An e-mail from my Bush-loving brother...

[Joe Fields]

I wanted to share this e-mail from my brother who who claims to be a democrat, but has acted like a republican and voted republican most of the time. He cannot understand us and will vote for Bush this fall. I have tried and tried to reason with him. I have offered up cold hard facts, with documentation. But he continues to spout the Hannity and Limbaugh spin lines.

I want you to read my brother's e-mail and then offer up your responses.

I could answer him, but obviously he hasn't listened to a word I have ever told him.

Since he wrote my blog, I am going to post your responses there for him.

Joe Fields
The Bird
http://www.roaringbird.com


Dear Joe
As we have had dialogue over the past week concerning political issues
and events pertaining to our nation I have decided that this public
forum might suite my interests. However I will need your help and the
input of any of the viewers who come to this forum as well. I ask your
readers to bear with me as I am not skilled in the art of writing and will
make habit of jumping around.

My challenge to all of you is “where has the democratic party gone” why
are they loosing their base at an alarming rate and what will it take
to get them back?
I am a person without a party this is not really a crisis for me
personally but for the party it is, as I am not alone there are many like me
out there and many more that have jumped to the republican side. Some
may say that there is a natural progression to that and I say the
numbers are greater than normal. As a member of organized labor for 20 years
I find it incredible that in the last 2 general elections, of those
that voted 52% of labor voted republican. That coming from what was once
called the labor party should be a wakeup call in itself. I can still
hear the ringing promises shouted through the labor halls many times,
vote for me, vote for me “help is on the way” seldom if ever bearing fruit
once our vote put these officials into office.
Furthermore the renewing life blood of the party which primarily
would be young adults just reaching voting age are headed straight for the
conservative camp in greater numbers than ever. Or I should say it
seems, as is the case with a good cross section of the youth I am involved
with. Let’s let the obvious numbers speak to the problem.
Bill Clinton first campaign should have won by a mile, George Bush
didn’t deserve reelection he sat on his laurels for the last two years in
office and did nothing, the election was too close to call.
Clinton,s bid for reelection came prior to the scandals linked to his
administration, his opposition in Bob Dole was weak at best, and yet the
election was too close to call.
It could be said that Al Gore’s campaign carried no strength coming out
of an administration weighted down with trouble yet he was beat by an
inexperienced governor who many including myself thought not to be very
smart. To those that still hold to the theory of voter fraud it still
leads us back to, too close to call.
And now even with all the problems the current administration has had
and to their credit, all of the corporate scandals that were revealed,
the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the inevitable fall of a grossly
manipulated stock market could not be faulted to them. However many mistakes
by this administration have been made. Couple that with the
accusations, innuendoes, lies, and the daily scrutiny concerning the war and
economy, mix that with an extremely biased press corps doing it best to see
them to the curb, we should be looking at a runaway landslide. Once
again too close too call.
I listened in to every one of the prime time speakers during the
convention with the slightest possibility of them garnering my vote and to be
honest if there was something of real substance there it probably would
have happened.
I give the convention a good grade for style but in listening to the
speakers I am left confused as to the mixed messages, an America I should
be ashamed of and far too many promises. Besides speaking on the war
there was no talk on the most controversial issues surrounding us today
in Abortion, Gay marriage and the anti gun lobby. Special interest
groups that seem to be holding this party hostage and once again that leaves
me with the feeling that they think I’m stupid.
The party is moving further to the left as it begs to embrace people
like Woopie Goldberg, Michael Moore and Puff Daddy, Hollywood aristocrats
that want to vilify the same nation that helped them to their
successes. Is this what they mean when they speak of two Americas?
I don’t think Americans are stupid, evidence of this will be in the
polls today, and customarily the post convention bounce will be from 12 to
15 points and hold strong a good 6 to 10 until the republicans have
theirs. I think a 4-point bounce will be lucky.
Those of you who have a voice may not choose to look inward at the
party and speak to its problems, maybe you would rather keep gritchin and
finding blame, but really now, how many peoples minds are being changed
by your wrath? The party needs reform and maybe you might be the voice
of change.
Joe as your brother I will tell you straight, I made two decisions
tonight after listening to John Kerry. First my vote will have to go to
George Bush. Second and this is where all you people come in if you care,
I will give this party four years before I change my registration.
God bless America.
Sincerely Mike Fields

[benddem]

1. First of all

Your brother has the Clinton Dole election ALL wrong. Clinton won that election decisively.
Why is it that Republicans (and he is one)equate having a different opinion from theirs is Anti American. I love this country but Bush is wrong...and one of the things I love about this country is that I can say this.

