How I feel about those that vote or have ever voted for a Pub, ANY Pub

[dinopipie]

There was once a time when I thought that Americans were really starting to wise up, that the recent economic catastrophe just might make a few rethink their worshipful attitude for the parasites up on Wall Street. I had the foolish hope that America just might move a little back from becoming willing serfs to those ivory tower dwelling monsters who sold out our entire country for short term gain. But it seems that the angriest people in America, those who have been victimized the same as the rest of us have done as they always do, condemn the puppets while kissing the feet of the puppeteers.

I am simply getting too tired to continue to beat my head up against your ignorance and hate any more. The simple futility of trying to illuminate the dark abyss that is American conservative thought is making me old before my time. So rather than trying to educate the terminally ignorant any more I will simply curse you with your fondest wishes.

If you kill public education I wish that your ignorant uneducated offspring continue to live off of you for the rest of their lives.

If you kill health reform I hope that you end up buried under a mountain of debt with no way on earth to avoid losing everything you own.

If you kill financial reform I hope you lose every hard earned dollar you dare invest to keep a roof over your head when you get old.

If you drive the unions out of your work place I hope the whole place gets sold off to China the next day.

I hope those bankers whom you worship as the gods of holy capitalism take you for everything you are worth and then some.

I hope those republican obstructionists you vote for sell you out to the highest bidder and then laugh in your stupid face and say "What did you expect?"

In short I hope you get the short end of every wish you have should it come to pass, and you will. The working man has been under attack in this country for decades and for taking the side of those who ruin lives for the sake of a quick buck you deserve the very worst of what is to come.

You want to kill the government? If so you deserve every tainted bite of food, every unsafe job, every pay cut, every outrageous medical bill, every unfair rate hike, every unsafe car, every bad road, and every merciless corporate ripoff you get. Kill the only entity with the power to stand up for us? You deserve to be slaves to Wall Street, enjoy your servitude, we who would be free from both government and corporate enslavement will try to save your sorry asses in spite of you.

Do I sound bitter? Your continuous death wish for our society and our planet helped make me that way.
Do I not sound like the weak willed tolerant stereotype of a liberal you are fond of despising? Well this is what your attitude has done to our country. If you do not respect reason maybe you will respect a little good old fashioned spite.

[Scootaloo]

1. They are out to hurt you

Maybe not you personally, but that's what they want; they want to hurt people. It's the absolute only possible explanation for their record. it can't be ignorance, you can't stay ignorant of this stuff unless you're literally living in a cave. It can't be delusion, because it's obvious to everyone in the system that it is not working for anyone. All it can be is that they understand what they're doing, they're understanding that it causes harm, and they choose to inflict that harm anyway.

I've come to the point where I realize that anyone who is earnestly and informedly a conservative is quite literally my enemy. they are a danger to my well-being. It's a pack of evil little fucks whose only goal in life is to revel in the pain of others.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

56. It's not that they want to hurt you, it's that they don't give a damn

And that's even worse in some ways. In Catholic theology, there are Seven Deadly Sins, one of which is sloth. Sloth is generally seen as laziness, but the term in Latin is acedia, which is better translated as "not caring." In this case, the Republicans don't care who gets hurt.

I have believed for at least three decades that American conservatism is based on greed, egotism and disdain for their fellow citizens. Their mantra is "I've got mine, so screw you!"

[Zalatix]

66. No, it's definitely about hurting. It's about culling the herd.

This is ENTIRELY about getting rid of the weak and the poor. "I've got mine, so screw you" explains the first few times. When you have been made witness to the consequences of "I don't care" repeatedly, and you keep doing it, Occam's Razor no longer works, simply because it has been made dull from so much use. At this point you know what you're doing and you're doing it intentionally. It becomes murder. Mass murder.

This is why President Obama, a Harvard attorney who isn't known to hyperbolize, explicitly called it social Darwinism.

