Why They Didn't Vote Dem
Well, I would start by claiming that people, in general, want to be told that they are alright.
As soon as a child falls down and hurts himself, the parent immediately tells said child, "You're alright, don't cry." This is done to keep the child from crying and to inform the child that while you know they just went through something painful, it is not the end of the world.
The same is with Bush and Kerry this year.
Now, I'm a "librul" and voted Nader in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. I also dwell in a city named Cincinnati in the magical and illustrious swing state of Ohio. I too had hoped for a Kerry win. Bush and friends have lied for 4 years now on almost every issue. But that didn't happen.
Now, people will look at statistics, they will compare Bush voters to Kerry voters, they will examine the issues and the support each candidate garnered for each. But people still seem to wonder why Bush won, or why Kerry lost. I think it is because of what I said in the first paragraph.
Yes, there are less jobs than four years ago. The economy at best is stagnant, and outside of the cities people are working less hours than they would like, for less an hour. But there isn't a recession, so people don't see our situation as dire.
Do I agree that the economy isn't that bad? Well, no. But most people don't see an economic nightmare ahead because they don't pay attention to deficits or our national debt. They are worried about paying for their mortgage and car. And higher taxes mean less money after their payments, even if Kerry wasn't planning on taxing them.
A war on terrorism and a war in Iraq, seemingly related since they are both waged against Arab Muslims, to an extent. While I and many Kerry voters will cry out that they are not related, that Iraq has been nothing short of a distraction from real terrorists, for almost 50% of people Iraq and Al Qaida are almost the same. No, Iraq was not responsible for 9/11, but at the same time people think that since Hussein would have loved to be a part of something like that, and it's good enough for them to think Iraq was justified.
I believe the war in Iraq was a mistake for numerous reasons. Killing civilians in the name of freedom just doesn't work for me. Sure, it happened in WW2, but that was less for freedom than it was for defense. We were attacked, they declared war on US. In Iraq, it's the exact opposite. And right now, there are Iraqis who have lost family and friends and see US troops invading their cities. They don't see the US as a peaceful nation, they see it as an occupier and as an Empire. This is what Bin Laden wanted. He told them we would be coming to invade their Muslim cities and taking their oil. That we would kill their family and try to convert them. And with the help of the Christian Right, we are doing both. We bomb their cities and kill their citizens, even though Iraqis never attacked us. We have to regain Falluja because...we don't presently occupy the city. We have Christians over in Iraq trying to convert them. This is NOT helping our image. And it is dividing us from our Allies.
Guns are always a wedge issue, and of course the Repubs use it to divide and conquer. Look, gun ownership is something that many people base their whole vote around. While I believe an individual does not need an M-16 to hunt dear, I also don't believe that responsible people should be prohibited from owning a gun similar to said M-16. Repubs feel the same and get the militaman's vote. No surprise there.
Personally, I think many in the West and Southwest would be willing to vote (D) if it weren't for our attempts to regulate what guns they can and cannot buy. I think we should argue for more stringent registration and ballistic fingerprints, and then allow people to do with the guns what they like. Some will get into the hands of criminals, but they do already. Not everyone is going to go out and get an M-16. But the attempt by Democrats to even try to stop them is what pushes them over the limit.
So, you may ask, what the hell was I talking about with the children and parents analogy in the first paragraph. What does it have to do with this election? Well, I would say that even with everything going wrong with our country, with our leaders lying and the world's opinion of us dropping, we still aren't in that bad of a situation. While Kerry was telling us like it is, Bush was like the parent who doesn't want to hear their child cry. Bush told the American people that everything was alright, that we would be okay. And more people believed that than believed Kerry, who told us everything wasn't alright.
I think in the end, it was enough. People want to be told that everything will be alright. When we are sad or upset, even though we may not believe it at that moment, when someone tells us everything will be alright, it ignites a little spark of hope.
Yet, if you ask me, Kerry was right. We didn't just fall down and scrape ourselves like Bush wants us to believe. We have a broken wrist, ankle, and leg. We do need to remedy the situation and Kerry wanted us to see a doctor and or get a second opinion. But, we, like children, just want to be told everything is alright Why? Because the other pronouncement would indicate that there are tough times ahead. And who wants that?