[punpirate]

2. I wouldn't waste any more time....

The only question left to ask your brother is, "what flavor was the kool-aid?"

Sorry.

[Warpy]

3. Well, he's right about the Democratic Party and the loss of the base

However, he's dead wrong when he tries to tell you that the social wedge issues the GOP has used (but done only window dressing about) made the difference in the voting patterns.

What did make the difference was that the DLC dominated party took working class economic issues off the table, and the only party giving the working class a damned thing was the GOP, in the form of their bait and switch tax cut.

Now, if you've been hammered for three decades by antilabor economic policies guided by both parties, who are you going to vote for, a guy who promises more of the same business as usual that has been killing you, or the guy who dangles a tax cut in front of your nose?

That Gore won a slim majority is a miracle. That Bush was close enough that he was allowed to steal power is not. Taking the bread and butter issues off the table was a colossally stupid idea, and the party has been badly hurt by it.

Kerry is finally putting them back on the table. It's about bloody time, and your brother should wake up and smell the BS from the GOP.

[lebkuchen]

4. If he's voting in the state of CA, don't worry about it.

Is he of draft age, or does he have children who are around 18? According to the conservative CATO Institute, Bush is preparing the US for a 30 year generational commitment to democratize the Middle East. All war, all the time, to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, which begs the question: how is Bush going to pay for this?

Your brother's sons or daughters, should he have either, will have a better survival rate if they enlist in a relatively non-combat field, like Military Intelligence, before they're forced into the infantry.

Good luck to him. Good luck to us all thanks to his ill-informed vote.

[Worst Username Ever]

5. um...

"My challenge to all of you is “where has the democratic party gone” why
are they loosing their base at an alarming rate and what will it take
to get them back?

Wha? The democratic base is stronger than it's ever been.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=849


If this first sentence is like this, I am not even going to bother reading the rest of it. Goodness.

[retread]

16. "where has the democratic party gone" ? "what will it take

to get them back?" He'll have his answers when John Kerry crushes * in November!!

[Mz Pip]

6. Where has the Republican Party gone?

If Dems are fed up with the Democratic Party, jumping ship to the Republican Party really doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

He should check out the replays of GW's and Cheney's 2000 speeches and ask if what Bush/Cheney offerred in 2000 has remotely come to pass. Smaller government? I don't think so. A united country? That would be a no. Fiscal responsibility? Nope. Honestly, if you take a good look at the Republican Party you will find just as many, if not more nut jobs. Talk about special interest groups holding the party hostage! Give me a break. Sure we have our nut case supporters but they don't hold positions of power in the Democratic Party. Take a good look at Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum and that wack job senator who talked about box turtles on the floor of the Senate. Jerry Falwell is doing their invocation for crissake. Talk about wrath. Just listen to Novak, Rush, Hannity, Coulter. THe Dems are supposed to muzzle Moore, Whoopi, etc when the Republicans do nothing to stop the venom of people with a far bigger audience than Whoopi.

Why anyone would vote for an administration who has given us a huge deficit, a hundred billion dollar trade deficit, falling status in the world community and tells the workers of this country that outsourcing is good for them. Whatever. Your brother can vote for Bush but that will not fix or even adress the concerns he expressed.

MzPip
:dem:

[CaTeacher]

7. I feel sympathy for you, and

wish that I could help. I am facing the same situation in my family--several relatives who have been life-long Democrats are planning to vote for Bush--and may even change their registration to Republican.

These are all intelligent, well-informed people--just as your brother seems to be. I just don't know what to do to combat this.

As your brother says--(paraphrasing) for years Democrats have been saying--elect us--and THEN we will care about your issues--then once they are in office--they do not deliver. My relatives have said this same same thing--and apparently they are tired of it. I feel very helpless.