If you want to get rid of the poor and not provoke the international community with death squads and concentration camps, or foment an immediate revolution within your borders, the GOP's method is exactly how you do it.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

70. Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity

I believe that you are overstating it. It is not an active desire to do harm, but rather a misplaced view of the world. A quotation from William F Buckley, written in 1955:

It is the job of centralized government (in peacetime) to protect its citizens’ lives, liberty and property. All other activities of government tend to diminish freedom and hamper progress. The growth of government (the dominant social feature of this century) must be fought relentlessly. In this great social conflict of the era, we are, without reservations, on the libertarian side. The profound crisis of our era is, in essence, the conflict between the Social Engineers, who seek to adjust mankind to conform with scientific utopias, and the disciples of Truth, who defend the organic moral order. We believe that truth is neither arrived at nor illuminated by monitoring election results, binding though these are for other purposes, but by other means, including a study of human experience. On this point we are, without reservations, on the conservative side.

The problem with this view is that it ignores such things as why government got into the welfare business: It was not because "social engineers" wanted to control people, but because private charities -- who, in the main, do yeoman service -- were simply unable to cope with all who needed help. Buckley's "disciples of Truth" seem to be Social Darwinists, a philosophy wholly incompatible with Buckley's vaunted Catholicism. Social Darwinists do not seek to actively harm the poor, but rather believe that helping them is at best useless.

Social conservatives see traditional social values threatened, so they support such things as school prayer and oppose such things as abortion and same-sex marriage. Essentially, social conservatives are driven by fear of the unknown and an idealized image of what America used to be. I used to know a Catholic priest who as recently as 25 years ago, believed that the sort of Leave It To Beaver family where the father works and the wife takes care of the house and children was a reasonably accurate portrayal of the typical middle-class family. The other thing guiding the social conservative is fear: If you let gays marry, then what is to stop someone marrying the Eiffel Tower? Here is a conservative making this exact point. My main difficulty with social conservatives is that when they say "I believe in individual freedom", what is actually being said is "I believe in individual freedom, just as long as the individual is doing something I approve of", which really means "I don't believe in individual freedom."

Another problem I have with conservatives is that all too often, ignorance of history and economics seems to be encouraged (in the case of libertarians, ignorance of history seems to be required). I have come across conservatives who insist that Hitler and Mussolini were solid leftists -- after all, was it not the National Socialist German Workers Party? Of course, by the same argument, the German Democratic Republic and the Peoples Demcratic Republic of Korea are both democracies. Conservatives who say that Obama is a socialist, a statement which can be made only by someone wholly ignorant of socialism. (I know one man who said that Obama is a communist, a socialist, a fascist and an anarchist simultaneously, which I said is like saying that someone is a Wesleyan Methodist, a Hassidic Jew and a Sunni Muslim simultaneously.) In his book on the Depression, Milton Friedman damned the Federal Reserve for not increasing the money supply when the economy started tanking. This ignores the fact that the Fed was prohibited by law from doing so, since the money supply was pegged to the amount of gold held by the Treasury. I know a man who wants a return to the gold standard, even though it would lead to such a massive contraction of the money supply as to make the depths of the Depression in 1933 seem like "the good old days". Most of all, many conservatives champion laissez-faire economics, despite its demonstrated failures. And so on. Sarah Palin, despite her vast ignorance, is seen as a champion; and I have been sneered at by conservatives because I have a PhD from Harvard.

No, it's not a deliberate desire to injure people -- even if some conservatives have cheered at the prospect of someone without health insurance dying. Rather, it is adherence to an ideology which does not take into account the real needs of real people. And unfortunately, conservatives have a brand of populism which is based on fear. Molly Ivins wrote about Rush Limbaugh's popularity thus:

A large segment of Limbaugh's audience consists of white males, 18 to 34 years old, without college education. Basically, a guy I know and grew up with named Bubba.

Bubba listens to Limbaugh because Limbaugh gives him someone to blame for the fact that Bubba is getting screwed. He's working harder, getting paid less in constant dollars and falling further and further behind. Not only is Bubba never gonna be able to buy a house, he can barely afford a trailer. Hell, he can barely afford the payments on the pickup. And because Bubba understands he's being shafted, even if he doesn't know why or how or by whom, he listens to Limbaugh. Limbaugh offers him scapegoats. It's the "feminazis." It's the minorities. It's the limousine liberals. It's all these people with all these wacky social programs to help some silly, self-proclaimed bunch of victims. Bubba feels like a victim himself--and he is--but he never got any sympathy from liberals.

