Paradoxically, this year the best thing that could happen to liberals -- and to the country -- may be for hardcore conservatives to act on their convictions and withhold support for Bush. A column by right-wing wack job Robert Novak neatly encapsulates why I'm hopeful we're in the waning months of the Bush dynasty's current incarnation:
1. Fiscal conservatives know in their hearts that Bush is the worst thing to come along since LBJ regarding government growth.
2. The Iraq adventure is bad for business. Overtly, the war got sold as a hunt for WMD. More quietly, it was pitched to the corporate sector as a bonanza for wildcat investors. So far only Halliburton seems to have bought the pitch. The other covert intent behind the war was to make the Middle East safer for Israel, a cause that the old-line conservatives don't care about on a good day, much less while Sharon is lobbing tank shells that kill scores of unarmed civilians in Gaza.
3. The red meat Bush feeds so successfully to evangelical Christians -- a ban on partial-birth abortion, an imaginary constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages -- don't inspire many formerly mainstream conservatives. These are intelligent people who've seen their party (and ideals, such as they are) hijacked by professional politicians and religious zealots. They got their tax cuts last year, and they know more cuts are not only unlikely but reckless. So what does that leave them to rally 'round in support of Bush? Only patriotic fervor during wartime, which gets trumped by #2 above.
Posted by Vernam at May 21, 2004 01:50 AM | TrackBackExpanding the analogy, is an Independent a tranny, or one who is into, um, self-abuse?
Posted by: deano at May 27, 2004 05:37 PMI feel like a once horny heterosexual who now has no interest in sex but definitely does not want to go the other way. Go ahead Vernam Freud. Have at it.
Posted by: TOF at May 26, 2004 09:33 PM> I didn't even watch it. What does that
> tell you?
Uh, you're trying to lull us into complacency?
>Vern, when are you buying TOF a 'welcome
>to the other side' brew?
November 3, 2004
> I didn't even watch it. What does that tell you?
Vern, when are you buying TOF a 'welcome to the other side' brew?
I thought Bush's stumbling over the Abu-Garaib pronunciation was almost _too_ freudian. I mean, sheesh, pretty soon he's going to be unconsciously reciting 'When The Music's Over' lyrics....
Posted by: deano at May 25, 2004 10:41 PMI didn't even watch it. What does that tell you?
Posted by: TOF at May 25, 2004 10:04 AMBush's performance (not substance) was far better tonight than in the recent catastrophic press conference. Previously, he came across as a complete no-op. Now, he seems to be in willful denial, which is progress of a sort. (Though his multiple pronunciations of "Abu-Garaib" were amusing.) When he loses the election, he can tell himself it was a price paid for his personal loyalty to Rummy et al. At least LBJ knew he screwed up and then did the honorable thing.
Posted by: VC at May 24, 2004 10:47 PMI hate it when VC is right. Check out my Sopranos post.
Posted by: TOF at May 24, 2004 06:07 PMThis probably has more info than you need or want about vets' role in the election. Zogby's May 21 poll shows one-third of likely voters identify the economy as their top issue and prefer Kerry (52%) over Bush (32%). Just over 20% of likely voters say Iraq is their top issue and favor Kerry by 52% to 39%. About 9% say the war on terror is their top issue and favor Bush by 64% to 26%. Zogby also says "The Election is Kerry's to Lose," which we can only hope is true.
Posted by: VC at May 24, 2004 05:16 PMOn the fiscal conservative front, not only do we have to think about our swollen deficit, but Iraq's pre-invasion debt is $120B. That's 900% the size of the Iraqi economy. You know who is going to be asked to kick in. Add that to the reconstruction estimates, which some truly scary types are now pegging at half a trillion, Wall St is not happy.
I've been searching for a recent veteran's opinion poll, but without much luck yet.
Posted by: deano at May 24, 2004 10:19 AM