As soon as a child falls down and hurts himself, the parent immediately tells said child, "You're alright, don't cry." This is done to keep the child from crying and to inform the child that while you know they just went through something painful, it is not the end of the world.
The same is with Bush and Kerry this year.
Now, I'm a "librul" and voted Nader in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. I also dwell in a city named Cincinnati in the magical and illustrious swing state of Ohio. I too had hoped for a Kerry win. Bush and friends have lied for 4 years now on almost every issue. But that didn't happen.
Now, people will look at statistics, they will compare Bush voters to Kerry voters, they will examine the issues and the support each candidate garnered for each. But people still seem to wonder why Bush won, or why Kerry lost. I think it is because of what I said in the first paragraph.
Yes, there are less jobs than four years ago. The economy at best is stagnant, and outside of the cities people are working less hours than they would like, for less an hour. But there isn't a recession, so people don't see our situation as dire.
Do I agree that the economy isn't that bad? Well, no. But most people don't see an economic nightmare ahead because they don't pay attention to deficits or our national debt. They are worried about paying for their mortgage and car. And higher taxes mean less money after their payments, even if Kerry wasn't planning on taxing them.
A war on terrorism and a war in Iraq, seemingly related since they are both waged against Arab Muslims, to an extent. While I and many Kerry voters will cry out that they are not related, that Iraq has been nothing short of a distraction from real terrorists, for almost 50% of people Iraq and Al Qaida are almost the same. No, Iraq was not responsible for 9/11, but at the same time people think that since Hussein would have loved to be a part of something like that, and it's good enough for them to think Iraq was justified.
I believe the war in Iraq was a mistake for numerous reasons. Killing civilians in the name of freedom just doesn't work for me. Sure, it happened in WW2, but that was less for freedom than it was for defense. We were attacked, they declared war on US. In Iraq, it's the exact opposite. And right now, there are Iraqis who have lost family and friends and see US troops invading their cities. They don't see the US as a peaceful nation, they see it as an occupier and as an Empire. This is what Bin Laden wanted. He told them we would be coming to invade their Muslim cities and taking their oil. That we would kill their family and try to convert them. And with the help of the Christian Right, we are doing both. We bomb their cities and kill their citizens, even though Iraqis never attacked us. We have to regain Falluja because...we don't presently occupy the city. We have Christians over in Iraq trying to convert them. This is NOT helping our image. And it is dividing us from our Allies.
Guns are always a wedge issue, and of course the Repubs use it to divide and conquer. Look, gun ownership is something that many people base their whole vote around. While I believe an individual does not need an M-16 to hunt dear, I also don't believe that responsible people should be prohibited from owning a gun similar to said M-16. Repubs feel the same and get the militaman's vote. No surprise there.
Personally, I think many in the West and Southwest would be willing to vote (D) if it weren't for our attempts to regulate what guns they can and cannot buy. I think we should argue for more stringent registration and ballistic fingerprints, and then allow people to do with the guns what they like. Some will get into the hands of criminals, but they do already. Not everyone is going to go out and get an M-16. But the attempt by Democrats to even try to stop them is what pushes them over the limit.
So, you may ask, what the hell was I talking about with the children and parents analogy in the first paragraph. What does it have to do with this election? Well, I would say that even with everything going wrong with our country, with our leaders lying and the world's opinion of us dropping, we still aren't in that bad of a situation. While Kerry was telling us like it is, Bush was like the parent who doesn't want to hear their child cry. Bush told the American people that everything was alright, that we would be okay. And more people believed that than believed Kerry, who told us everything wasn't alright.
I think in the end, it was enough. People want to be told that everything will be alright. When we are sad or upset, even though we may not believe it at that moment, when someone tells us everything will be alright, it ignites a little spark of hope.
Yet, if you ask me, Kerry was right. We didn't just fall down and scrape ourselves like Bush wants us to believe. We have a broken wrist, ankle, and leg. We do need to remedy the situation and Kerry wanted us to see a doctor and or get a second opinion. But, we, like children, just want to be told everything is alright Why? Because the other pronouncement would indicate that there are tough times ahead. And who wants that?
posted by Cinesias at 1:01 PM
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