[gtar100]

15. Clinton *did* address the issues we cared about

His healthcare plan was killed by a republican house and senate. Yet he still managed to pass policies that helped rather than hurt job growth. It's the republicans that are yelling so loudly that the democrats aren't delivering but they're the ones who block all the democratic initiatives.

Garbage In - Garbage Out

RNC rhetoric In - Garbage Out

[Kilroy003]

8. He's a lost cause.

Let him vote for the repubs. 'A person without a party' my ass! He can live with the consequenses up until the point where he has a massive heart attack when some poor 'towel-head' looks at him the wrong way. He can go suck Sean Hannity's cock.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

20. I think Kilroy003 said it best in his last sentence. nt

[Beetwasher]

9. LOL!

How droll.

[mzmolly]

10. I have a hard time sympathizing with him on labor when he supports Bush?

:crazy:

I also don't understand his comments on gay rights and gun laws? Is he against civil rights for all or for them? Is he against having assult weapons on the street, or for it?

He sounds very confused?

I'd ask him what his *values* are and break down the party differences from there.

Good luck.

Here is a contrast of Clinton's accomplishments vs. Bush's for starters.

Clinton:

http://pearlyabraham.tripod.com/htmls/bill-legacy2.html

http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/Accomplishments/html/accomp-plain.html

http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/Accomplishments/html/accomp-plain.html

Bush:

http://home.earthlink.net/~robx/Bush/Bush.html

[sandnsea]

11. Mike, my man, you're brainwashed!

No talk about controversial issues? Well yes, Mike, that would be because they are trumped up issues and not REAL issues that affect American's lives. Abortion, gay marriage and assault weapons bans will never affect me or most of America. Well, unless I'm shot by somebody with an assault weapon. Hollywood? You mean like Bruce Willis, Britney Spears, Ted Nugent, Healther Locklear, and Arnold? Funny how Hollywood is great when it puts a Republican in office, or the White House.

And why any union has ever supported a Republican is beyond me. But it's particularly true since Ronald Reagan began destroying unions with his attack on the air traffic controllers. And don't forget it was George Bush who threatened to replace striking dockworkers with federal troops.

But I know you won't listen Mike. You roll down the same old tired laundry list of attacks that Republicans have been using for decades. I can understand young people, who just don't know how bad a Republican Presidency can be. But after the sluggish economy of the 80's, followed by propserity in the 90's, followed by another sluggish Republican economy; well anybody who can't see the dollar signs in front of their face is just blinded by something I'll never understand.

I do have another solution though. If you want to be sure to live like a Republican, you can just go to Alabama or Mississippi. Let the rest of us get on with it and progress through sound science and fair taxation. We promise, when we discover the cure to cancer, we'll share.

[dae]

12. Damn Joe, I wish he wasn't your brother so I could tell you what I'd

really like to say to him; however, since he is, you have my most sincere sympathy.
If listening to real soldiers/combat-veterans/patriots/heroes like Wesley Clark, Max Cleland, and John Kerry cannot make an impression, give it up.
From the looks of his letter his talking points come straight out of the RNC playbook, so he must be worshiping at the feet of those oh so brave patriots Rush "Anal Cyst" Limpballs, Bill "Shut Up" O'Lielly, and Sean Hannity. Now, how does their war time service compare?
Look on the bright side Joe, we will win in spite of his vote.
:dem::kick:

[snippy]

13. I would tell him these things.

The republican party is the party of wedge issues which republicans exploit to turn Americans against Americans. The republican party is in favor of using the theology of some Americans to restrict the freedoms of all Americans. The republican party loves money above country and is fiscally irresponsible to a mind boggling degree. And the republican party is in favor of cheap, cheap, cheap labor. The republican party is not good for America.

Some areas of difference between the republican party and the democratic party:

Job Creation

Republican presidents are always, always, always bad for job creation. Since the 1920's, the annual rate of job creation under republican presidents has always been lower than under democratic presidents.

Since the depression, not a single republican president has had a better rate of job creation than any democratic president. The highest rate of job growth under a republican was 2.2% per year during Nixon's time in office. The lowest rate of job growth under a democrat was 2.3% per year during Kennedy's time in office. Bush has had a -0.7% annual rate which is the first negative number since the depression.