Psychologists often tell us there is a great deal of displaced anger in our emotional lives--your dad wallops you, but he's too big to hit back, so you go clobber your little brother. Displaced anger is also common in our political life. We see it in this generation of young white men without much education and very little future. This economy no longer has a place for them. The corporations have moved their jobs to Singapore. Unfortunately, it is Limbaugh and the Republicans who are addressing the resentments of these folks, and aiming their anger in the wrong direction.

[boppers]

2. How about those who voted for Hillary Clinton?

She was a "Goldwater Republican". Even worked for his campaign.

[aquart]

5. For inappropriate and hate-filled intensity masked as a throwaway comment...

I see some are quite terrified that the remarkable former First Lady might run again. Oh, if only she had just baked cookies instead of blazing trails and breaking records.

[DonCoquixote]

9. Nobody wanted her to bake cookies

But I will also say that I do not want her "obliterating Iran", especially when Israel has gotten carte blanche. I also wish she would stop lauding Indian outsourcing, and perhaps can tell her husband not to keep saying we should keep the Bush tax cuts, or to lay off the Mitt Romney praise. That does not make her a GOP, but it does mean I can ask her to please please knock off the rhetoric meant to please the same people that cheer when Limbaugh calls her an (expletive deleted).

And before anyone says "well that's what Obama did" I know, I voted for Obama, against Clinton, because I got tired of this triangulation BS. Obama's mistakes are that he kept Clinton staff like Geitner, and Clinton policies like always asking the GOP to be friends.

Yes, if she is the candidate I will vote for her, but I will not expect anything more than what Obama, her and all the DLC types are: people who agree to give you first aid, as opposed to killing you like brand R. Yes, being maimed is better than being decapitated, but do not expect me to go "I never needed my legs anyway, Yay team!"

[hfojvt]

23. I could use a few cookies

I am sorta too lazy to bake these days, plus it is kinda too hot.

I have baked a bunch of cookies myself. It is not like somebody cannot have a career AND bake some cookies.

Yeah, I miss the good old days when I used to think there was a dime's worth of difference between Obama and Clinton.

[treestar]

3. They really think it won't happen to them

Not realizing that the government is what has enforced rules that allows the comforts they think they've earned. And that they think their employers willingly grant them.

[demgrrrll]

11. I agree and they think they will be able to choose who gets any kind of benefit

I.E. benefits for me and somehow magically no benefits for you.

[Aerows]

52. Exactly

Until it happens to them, they will never understand.

[cali]

4. ever voted for a republican? count me in. I voted for Jim Jeffords several times-

and I did so proudly. He was better than around 90% of dems and in the end he courageously left a party he once loved. Modest, kind, really smart beneath the aw shucks demeanor, he was stellar on the environment, on education. He voted against the IWR. He was staunchly pro-choice. He was one of the last of the NE liberal republicans.

[aquart]

6. The Republican Party chose to discard many excellent people.

[Selatius]

10. Lincoln Chafee was also one of the last liberal Republicans. He was swept away in 2006.

When asked whether his loss helped the country switch control of the Senate back to the Democrats after years of Republican domination, he said, "To be honest, yes." He even endorsed Obama in 2008. He was a Republican, but he was still able to see how crazy his party had become, and he was one of the few senators who had the gall to vote against the Iraq War Resolution.

[hfojvt]

24. I coulda sworn Chafee was Governor of Rhode Island.

[Selatius]

35. I believe he still is. He won the governorship four years after his removal from the Senate.

Aside from that, he hasn't made much national news. I do kinda wish there were more voices like him on the news networks, but most of those commentators are conservatives with no balance.

