I had an AMAZING conversation tonight with a Republican friend

[ShaneGR]

Hadn't seen him for about six months. The last time we spoke he said there was no way Bush was losing and all of the Dems were losers.

Boy, what a difference six months made.

Some quotes, "Bush is a borrow and spend" conservative.

"How are we ever going to pay off this deficit?"

"I can't believe they lied about WMD."

"As long as the Democrats stay somewhat moderate, I'll vote for your side."

"Who the **** cares about going to mars, paying for prison felons, and immigration camps. Don't they realize all of our jobs are going overseas?"



The tide has definitely turned.

[dionysus]

1. Cool!

My old republican roomate, with whom I argued bitterly with during 2000, switched to dem late last year without any prodding on my part.

BTW, doesn't Edwards look like Mulder from the X-Files in that pic?

[ShaneGR]

3. Actually, yeah, kind of!

It's a different looking Edwards picture, kind of like he's so happy he's being paid attention to. Finally. He really stuck with it. And for that, he earned my support.

[Maddy McCall]

2. Tide has turned here too...

Mississippi Republicans I know are looking at Clark and Edwards...

An elderly Democrat-turned-Republican here said that Bush is the worst president in all the years he has been voting.

Those Southern Dems who left our party to become Republicans during the "Reagan Revolution" are considering coming back home. America's two-decade right turn is over.

Perhaps America is about to take a left turn, back at least to centrism. We can pray.

Mississippi may not go Democratic, BUT, in a poll taken last October or November, only 49% of Mississippians said they would consider voting for Bush. The other 51% were mostly "definitely vote Democratic" or "undecided." Those undecideds are the ones we need to attract.

[ShaneGR]

5. Yeah, I've been waring with Clark people, BUT......

I respect Clark, so I stopped. Lets let the voters decide. Although I'm still REALLY sad that it appears we are cancelling each other out and nominating Kerry by default. If only we would have known Dean was going down like that.

[TheDonkey]

4. I wish we can work on making "liberal" not a dirty word again

Many people seem to think "conservative" as in RNC is the only way to go. I'm glad he is turning but ABB is the way to go for him, from Kucinich, Clark, Kerry, etc.

[adadem]

6. I hope the Dems

use the word "radical" in the GE this year because that's exactly what shrubby and his cohorts are.

[ShaneGR]

7. Well, that's not how people like him think

They still think we need a strong defense policy. But not what Bush has offered and DEFINITELY not with all of the massive spending. To be honest, I guess the best description would be "disillusioned." People like him were taught from a young age that "liberal" was bad. Now they're, slowly, realizing that they were tricked by the Connecticut Bush's. That perhaps they need to take a second look at the Dems.

But, these things work in incremental steps. We don't win them over by being as declusive and divisive as Bush has been. We win them over by presenting a message and policy that includes ALL people, not just the left.

[BootinUp]

8. Similar experience

3 months ago a pretty hardcore republican guy I work with was laughing at me for being a bleeding heart liberal. Now he concedes that Bush is not popular, he doesn't ridicule Democrats, he sounds worried. :)

[Edge]

9. I've convinced some of my Repub buds

that their leader is a lying scumbag. Needless to say, they're voting Dem this fall. :)

[corporatewhore]

10. We can also attract the old school conservatives who hate bush for patriot

act (worked with them last summer to get anti patriot act res here in austin) and the ones who hate freetrade because are jobs are going over doesnt kucinich sound alot more electable now i want to also remind you that he has won in OHIO because he has appeal to old school cons and reagan democrats

[GumboYaYa]

11. I had a similar conversation with my Mom tonight.

She and her husband are die-hard republicans. Her husband was the campaign manager for one of the Repuke U.S. Reps in TN.

My Mom taught for 30 years and she is a principal of an inner city school now. She says No Child Left Behind has destroyed the Nashville school system. She can't believe that they lied about WMDs.

Tonight she told me how proud she is that I am working so hard for Dean to get rid of Bush. She and her husband are both switching to Dem.

Bush is a cornered animal now. It's time to be scared. You never know what may happen when the BFEE is backed into a corner.

[ShaneGR]

12. You know, I'm not scared of them? You know why?

They came to make a lot of money. They made a lot of money. Now they'll disappear and try to get their children elected.