Since WWII ended, a total of 57.51 million jobs were created during the terms of democratic presidents which is an average of 2.054 million jobs per year. During the terms of republican presidents a total of 31.11 million jobs were created which is an average of 1.003 million jobs per year.





Fedral Deficit

Since Kennedy was president, republican presidents have always run higher federal deficits in current dollars, in constant dollars and as a percentage of GDP, than democratic presidents, except for 1968. In the 42 years since Kennedy's first budget, the US has increased the publicly held national debt by roughly $3.5 trillion. $3.2 trillion of this debt piled up in 22 years under republican presidents. $300 billion piled up in the 20 years under democratic presidents.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2004/sheets/hist...

The estimates in the table for 2003 and subsequent years are no longer applicable. The current estimates are much higher. Also, the numbers for the first year of a presidential term are from the budget of the preceeding term.

Stock Market

The stock market also performs better under democratic presidents.

The excess return in the stock market is higher under Democratic than
Republican presidencies:nine percent for the value-weighted and 16 percent
for the equal-weighted portfolio.The difference comes from higher real stock
returns and lower real interest rates,is statistically significant,and is robust
in subsamples.The difference in returns is not explained by business-cycle
variables related to expected returns,and is not concentrated around election
dates.There is no difference in the riskiness of the stock market across
presidencies that could justify a risk premium.The difference in returns
through the political cycle is therefore a puzzle.

http://www.personal.anderson.ucla.edu/rossen.valkanov/P...

This analysis covers the years 1927-1998 and separately examines the years from 1927-1962 and 1963-1998. Results which included the years from 1999-2003 would show an even greater difference.

And finally:

The entire world knows that Bush is the most compulsive and incessant liar in the history of American politics.

There is no subject so somber, serious, or shallow that Bush will not lie about it. The only other option is not to lie. And that apparently is something Bush can not do.

For example:

Bush says he fell off his bicycle because of the heavy rains and he watched on television on the morning of 9/11 as the first plane hit the first WTC tower and John McCain has an illegitimate Negro daughter and Bush would veto McCain-Feingold and the yawning boy was not there and was not yawning and besides he was standing some place else and Richard Clarke had complete access to Bush and Rice which proves that Clarke was out of the loop which is Clinton's fault but the White House revealed that Clarke briefed the press on background about Bush fighting terrorism which means that unnamed White House sources may not be identified even when Bush wants to and everyone except Bush himself knows where he was during his National Guard service but it was Clinton's fault that Bush did not show up for duty which was after Bush volunteered to go to Viet Nam but before he was no longer required to take a flight physical and about the same time that God ordered him to smite Saddam because the 70 lines of embryonic stem cells and more arsenic in the water and more mercury in the air prove that republican science is better than sound science and the Bush administration did not illegally conspire to illegally reveal the identity of a covert CIA operative which resulted in 2 million new jobs being created because democrats support terrorism and are not good Americans just as the Jews were not good Germans which is why Bush said he would veto the creation of both the Department of Homeland Security and the 9/11 Commission but now claims credit for their creation and the White House is cooperating with the 9/11 Commission which is why the White House withheld documents and called the republicans on the Commission before Clarke testified and why the White House is not coordinating the attacks on the integrity and bipartisanship of the Commission and why Bush and Cheney negotiated with the Commission that the two of them would testfy one time only but never again since the dental xrays prove that Bush spoke with the CIA director everyday and did not ignore either the repeated warnings of the dangers of al Qaeda and Osama or the August 2001 intelligence briefing specifically warning of the upcoming 9/11 attacks because the United States is a nation with a mission and that mission is to bring freedom to every single person in the world which will cut the deficit in half if you do not count those parts of the deficit which will increase under Bush which is Clinton's fault but the boxes from China were labeled "Made in USA" which resulted in 2.6 million new jobs being created even though the $400 billion Medicare prescription drug decorative turkey was not labeled $550 billion and was passed without bribery or criminal deception and was not criminally promoted by the Bush administration using taxpayers' money for propaganda purposes which proves that government spending under Bush has gone down if you do not count the increased government spending under Bush which is Clinton's fault just as acts of terrorism have decreased since 9/11 if you do not count the increase in the number of acts of terrorism and Bush's plane to Baghdad was spotted because before Saddam bought the uranium and became an "urgent" but not an imminent threat which is Clinton's fault Bush had no plans on his desk to invade Iraq since the invasion was not planned before Bush took office even though it was the subject of his first national security council meeting in February 2001 and in December 2001 when plans for the invasion were being finalized Bush said he was focused on the military operations in Afghanistan and then the Carrier Costume Party was too far offshore for the Navy to make a large enough "Mission Accomplished" banner to describe the WMD we have found in Iraq some of which Saddam was giving to Osama for following Saddam's plans and using Iraqi hijackers on 9/11 which is Clinton's fault but everyone who pays income taxes got a tax cut which created 3 million new jobs and allowed Iraqi oil revenue to pay for the cost of the reconstruction of Iraq after the invasion by a small number of troops who would be greeted with floral program related activities except for the dead and wounded troops who are being brought home secretly which is Clinton's fault since Bush is the one who hugs the mothers and the widows and the wives and the kids and since Bush does not watch television news he did not know about the republican torture pranks occurring in Iraq until he saw the pictures while watching television news and that is why Bush who will use the jawbone of an ass to force OPEC to open the spigots and who is responsible for good economic numbers but not bad economic numbers which are Clinton's fault wrote the poem that he did not write blaming Laura for dropping the dog.


