Kerry or Bush and why?

[Ryan Dognaux]

That is, if I could vote...

I don't even really feel like explaining though, since it's 1:30 AM here and anything I type will make absolutely no sense at all, and probably will end up having this thread locked.

[Andy Baker]

I'll vote Bush.

I cannot sit here and say that I like the guy, and I wish that we had better candidates to choose from. But, here are my reasons:

1. I believe in a smaller government. I am not happy that Bush has approve the spending of too much money over the last 4 years, but I think that a Republican president would make an effort to keep the government smaller than a Democratic president. I definitely don't want a Democratic president with a Democratic congress... this combination scares me.

Although I understand we need to have governmental controls, I actually lean more toward Libertarian, believe it or not. Adam Smith and that whole "invisible hand" stuff - I like that.

2. I am against abortion. This is non-debatable with me.

3. I believe in a strong military. Our actions and efforts in Afganistan are stellar. Our presence in Iraq is needed, but I don't agree with how Bush went about things. However, people need to keep in mind that Iraq broke many UN resolutions and the UN did not have the guts to stand up to him. Also, keep in mind that Iraq is not even in the same ballpark as Vietnam with regard to American lives lost.

Before you criticize me for being a "uncaring conservative fool", think again. I give much money to charity. I serve on the board of directors at a local rehabilitation organization (not-for-profit). I spend countless hours giving my passion to another not-for-profit organization, FIRST. I often talk to my more left-leaning friends and ask them what they do for their community, and they have no reply.

These are my political thoughts. Do I agree with everything that the Bush administration does? no. Some of the things tick me off too. However, my political thoughts are more in line with Bush's compared to Kerry's.

Many of you are smarter than me and will challenge me to a debate about this. I won't play that game. You won't change my mind, most likely. Feel free to educate me, but I probably won't debate these issues. My beliefs are deep, religious, and will probably not change. I am the way I am... maybe it's the stubborn farmer in me.

While I have these beliefs, I also think that what makes America great is the freedom to have your own beliefs and not be persecuted by others for them. I'll respect your opinions if you respect mine.

Andy B.

[Trinora]

Kerry, even if he isn't liberal enough for my tastes.

Bush has not made government smaller, what with the introduction of the Department of Homeland 'Security'. However, he has a horrible record for creating new jobs, in fact, the worst since Hoover. Hoover. Depression Hoover. Stock Market Crashing Hoover.

It's not even that. The typical 'New England' Republican is a socially and economically conservative favoring smaller government. This is a perfect idea, and while I don't exactly agree, it is.. defensible. Bush is one of the Neo-Conservative, or Neo-Cons. These Neo-Cons are strongly religious war hawks who do not believe in cutting down spending- they believe in cutting down taxes for the rich, giving tax breaks to major corporations, and deficiet spending billions and billions of dollars. They also are incredibly Christian, and choose to force these beliefs on government.

I am pro-government, I am pro-America, I am pro-rights and pro-informed decisions, I am for having a man in office that may actually understand the plight of the common man and the horror of living pay check to pay check, I am pro-learning and pro-robotics, and that is why I am voting proudly for Kerry in my first presidential election.

Bush or Kerry or Frickles Mudcat .

Warning: Sites may contain information not suitable for young or sensitive web surfers.

[Jeff Rodriguez]

Just an interesting tid-bit I noticed, almost everyone that has posted in this thread has been true to this map.

I just thought it was interesting and am wondering if the same will happen this year.

[Kit Gerhart]

I am voting for Kerry for a number of reasons, among them:

1) Kerry will restore fiscal responsibility. Bill Gates didn't really need a multi-million dollar tax cut, but we, as a nation, do need schools, and many older people will need social security and medicare in the future, and we don't need these huge deficits. Bush touts his "No Child Left Behind" legislation, but guess what? He doesn't want to pay for it. State and local governments have to pay for it, and will need to raise their, generally "regressive," sales and property taxes to do so. There go any tax cuts the low- and middle-income people might have seen from the Bush tax cuts.

2) Kerry will help the US re-join the world community, rather than turning the US in a a "rogue state" in the eyes of much of the world as Bush has done. Kerry, being a diplomat rather than a cowboy, will be able to work with the UN, and, yes, Germany and France, to help put Iraq back together. He will also work to restore the trust of the world regarding treaties signed by the US, helping fix the damage of Bush's having abrogated about 30 years worth of treaties signed by previous presidents.

3) Kerry will restore civil liberties that have been taken away by Ashcroft.

4) Kerry will not use our most sacred national document, the US Constitution, to try to shore up a core constituency, like Bush is doing with his "marriage amendment" for the "Christian Right."

5) Kerry will restore environmental protections that the Bush administration has been chipping away at since they took office.

6) Kerry will not get us into ill-conceived wars as the obsessed Bush has done. As many will remember, during the campaign, and for his first 8 months in office, Bush was obsessed with "star wars" missile defense. Then, after the events of 9/11 demonstrated the REAL threats we face, he briefly got on track and went after the bin Laden organization in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, he soon got sidetracked by his old obsession with Iraq. Now that we're in Iraq, we're stuck with putting it back together, but Kerry would be able to do a much better job than Bush at getting help from the rest of the world.

That's just a start of a case in favor of Kerry, and against Bush. I realize that many of my FIRST team mates and former team mates are fans of Bush. I don't hold that against them. I suspect, though, that they are as unlikely to convince me to vote for Bush as I am to convince them to vote for Kerry.


Also, as a proud liberal, I have the following beliefs that others may not hold:

1) A certain amount of "redistribution of wealth" is good, as with graduated tax brackets.

