, as a result.

Today he came up to me out of the blue and said he was listening to NPR this morning and he was starting for the first time to question some things. The story that did it for him (I heard it too on my drive in) was about people being arrested for wearing Kerry shirts at public (tax-dollar, not campaign dollar) Bush appearances.

I secretly suspect the debate was the turning point, but he might be too proud to admit it.

[NJCher]

26. here's my story from today

BTW, very observant post, unblock. I have a feeling that's going to stick in my mind for a long, long time.

While NJ is a Dem state, for the most part, there are a few counties that go Republican. One is Morris County and it is where I teach at a private university. Today I had some extra time at lunch and since it was a beautiful day, I opted for a salad which I decided to munch on outside the restaurant.

It was very sunny so I walked down an area filled with tables that were protected by an overhead canopy. As I walked the length of the tables, I was amazed to hear so many discussing the debates!! From table to table, that's what people were talking about. I was so happy to hear this, even though I figured it would mostly be repuke discussion.

But it wasn't. The more I eavesdropped, the more it became apparent that these people had had their fill of bush.

Snippets from the first table: ...dirty tricks. He's known for his dirty tricks. If he'd lie about meeting Edwards, what else would he lie about?

Next table was a man who was about 78 and two younger men who appeared to be in their 40s. The older man said he'd voted a straight republican ticket all his life and said that for the first time, he'd be voting Democratic and he wasn't the only one--his circle of friends and family were mostly doing the same.

On the other side of me was a table where one man said to another, "Who do they think they're fooling? This thing doesn't add up." I thought they were talking business but no....his friend responded about Halliburton.

At yet another table, I overheard two people talking about the midwest. This woman said, "The trouble is that midwestern and southern Republicans don't think like northeast Republicans. If they did, they wouldn't be voting for bush."

As I took my soda cup to the trash, I overheard other comments about the debates. It's truly amazing to me that that many people could be in one place all talking about the same thing!


Cher

[CitySky]

34. wow!

Encouraging news -- very cool!

[Warren DeMontague]

27. Give him some underwear, ramen noodles, and potato chips.

Hmmm. On second thought, maybe you better not.

:)

[TheCentepedeShoes]

30. This is great !

Love it that my conservative hubbie (can't stand Ted Kennedy, has no use for Robert Byrd) is just totally unable to believe how ANYBODY can vote for Bush this time. He even rode his new moped down to the county courthouse and registered to vote ON HIS OWN !! Didn't have to drag him by the scruff of the neck like I thought I would.

[mzmolly]

32. I hope more people wake up soon.

:hi: encouraging news.