FIRE THE LIAR

[gtar100]

14. His reasons are all standard right-wing rhetoric heard on talk radio

Many points but I'll just touch on one particular part. Mike says:
---
"I give the convention a good grade for style but in listening to the speakers I am left confused as to the mixed messages, an America I should be ashamed of and far too many promises. Besides speaking on the war there was no talk on the most controversial issues surrounding us today in Abortion, Gay marriage and the anti gun lobby."
---

The emphasis I heard in through the DNC this week was on making education, economic opportunity, and health care available for *all* Americans. These seem to me to be far more substantial and important issues than abortion, gay marriage and gun rights. In fact, raising the level of education, bringing economic opportunity and health care to our people would probably address the issues Mike brings up merely by consequence.

The "style" of the convention was only a forum in which to listen to the speakers, but it is not the heart and soul of what was important. Mike's comment was a cheap jab. As for too many promises, I won't even begin to list the functions of government here as there is not the space. My point is that there is a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time in a speech and promises portray a person's values and methods of problem solving. He can't outline every initiative and plan he's got in mind. That was the reason Senator Kerry mentioned his website johnkerry.com - plenty more details are there. I'm sure we'll be hearing plenty of promises from Mr. Bush during the Republican convention, just as we did in 2000.

But I'd like to address the issues Mike (and many others) believe to be the "most" controversial: Abortion, Gay Marriage and the "anti-gun lobby".

#1: If you make abortions illegal, you only criminalize them, not eliminate them. Better to make them obsolete which only education and improving the living conditions of people will address. The idea is to overcome the problem that creates the situation in the first place, not just lock up the few who would be caught to make you feel that something is being done about it. I imagine this is a hard point to grasp if you equate abortion to murder. But Mike's not a woman, and neither are most opponents to abortion.

#2: Gay marriage is a strange issue to raise as so important. This issue is so grounded in a belief system (ie, religion...Christianity) that one would have to extract oneself first from the guilt of even questioning its authenticity before you could even approach a legitimate answer to personal homophobia. Not everyone shares this concern and many of these same people lead happy, healthy, spiritual lives. Are there any examples of when a gay person, gay couple, or the marriage of two gay people were a threat to someone personally? It doesn't bother me in the least if someone is gay. Mike needs to find out why he's homophobic, but I wouldn't hold my breath for a deeply personal answer. Better to work on that one over time.