2) A certain amount of "socialism" is good, as with public schools, public highways, and even tax-funded health care and subsidized public transit.

3) Discrimination is bad, whether because of color, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. For some things, we need to go beyond "opinions of the majority."

[JakeGallagher]

The democrats have titled the tax-cuts Bush gave out as "Tax Cuts to the Wealthiest of America" or something of the sort. Do you remember how the economy was doing back when Bush gave out those cuts? Yes, it was horrible, but only because people were afraid to invest since the world wasn't in the greatest condition. After the tax cuts were given, the economy started to rebound, little by little. Why? Because with the extra money they got, big companies could afford to lower their prices and hire more people. This put a little more money into the stock market, and the trend is continuing to this day.
I'm not saying this to defend Bush at all, nor am I attacking Kerry. To tell you the truth, I don't give a crap about either of them, as to me they're both morons.
But, it just makes me so mad that democrats are trying to put the blame of the bad economy on one person who really had little control over the issue when it began.
Plus: the democrat's definition of a republican is: A rich, fat, white man who hasn't had to work for himself his entire life, so he is a politician as a hobby.
A democrat's definition of a democrat is: One of the "Good Ol' Boys" who puts a 40+ hour week and collects a modest paycheck at the end of the week.

I'm not rich or fat, but I'm more of a republican than anything else.*
John Kerry hasn't really worked in years. His wife probably has more money than Bill Gates. He wants to tax the richest people of the country, and leave everyone else to keep their own money? I really don't think that'll go over well at home.

*: I don't perfectly fit the republican mold.
I support choice. No one should be told what they have to do with their own body by the government.
I support some socialism, maybe even a little comminusm. If you don't think that working to help the community is a good thing, you shouldn't be here.
I support equal rights for everyone. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, asian, or martian to me. It doesn't matter if you like guys, girls, or martians. If you're here, you deserve the same rights that everyone else here gets. Just because you're not "normal" to someone else doesn't mean you're not a person.

[Ryan Dognaux]

I found this picture, and found it humorous.. not meant to be a bash or anything, just thought it looked funny

And reasons to vote for Bush.. hmm... Well, look what he was thrown. Only a few months after being voted into office 9/11 happens, and I personally think he's done the best job anyone could have done looking at the hand he was dealt. Go Bush!

[opps12]

I'm going to say one more thing which has changed my view on the bush administration more than anything i have ever read. Do yourself a favor and read this entire thing, please, if you can still vote bush after reading this, well.....i'm sorry for you

go to this link http://truthout.org/docs_03/091503A.shtml

do yourself a favor and read the entire thing

[David Kelly]

Originally Posted by opps12

I'm going to say one more thing which has changed my view on the bush administration more than anything i have ever read. Do yourself a favor and read this entire thing, please, if you can still vote bush after reading this, well.....i'm sorry for you

go to this link http://truthout.org/docs_03/091503A.shtml

do yourself a favor and read the entire thing

sorry, link is broken

[David Kelly]

For those of you planning on driving to Atlanta, use this calculator to calculate how much money you will be saving without the $.50 gas tax hike proposed by John Kerry.

Calculator

[Aaron Knight]

Originally Posted by David Kelly

For those of you planning on driving to Atlanta, use this calculator to calculate how much money you will be saving without the $.50 gas tax hike proposed by John Kerry.

Calculator

Whilst we're pulling one side's rhetoric and advertising, how about the other side's Rebuttal?

I don't think either of the candidates' web pages are exactly likely to be rhetoric-free...

[Jensena]

Originally Posted by Clark Gilbert

Bush --- I'm retain my right not to have to explain why.

bush for me too... Diddo

[Aaron Knight]

This is interesting: the actual posts in this thread have been overwhelmingly Bush, yet the votes seem to be more Kerry than Bush.......

Where are the rest of the opinions?

[Pierson]

This will be my first Presidential election. I have worked and received a paycheck since I was 15. I have watched too much of my money go to the government and I have not seen good things happen in my state (which is controlled by Democrats in the Legislature and the Governor’s Mansion.) Some people say “Tax Cuts for the Rich” look at what Bill and Melinda Gates have done with their Foundation, they have given $7 BILLION out since the inception of the foundation. Just think of what they can do with a lower tax rate. I am a firm believer in the individual. The government does not know the best things to do with my money. I do.

I will happily put my X in front of President Bush. Why? Let’s talk Terrorism. When the WTC was bombed the first time, did the President do anything about it? No, he (Clinton) sent a couple of missiles into an Aspirin factory in the Middle East. President Bush following the attacks on 9/11/01 laid out a decisive course of action and executed it. We liberated an oppressed people in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is my belief that President Bush will keep the country safer and make it more prosperous than Kerry.

Could I go into character bashing here? Sure. Do I choose not to? Yes.

Would I like to see a smaller government? Yes. But do I see changes doing to the changing nature of the world. Yes. Do I see our government adapting? Yes. Is this the best place to live in the world? I would argue that.

In how many other countries can we have a discussion not only like this, but also be involved in the programs we like, and be free to do what we want?

If any of you want to argue the Patriot Act, please ask yourself first, “How have I been impacted by the Patriot Act?”

OK… I normally keep my political beliefs somewhat to myself… But I have spoken and will now go back to talking about robotics!

[opps12]

Originally Posted by David Kelly

sorry, link is broken

sorry, the link isn't working, here's the google cache of the article

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

This is the article that has turned me most away from bush, and solidified my opinion to NOT vote for him, please read the whole thing and then if anybody can still decide to vote for bush, well then that is the people's right, and i can't argue that