To Hell in Kerry's Handbasket
Alright, I give in. The post gets political. I was pushed over the edge by an email I just received.
Now, I have the upmost respect for everyone's right to vote as they see fit. I've got my reasons, and I know plenty of folks who have theirs. But this s**t is too much. Here's a little excerpt from the email I got from one Brannon Howse, who claims to be the president and founder of something called the Worldview Weekend:
I believe anyone that does not vote on Tuesday is sinning and anyone
that votes for Kerry is committing an even greater sin! We not only need
President Bush but we need members of the U.S. House and Senate that
will support those he will appoint to the federal bench and the U.S.
Supreme Court.
This election is a worldview battle, a battle between good and
evil....it is a spiritual battle. This is it folks.....if Kerry wins and
he appoints Judges to the U.S. Supreme Court; America is lost.
You can reach Brannon at brannon@worldviewweekend.com.
posted by Unknown at 3:15 PM
17 Comments:
I'm hoping one of my smart Republican friends (there-- I said it!) will chime in here and help us out. Harbs, you out there? I know you're not down with Mr. Howse and his ilk.
4:44 PM
Please oh please oh please... for the love... don't paint "the Republican party" or even Christians who are Republicans with this man's brush.
It is demagoguery designed to get people to go vote, and it's wrong on so many levels (politically, religiously, historically)... he's so full of wind, ignorance and hate... and unfortunately he'll never hear about it, because he won't waste his precious time reading my email.
The more I'm reading about the Founders, the more I realize that the seeds to these two ideologies are a natural part of our system. The conflict is practically built into our history and our identity. We need people on both sides. What we don't need are people who are willing to see their ballots as swords and the voting process as a fight against the evil and the stupid. Such a mentality is destructive in more than one way, but it's sadly prevalent in both parties.
Now, I can give reasons why thoughtful people vote Republican (if anyone is interested and it will be taken in the spirit it's given), but everyone needs to realize that the ideological roots behind both parties are virtuous, and are usually skewed by less than virtuous people who are using the systems for selfish gain. Our philosophical tradition is founded on the struggle between freedom and security, and the adversarial clash between the two should provide us with a nice, happy medium, because both are needed in measure.
9:11 PM
I've been an independent voter all my voting life. I distinctly remember a group of us (Drew Pickle included) going down to to the community center in downtown Siloam Springs to cast a ballot in the 1992 presidential election. I proudly cast my vote for that gazillionaire goofball Ross Perot. I supported Libertarian Harry Browne in '96, egomaniacal oddball Ralph Nader in 2000 and skydiving scuba dude Michael Badnarik yesterday. Hey, Louisiana was in Bush's column anyway, so why not vote my conscience and get some much-needed sleep? As for Lord Bush getting in again, who cares. The War Party is all about power and control.
George W. "Temporary" Bush and John "Long Devil" Kerry (that's their Skull and Bones nicknames) are cut from the same cloth. The citizens don't get a real choice, which is why I feel good voting independent. I'm with Harbs on this one.
10:02 AM
thank you, my right-leaning independent friends for chiming in (and you, too Andrew)...
it's like this: This president should have been EASY to defeat (both times!). There's no need to go into the reasons. I didn't need Michael Moore to tell me, either.
I'm very upset with the Democrats. I said it when Kerry clinched the nomination-- Can't we do better than that? Part of me was a little nervous he'd win, b/c I'm not sure he's completely up to the job, and you KNOW he would have been under some serious Republican scrutiny.
I'd say the Democrats OVERESTIMATED the A.B.B.B vote and UNDERESTIMATED Karl Rove's stroke of red-herring genius with that whole gay marriage thing.
10:30 AM
Karl Rove is a lot like Bullwinkle.
"Watch me pull Osama out of my hat."
"Aww, that trick never works."
Don't look at me. Walter Cronkite said it first.
10:35 AM
I'm really surprised that Kerry didn't win and even more surprised that it's not taking two weeks to find that out! Stephen and I were both planning to vote for Badnarik, but we happen to live in the one state that didn't have any other options on the ballot but Bush or Kerry. Anways, we left it blank....Oklahoma was for Bush anyways...but I am still surprised that he won.
11:18 AM
Hey Harbs,
Hasn't Bush proved himself yet? He proved that he doesn't care about the deficit, our future, or the poor, or using our troops without adequate intelligence. I am really dumbfounded, and am thinking very dark thoughts about this country. The evangelicals say that they voted for a man of God in the White House, I think we got the devil. Our country is based on the push and pull between two parties, but with this setup the check and balance system is way out of whack. The Republicans control all branches of the government. What was said about absolute power? Does anyone really think that this is good? IL did its part, its too bad that no one else did.