[gadjitfreek]

7. I voted for George Pataki

And he did make for a decent governor. I also voted for the late Tom Kirwan for state assembly as he was also quite good at what he did. I wouldn't vote for a Republican now that they are goose-stepping morons intent on taking down the social fabric of this nation and replacing it with corporate godhood. Then again, I voted for Andrew Cuomo and he is turning out to be the Christie of the North. We didn't have any real choices in the last gubernatorial election.

If only Spitzer hadn't screwed up like that...we would have been in MUCH better shape as a state. He had the potential to be one of the best governors New York ever had. Now we have a petty tyrant running the show.

[Selatius]

8. You shouldn't blame them too harshly.

They are merely the product of 30+ years of corporate propaganda encouraging people to turn against unions and liberals and progressive policies.

They know not what they do.

They'll wake up when the television and the radio finally fall silent.

However, I fear they will only fall silent when the misguided masses are without home and a job to run either of those appliances. Ideally, people learn a valuable lesson before a major fall, not after, but history tends to change after the fall.

In the mean time, all we can do is endure, and look after what few people we can in the intervening years until that day.

[rox63]

12. The only republican I ever voted for was over 20 years ago

And that was only because the Dems chose an even scarier candidate. That was the 1990 MA governor's race between Weld and Silber. And I did not vote for Weld for a second term. In every other election, I've avoided the GOP like the plague.

[Shadowflash]

13. Thank you!

For so eloquently putting into words how I have been feeling since 2004.

I just cannot imagine, for the life of me, what is going on in some people's heads and how this all makes sense to them.

[Mayflower1]

14. Agree with most of your comments, however,

public education has not improved. It is in a steady decline.

I believe it should be more locally operated. The results of public school education are embarassing, for the most part.

[HopeHoops]

15. Haven't you ever switched your party for a protest vote or to prevent an extremist from getting in?

It's an effective way to make a statement even if it doesn't result in a change of outcome. I'm presently registered Republican (switching after November) because I wanted to vote in the primary to prevent an extremist from ousting one of the few moderate Republicans left in the state and to vote against other extremists in the party. There weren't any serious challenges in the Democratic primary so my votes were more appropriately applied toward shaping the statistics on the other side, if for no other reason than to register a "not this person" vote. For example, I wrote in a Green Party candidate for president because none of the GOP options were worth shit. It's also nice to be able to answer poll questions, tell them I'm a Republican, and tell them I'm voting for Obama - and I get the calls because of party affiliation - they're looking for results they want. The nice thing about party registration is that it doesn't restrict who you vote for in the general election but does give you leverage in the primary.

[just1voice]

16. Well said, repukes only understand hatred, spite and being shamed

because that's all they live by. It's especially pleasing to shame a young repuke, they squirm a lot more when presented with ideas they can't even comprehend. Older pukes already know they are lying pieces of sht and revel in it as they are extremely proud to be stupid.

[Wounded Bear]

17. I voted for a Republican......in 1972

Nixon was the last R I voted for in a Pres race. I don't think I've ever voted for an R for any other office, at least in those races where they actually tell you who they are. There has been a disturbing trend to remove party labels from ballots lately that I don't like.

Nowadays, Rs don't get my vote.

[bigtree]

18. never, ever voted for a republican

. . . but, I've seen folks switch parties before, and I'm always appreciative of that. No need to make those folks feel unwelcome or scorned.

[cali]

28. If you'd lived in Vermont in the 80's and 90's, I'll bet anything you

would have voted for Jeffords.

[Nye Bevan]

19. Ever? Voting for Bush Senior over Dukakis, for example,

is a lot more understandable than voting for W over Kerry.

[Bluenorthwest]

58. In what way? And Kerry was the second time. How about W over Gore?

As a thinking person and as a Democrat, I was actively opposed to HW Bush, and I do not see voting for that criminal as different from voting for his son and partner. It is not 'understandable' to me at all. Not at all.

[Nye Bevan]

60. HW was sitting VP and Dukakis ran a terrible campaign

and came across as something of a dork. I'm certainly not consumed with hatred of anyone who chose Bush in that contest.