#3: The "anti-gun lobby" is a misleading label straight out of Republican Strategies 101. How about "anti-misuse of firearms", or "anti-selling guns to people who only intend to use them for crimes", or "anti-irresponsible behavior with deadly weapons". People with guns are killing or permanently disabling or severely injuring people at alarming rates here in the US. Statistical comparisons between countries show the US to be a highly violent society by an alarming margin. Bottom line is guns are being misused and the "pro-gun lobby" doesn't seem to give a shit. They ought to come up with some real solutions they are willing to live with instead bashing those who are pointing out the problem. And the NRA, its members, and every gun manufacturer contributes to the problem when they turn a blind eye and deaf ear to what's going on. They leave me with the impression that they care more for their hobby or the profit from selling guns than they do about the lives that are being destroyed with those same guns.

To bring the third point back on track to the DNC, once again it is the values of the Democratic party espoused in this weeks convention that show we are working to the core of issues, rather than these aberrations. Eliminating poverty will go a long way to solving problems of violence. The message I get from the Republican party of today is that they don't care about making priorities of education, workers' rights and affordable health care. They'd rather subsidize large corporations than pay into a common welfare system to protect our population from the debilitating effects of poverty. That is short-sighted because less poverty means a more vibrant economy. But today's Republicans are too transfixed on that easy money to see that they're bankrupting and killing the very people they are feeding off of.

I personally didn't hear a mixed message at the DNC - I can reconcile in my heart and mind that there is something to be hopeful for and things to be ashamed about in our collective history. Maybe it's easier for me because it wasn't me, for example, shooting Indian men, women and children in their sleep, or in their backs as they ran in fear, or on the battle fields all just to clear them from the land we wanted. Yet these same soldiers were our ancestors and I find their actions abhorrent and shameful. Yet it's done and the world is different and holds different possibilities than it once did. The Democratic ideals I heard this week allow me the space to see America for what it is in all its beauty and ugliness. I don't have to hide from it, justify it, or explain it away. I feel free to approach it and think and feel whatever is there for me. I heard from the Democratic party this week a fundamental affirmation of the Constitution of the United States and I just don't get that from the Republicans. I just get that they want me to label myself as they do themselves and follow the party line.

People like Michael Moore and other outspoken critics of the Bush Administration have made me feel proud to be an American without having to be conceited about it. I consider Michael Moore to be one of today's true American heroes. But for Mike to see this point would require the ability to see from a new perspective. It may be just as hard for some of us to see Ronald Reagan as an American hero who is considered as such by many (though once again they dismiss certain indisputable facts -- Iran-Contra, deficit spending, job loss, etc -- as irrelevant in order to hold that view). Republicans criticize Moore for saying negative things about the president and accuse him of lying. But I have yet to hear anything of substance refuted about F-911.

Long-winded, but thanks for the opportunity to get some thoughts out. I wish you the best between you and your brother.

[Zomby Woof]

17. sorry about your brother

Mental illness is tough on a family.

[bushwakker]

18. Clinton's re-election was not "too close to call"

where does he get this? by late spring of 1996 that race was over. his first election was a near electoral landslide. total up the popular votes of the last 3 prez elections and tell me which party is dead. it's been 15 years since a goper prez candidate got more votes than a dem. young folks and those who did not vote in 2000 favoring jk big time in polls this year. bounce will be small because there's not as many undecideds as usual at this time. the customary bounce is not 12-15 - that's GOP spin trying to heighten expectations. it's more like 6-8. ask him how much talk about abortion and gay marriage does he expect to see at the gop convention? believe me there will be very little red meat meat for the fundies. ask him why so many pro-choicers are speaking in prime time for an anti-choice party? what special interests groups that holding the party "hostage" are he talking about? seems to me the convention was all about what unites us. i didn't see a lot of labor, feminists, gays, trial lawyers etcetc.

your bro doesn't know much. he's just repeating rw talk radio Fox News spin. he's hopeless - move on.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

19. Don't waste your time talking to your brother about politics.

Based on what I've read, he's not smart enough to respond to reason.


Stick to discussions of sports, movies, fishing, etc.

[doctorbombeigh]

21. This is very odd

I keep seeing this here, people requesting assistance with these "alarming" emails from friends, relatives, or a really "pro-bush" commentary made by a co-worker. The thing is, they're all worded the same. Not simply the Rush/Hannity flavor of all the comments, that's standard. The introductions inviting response seem almost programmed. Nothing personal with the individual starting this thread (I have no idea who it is). I haven't been here that long, but I've noticed these several times.

