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Edited on Fri Jan-16-04 10:25 PM by DuctapeFatwa
Tony's fiancee was killed in the World Trade Center. He has never bought the official explanation, and if it WERE true, everything the politicians have done since then seems like the opposite of what they ought to be doing. He wants some answers, and he wants to find out who knew what when. He has had it with being called a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist whenever he lines up the facts. He's a Democrat, but even if he were a Republican, he would feel the same way.
Percival considers himself a Democrat, but he's having trouble picking a candidate. He's concerned about Iraq turning into another VietNam. He thought Bush was going in to finish what his daddy started, but here it is months later, and the US still hasn't succeeded in imposing its will. His main issue is getting somebody in the White House who can bring the Islamists to heel.
Asman is a Democrat. Her sister's husband was arrested shortly after 9-11. For almost a year, no one would tell her why. Finally, they told her that they couldn't find that he had any links to "terrorism" but they wouldn't let him go or tell her where he was. Asman's little nephew is growing up without a father. Her sister has run out of appeals of her own deportation hearing. She hasn't lived in Pakistan since she was four, and her daughter speaks almost no Urdu and not much Sindhi. When she is deported, the kids' passports will be taken. They won't be able to come back. They won't be citizens anymore. Asman doesn't know what her sister will will do in Pakistan. Her family there is not too crazy about the lifestyle choices she made, choosing her own husband, living together before they got married, it's a long list. It's hard to make ends meet with Taha gone. Both Asman and her sister lost their jobs after 9-11, and both had to take the older kids out of school, people were so upset..
Earlene is retired, and her main concern is high medical costs. She is confused by the new Medicare prescription drug program, but she has figured out it isn't going to save her any money. She thinks it might end up costing her more, since as they are now, her prescriptions put her right in the middle of the donut hole. She has always voted Democrat, and looked at the websites of all the candidates, and can't tell if any of them can actually promise her that she will be able to afford her medicine.
Alvaro just became a citizen, but most of his family here doesn't have papers. This will be his first election. Alvaro doesn't think much of Bush, or Republicans in general, so he's been looking over the platforms of the various candidates, but he hasn't really seen anything that impresses him. Most of them look like the same stuff with a fresh coat of paint and a new name.
Annabeth just got kicked out of her apartment. The rent kept going up, but her hourly wage didn't. She was already working two and a half jobs. Now she lives on the street, with her two small children. The other day somebody came around with some sandwiches, talking about some program to let homeless people vote. They had literature about all of the candidates. Annabeth looked at it, but didn't really see anything that had anything to do with her. Before her husband left her, they'd always voted Democrat, but she doesn't really see that much of a difference, or believe that it makes any difference whether she votes or not.
Wilbur has voted Democratic since Carter, but he's not sure if he can count on any of the current crop of candidates to crack down on illegal aliens. He doesn't buy this economy depends on it, Americans won't do it crap. These people are breaking the law, and he doesn't believe that the economy depends on criminals. He bets Americans would do those jobs in a minute if there weren't 5 or 6 illegal aliens running to get them first.
Jennifer is a born-again Christian. A life-long Democrat, she didn't change her party affiliation when she was saved, like a lot of her friends did. She likes to tell people that she's a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, but she draws the line at some of the trends she's seeing, like the gay agenda, and the anti-Christian sentiment. When her son came home from school with a Koran he had to read to do a report on Islam, that's when she started homeschooling. When Bush tied loan guarantees to Israel to the Security fence, that killed the last chance any Republican had of getting her vote. Every month, Jennifer sends a little money to a Christian group to help the settlers. Frankly, she isn't sure she can count on any of the candidates to support Israel. Only God knows what is in their hearts, but Jennifer will stick with what her Bible says.
Elaine is a Democrat, but she is just about to renounce her citizenship. In her view, the US has become a pariah state. She is saving up her money, hoping to be able to get the hell out. She wants the US to get the hell out of Iraq, out of Afghanistan, everywhere. She is sick of her tax dollars going to pay for the slow genocide of the Palestinian people. She's a nurse, and hopes to get a job with an NGO, based in - she's not sure, but not here. America is not a country anymore, it's an oil and weapons Wal-Mart.
Terrence is slowly slipping out of the middle class. He blames the Republicans, but he's not sure he can trust any of the Democratic candidates to win the war on the economy AND the war on terror. He shakes his head every time he drives through the Arab part of town. The Republicans are not cracking down on the Muslims like they ought to, and they're sending all the jobs to India, where half the people are Muslims.
Justin is mad as hell. He voted for Gore, even volunteered for him, and doesn't consider Bush a legitimately elected President. He still thinks of himself as a Democrat, but he is pretty disillusioned with the way they all just bent over and took it. Yesterday his boss told him his job is being outsourced to India. Justin isn't sure which makes him angrier, the fact that he will be out of a job, or that some poor mouse-serf in India will be working for about 20% of what he should be getting.
Alicia is concerned about what America is doing to the rest of the world, but she is even more worried about what is being done to the planet. Her kids are just finishing school, and one is engaged, so naturally Alicia has started to think about grandchildren. What kind of world will they raise THEIR kids in? Will everybody have to wear masks, like Mexico City? How many people will die from all the mudslides from deforestation? And the fires. Alicia is no Republican, but she hasn't been impressed with any of the leading Democrats either.
Keisha lives in the projects with her mother and two small children. She is lucky to have her mama to watch the kids while she works. She is lucky to have a project apartment, although she might lose it because her cousin got caught with a joint when he left the apartment the other night. They have this zero tolerance thing, and he KNEW that. Keisha doesn't make enough money to get an apartment if they get kicked out. Her oldest baby's daddy is dead. A policeman shot him, said he thought Calvin had a gun. It wasn't a gun. It was her baby's bottle. The father of her youngest is in jail. He tagged a wall, there was no money for a lawyer, public defender, it's a story you hear a lot in Keisha's neighborhood. Both the kids have asthma. Keisha has taken a second job to pay for their medicine, and make up the difference in Medicaid and the bills for her mama's diabetes, but everything keeps going up every month. She knows the election's coming, some dressed up people were in the projects the other day, not the dangerous one where Alicia lives, but the new one. Her cousin lives there. She gave Alicia one of the brochures. It's a good thing too, because the baby spit up and Keisha didn't have any Kleenex....
Disclaimer: I do not support any of the candidates
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