[hifiguy]

20. I voted for David Durenberger back in 1978.

His opponent was an asshole rich conservative "Democrat" who was to Durenberger's right. Durenberger turned out to be a very moderate Senator who was a constant pain in Reagan's ass during the 1980s on Central American issues and was quite progressive on health issues.

Interestingly enough, Durenberger has not been a registered Repub since the first Chimp administration.

[FreeJoe]

21. I often vote in the Republican Primary

Where I live, every local, state, and federal office except the Pres/VP are held by Republicans. Once the primary is over, the election is effectively over. I typically vote in the Republican Primary for the least evil candidate. Once we get to the general election, I virtually always (we sometimes nominate lunatics for local office) vote D.

[Bluenorthwest]

59. I like phrases like 'virtually always' which means 'sometimes' while using the word 'always'...

Almost never, nearly impossible, nearly pregnant.....it is funny how many to the right use that method. Instead of saying 'rarely' they say 'almost never'. They like to say 'never' when they mean 'at times'. So in the general you usually vote for Democrats, that is what you mean, and sometimes you do not. Virtually. Almost. Nearly....

[FreeJoe]

69. Would you prefer that I quantify it?

I ALWAYS vote for Democrats except:

1) The local Justice of the Peace is nominally a Republican. She's good friends with my wife. She is a RINO. She runs as a Republican because she likes to get elected and that's the only way to do it here.

2) Twice I have voted against Democrats as judges. In both cases, their only opponents were Republicans. Both judges were "old South" style Democrats - racist, reactionary - think David Duke and you wouldn't be far off. I didn't like the Republicans, but they were the lesser of the two evils.

Or if you prefer, you can assume that "virtually always" doesn't mean what it clearly means.

[TheKentuckian]

22. I voted for a Republican state senate candidate in the 90's

He ran on a more progressive platform than the "Democrat" and seemed like a decent kat but it was still an error as he caucused with the pukes regardless of his votes.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

72. I vote for Republicans in my city government

I unhesitatingly vote to re-elect the mayor of my town, despite his being a Republican. He is an able administrator, who knows the ordinances backwards and forwards, who runs a clean government and has yet to be challenged by a superior candidate. So I will continue to vote for him, and I have told him so. Similarly, I know one of the town councilmen extremely well, and I vote for him despite his Republicanism.

[KharmaTrain]

25. Once Upon A Time...

...there were such things as liberal and moderate republicans. Folks like Lowell Weicker and Jacob Javitts or Howard Baker. These types have been driven from the party and we see many of these former moderates as Democrats today. If I were under 35 I could easily say there was no rushpublican who I could have ever voted for...and I haven't. Being older than 35 I did vote for a couple republicans in state and local races (at one time I lived in a crimson red area where the rushpublican primary WAS the election) but today there's no way I'd vote for any rushpublican.

[dinopipie]

26. By voting for the so-called good ones YOU enabled the bad ones

You need to accept responsibility for your actions.

[cali]

27. really? are you telling me that voting for Jim Jeffords

enabled George Allen, for instance.

Do you know anything about Jim at all? His contributions were substantial. I do not regret voting for him for one minute- and he was massively popular in Vermont which sends consistently good people to D.C. and has for a very long time. Most of them, btw, were repubs. Now that time is done and I can't imagine voting for another one- not that there's a chance of a republican winning either Senate seats or our one at-large congressional seat.

You should thank Vermonters for consistently sending good folks to Washington.

[dinopipie]

30. Republican Jumping Jim whom you voted for

voted as a REPUBLICAN for the thugish leadership who ran the show.

So yes YOU and those that voted for him are responsible for many of the GOP antics.

Your vote your choice do what you want but your vote for a so called good one enabled the Newts, McConnells and Bonners to get and keep their power.

One can twist and spin it anyway you want but it will not change the fact that your vote kept the GOP in power.

[cali]

33. YOU are full of it, friend.

It actually would serve this nation well if the Republican party wasn't totally batshit. You clearly know shit about Jim, honey. As I said, consider educating yourself. I just know you can, dear.

[dinopipie]

42. I am very familer with Jim and his record

You seem to be having a difficult problem with understanding what you did by voting for Jim so I will explain it to you as simply as I can.