I know some Republicans quite well. No one has ever sent me an email or given me some point-by-point replay of Rush/Hannity. I can't even imagine such a thing happening.

I can't really figure out why folks here get them so regularly, and why the intros/pleas-for-help are so similar. Seems very odd.

[WyLoochka]

22. I suggest you give him a gift

Send your brother the book: What's the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank.

"A brilliant analysis—and funny to boot—What’s the Matter with Kansas? presents a critical assessment of who we are, while telling a remarkable story of how a group of frat boys, lawyers, and CEOs came to convince a nation that they spoke on behalf of the People." LA Times review

An often cited quote from the book: "Vote to stop abortion; receive a rollback in capital gains taxes. Vote to make our country strong again; receive deindustrialization. Vote to screw those politically correct college professors; receive electricity deregulation. Vote to get government off our backs; receive conglomeration and monopoly everywhere from media to meat-packing. Vote to stand tall against terrorists; receive Social Security privatization. Vote to strike a blow against elitism; receive a social order in which wealth is more concentrated than ever before in our lifetimes, in which workers have been stripped of power and CEOs are rewarded in a manner beyond imagining."

If he reads this book (written by a former conservative Republican) with anything akin to an open mine, he will be mortified at how easy it was for the frat boys, corpo lawyers and CEOs to brainwash him.

[Zorra]

23. The political philosophy of Homer Simpson. Very sad.

[farmbo]

24. How to put this discretly?...Your Brother is a !%#*in A##hole!

And apparently a liar to boot.

The Democratic "base" is not slipping away...the Republican base is:

http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=1460&content=full

the 2003 Party preference poll was even worse for Republicans but I couldn't find a link. And his "poll" of the organized labor vote was a bald-faced unmitigated lie...Bush won less than 36% of the labor vote...not 52%your brother audaciously suggests:

http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?735&soc

So the foundation of his whole argument (diatribe) is a FRAUD! In other words...it is the typical "straw man" argument used by Rush Hannity and Coulter, in lieu of reasoned logic.

And His "...gee I'm a Democrat whose trying to give the party one last chance" theme is utter Bullshirt. Ever since Coors and Scaife brought in the marketing types in the 70s to fashion a mainstream "message" for the hard right, the marching orders for the shock troops is to portray themselves as "worried Democrats" or "former Democrats" to make it easier for swing voters to give them a listen.

If he is no more honest with himself than he is with you...don't waste your time fashioning a response. He has already gone over--irretrievably-- to the Dark Side.

Your time is better spent persuading true independent voters.

[IronLionZion]

25. They don't make Democrats like they used to

but they don't make Republicans like they used to either.



I'm voting for John John.

[seventhson]

26. I need to say this: Are you aware that the Bushes financed Hitler?

made much of their fortune from backing the Nazis and were prosecuted under "The Trading with the Enemeies Act" in 1942 AFTER the United States entered the war?

They were well connected then as now and got away with backing our enemies.


Did you know that the Bin Laden family helped finance the Bushes political and economic endeavours? Did you know that they were business partners with the Bushes in the Carlyle group and that the Saudi oil billionaires and sheiks consider the Bush (father and son) one of them?

Have you even seen Fahrenheit 9-11 or checked out the facts regarding these Bush ties to our enemies (after all it was Saudis financed by Saudis and Bin Ladens allegedly who flew the planes into the Twin Towers and Pentagon on 9-11).

Did you know Bush Sr was meeting with the Bin Ladens that day in Washington discussing their oil investments and other business?

If you do not know these things then maybe you can be excused for being ignorant of pertinent facts.

But if you are awre of these facts and will still vote for Bush then you are supporting what seems to me to be man who cares nothing at all about America, but who will do whatever it takes for his cronies to get rich and control the global oil market even if millions of innocent people die in the process

To me, the Bushes are the continuation of the Hitler era under new a new corporate logo. The old one became a liability and they tossed it.

If you want to support that, please do not say you were ignorant of their crimes any more.

I stake my life on the truth of my words here: and as Yogi Berra would say: "you can look it up!"