12:24 PM
Harbs--You know I love you like a brother. But yes, after last night, I do think the slight majority is dumb. And I drive a 12 year old VW with 160K miles that leaks transmission fluid all over my driveway. T'ain't no limousine.
What really bothers me is the way the Republican party has completely bamboozled the evangelical folks into thinking they've got a "man of God" in the White House. Come on. Vote right wing for your economic policies all day long... and if the people decide then so be it. But the notion that this warmongering unilaterlist is somehow acting as the arm of God makes me sick.
Which brings me back to my bitter disappointment in the Democratic party for losing this one (again). Where's Jimmy Carter when you need him? Can he run again? He only served one term. . .
12:38 PM
Hasn't Bush proved himself yet? He proved that he doesn't care about the deficit, our future, or the poor, or using our troops without adequate intelligence. I am really dumbfounded, and am thinking very dark thoughts about this country.Do you guys realize that when you say things like this, you sound just like those nutcase evangelicals that say it's a sin to vote for Kerry? My response to statements like this is the same as my response to people who think that John Kerry is an elitist leftist who only wants to empower a faceless government because he thinks he can control everyone's lives better than they can. You need to stop listening to people like James Carville (or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity) and start talking to real people who vote for Kerry (or Bush) and dig beyond the talking points.
Come on, guys... You can't honestly believe that a blanket statement like "Bush doesn't care about poor people" is anything more than irrational. It's rhetoric that inflames the passions when reasoned discussion isn't seeming to get the job done for you. You may not agree with his methods. That's fine. But isn't saying that tantamount to saying that because Kerry voted against the supplemental package, he must not care about soldiers?
12:53 PM
As far as the Republicans controlling both houses and the White House, our system has this wonderful check on that: In two years, there will be another vote. I know it might be painful for some to wait that long, but if the rest of the country agrees that things are going just as badly as you think they are at that time, they'll let the Republicans know about it. It always seems to work that way.
And you don't want Jimmy Carter back in office. He's a good man and a Christian brother, but there are some people who are just bad presidents. You can't snub Congress and turn your nose up at people who don't agree with your agenda and get anything done.
12:56 PM
let it also be known that I have never let the evangelical christian/Bush is a man of god statement come out of my mouth. I don't buy it and I don't pretend to put bush on any religious pedestal. My own faith plays a role in my decision making process, but don't put me on that bandwagon. This evangelical (probably more Orthodox, really) thinks that both parties are screwed and shudders at the blindness of the american evangelical population in regards to politics period. Let's get that straight right now. And bro, I'd never label you personally a limo-liberal. I'd be willing to say we agree more than you realize. Can I still move to Little Rock?
furthermore, I know that this whole game plays off of the pull between left and right. We gotta have both. But lets be honest and call it even in regards to partisan rabidness. It was Clinton who divided this country, if you remember the 2000 vote. You can't blame the division on Bush. He's just the face of one side. I think the real majority of folks don't trust Bush OR Kerry. I know I don't.
1:04 PM
You can't snub Congress and turn your nose up at people who don't agree with your agenda and get anything done.
But snubbing the U.N. and international community and silencing the people who don't agree with you is another matter. . .
1:05 PM
When you are in control of all the branches of the government, not doing something is tantamount to actively working against it. Bush has had his opportunity. I am very, very poor, and currently out of work (education has really benefitted from Bush, over half of IL's school districts are bankrupt, and teachers are being cut so that schools can hire cheaper substitute teachers) all I have recieved from Bush was a check two years ago for $250 and lost my teaching job. I have lost far more than I have gained. What about the billionairs? How does my $250 and unemployment balance with what they have recieved from this president.
Sad as hell and thinking about Canada (they probably need teachers)
1:20 PM
Good news Harbs!!!! I just got you a job at the Clinton Presidential Library!
Tee hee. Little Rock welcomes you.
2:02 PM
Hurry down doomsday, the bugs are takin' over!!
2:20 PM
But snubbing the U.N. and international community and silencing the people who don't agree with you is another matter. . .I never said it was, and I'm not defending Bush here. We were talking about Jimmy Carter.
As far as "unilateralism" goes, I think we can all admit that most of us know pretty much jack crap about the circumstances surrounding the war in Iraq. It's difficult for me to get too indignant, one way or the other, when I don't know what the President knew and when. My gut has always been that it was never a good idea, but when I see people get rabid over the issue on either side, I wonder what they know that I don't.
5:53 PM
Dr. Sax,
As a fellow poor teacher, my advice to you is to either look at your work as a life of service or find something that's going to pay more. If you wait for something like to government to make your life comfortable, you're barking up the wrong tree. It never has and it never will, regardless of who is in office.
Not that you asked for my advice.
5:58 PM
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