It's a cycle, they've done it before and they'll try to do it again. Particularly the Bush family. Although I still think that Bush Sr. must cringe at what his son has done to the family name.

When Bush Sr. had W, the apple fell off the tree, rolled down the steet, was swept to the side, it rained and the debries were then washed into the gutter.

[Maddy McCall]

13. Yay, Gumbo! Ripples turn into waves...

expect your mom and hubby to talk to other Repubs, who will talk to others, who will talk to others...you get the picture.


Your mom is in an excellent position to swing A LOT of Republican teachers to the Democratic Party. So is your step-father. Hope they are vocal in their very powerful positions.

:toast:

[YouMustBeKiddingMe]

14. I see more and more of these stories from disillusioned

and angry Republicans who are going to switch and vote Democratic in this next election. Very encouraging to see.

[jumptheshadow]

15. A similar report

My uncle and aunt both are stalwart Republicans. He's the son of a Republican politician. She is a Republican polling site monitor. I always avoid the subject of politics when I'm around them because I know the conversation will turn sour.

My mom had dinner with them last week and they told her they would vote for the Democratic nominee this year! They said that they're disgusted with Bush. They're mad about everything -- Medicare, the war, the economy, veterans' benefits, the emphasis on silly stuff over substance, the arrogant attitude. I'm getting more hopeful as time goes on...

[Hippo_Tron]

16. Bush is loosing the center and even the right...

But the key is to show them that the democrats are not tax and spend, don't want to take away their guns, and are not weak on foreign policy. If we can do these things and keep slamming the shit out of Bush then we can win this thing.

[ariellyn]

17. This gives me chills for two reasons: I'm happy and I'm afraid

Happy that more are coming out of the trance but afraid of the recklessness that is BushCo. Their policies are so far fetched, so completely senseless that it makes you wonder what they are really up to. It's not that BushCo doesn't care about America, I knew that. It's that they are so sloppy about stealing the Constitution and our money, so in-your-face with it all, that it makes me think something much, much deeper is going on behind the scene with them. I am afraid we will have more than a few surprises stemming from Bush's reign of terror in the years to come.

[krkaufman]

18. Mention of any particular candidate?

Did your Republican friend mention any particular Democrat candidates' names, or were his comments limited to just "stay somewhat moderate"?

[radfringe]

19. as a former bush* supporter explained it to me

he said - "look, bush got in because he promised taxcuts, well the taxcuts for most people amounted to a couple of dollars, what bush* did was to buy us all a beer and then he put it all on our kid's bar tab"

the former bush* supporter went on to ask if I had seen the commercial where kids are doing adult jobs in order to pay for the bush* deficits

I smiled and said yes and thought it was a good commerical... I didn't ask if he noticed that this was one of the MOVEON.org commercials

meanwhile -- http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1090825&mesg_id=1090825

[NNN0LHI]

20. I know its a lot of things, but some of it is definitely the "Rush effect"

Limbaugh is no longer helping the Republican cause by hanging around making a fool of himself and his ilk.

Don

[krkaufman]

21. Whaddya mean, no Rush?

What? Isn't Limbaugh still doing his twisted radio show?

[dno]

22. Daddy rules no more!

I work for a family run business. The owner is president and his two sons run the company. He has whipped it into his boys to always vote Republican and also forced them to vote for Bush in 2000. When I asked them the reason they voted Republican they said "Cause my dad told me to". The other day one of the sons tells me he's going to vote Democratic this time! I asked him if he would be in trouble with his father and he said "I can't vote Republican because I'm not covered by that blanket anymore!" My point, Older folks are set in there ways but the younger adults are waking up out of the right wing haze and smelling the coffee! And they want a taste!

[DemonFighterLives]

23. The Reps. that I talk to

The ones that are somewhat disgusted with Bush are leaning toward Edwards. I don't have a problem with Edwards, but have to wonder if he can get the nomination. What will the repukes do then if the dem they may back were to lose? I suspect they will plug their noses and vote Bush.
I've seen quite a few of them hate Clark and his warring in Kosovo, which I thought was hypocritical for overlooking Bush's War Without End.
They of course hate Dean, because the mindless media said so. Kerry, I don't know yet. The whole bonesman thing only appears as a frat to Bush apologists and closet neocons.

[spooky3]

24. Great news!