Jim as an individual may have been good however Jim being a member of the GOP gave the GOP the numbers which gives the GOP the Power to lead the Senate and people like Jim were not in the leadership. Therefor your vote for Jim kept the GOP in power.

Let's say you lived in North Central Europe oh say early 30's and the political party in the leadership was really right wing and nationalistic, something you did not support, however a guy in your town is a good guy, supports the things you believe in, etc
Yet the guy you like and support decides to run for office on the RW/Nationalistic ticket. So come election time you go and cast your vote for Mr Nice Guy and the next thing you know the nation is at war and people are being shoved into ovens but you can rest easy because your Guy was nice so you can feel good about your vote.

[cali]

46. lol

yes, dear, I get your reasoning. Let me explain in vastly simple terms just for you, honey:

There was no way anyone but Jim was going to win in any of the elections in which I voted for him, ergo I voted for him without any guilt re the leadership.

reality trumps... idiocy.

[dinopipie]

48. Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Nothing but excuses to justify what you did.

You still had a choice to not vote for a Pub, you even had the choice to write in a name yet you (and others here) vote for Pubs instead.

I hope you are getting what you voted for.

No matter how you twist and spin it YOU are the one who voted for the Pubs and are now trying to justify what you did.

[cali]

53. seriously, enough. the country would have been a poorer place without

Jeffords. Period. Oh, and by the way, genius. Vermont does get what it votes for: the most progressive state legislature, the most progressive guv and the most progressive delegation to D.C. duh.

Now as you are clearly dissembling when it comes to knowledge about Jim Jeffords (you do know what dissembling means, right?) here is some basic info, honey:

Jeffords's work in Congress focused on legislation involving education, job training, and individuals with disabilities. In his later years in the Senate, his emphasis shifted somewhat, as Jeffords pushed several important pieces of environmental legislation through Congress. He was, together with Paul Simon, credited by Canadian Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) from 1993 to 1994, for actively lobbying the US administration into mounting a humanitarian mission to Rwanda during the Rwandan Genocide. According to Dallaire's book Shake Hands with the Devil, he "owe(s) a great debt of gratitude" to both senators.

Jeffords was one of the founders of the Congressional Solar Coalition and the Congressional Arts Caucus. Jeffords was frequently recognized for his performance as a legislator, receiving Parenting magazine's "Legislator of the Year" award in 1999, and the Sierra Club's highest commendation in 2002.

<snip>

Even before his party switch, his voting record was liberal, which has long been typical of Republicans from New England. By the time of his switch, no Republican Senator had a lower lifetime score from the American Conservative Union. In 1981, Jeffords was the only Republican member of the House to vote against a bill reducing the top tax rate from 70 per cent to 50 per cent — a hallmark of President Ronald Reagan's legacy. During his time in the Senate, he voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Brady Bill, the Family and Medical Leave Act, an end to the ban on gays serving in the military, and against permanent normal trade relations with China and barring affirmative action at the federal level. Jeffords was also vocal in his opposition to the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush. He was one of only two Republicans to vote against confirming Clarence Thomas. In 1993, he was the only prominent Republican to support President Clinton's unsuccessful attempt to establish a national healthcare plan. Jefford's voting record and positions on environmental issues put further distance between himself and his Republican Party colleagues.

Jeffords consistently voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion, and also against a harsher line on Cuba. In 1995 he was one of only 16 Senators to vote against the Communications Decency Act. The Supreme Court later struck it down as unconstitutional. Jeffords highly advocated LGBT rights in the workplace. He sponsored The Employee Non Discrimination Act of 1995 (104th Congress), 1997 (105th Congress), and 1999 (106th Congress). Jeffords Non Discrimination bills did not include "gender identity." He was in the minority of Republicans to oppose the Flag Desecration Amendment. On guns his record was mixed, despite voting for the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, he voted with gun control opponents against background checks at gun shows in 1999 and he voted with the majority of Congress for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. He took a more moderate line on the death penalty. On many economic issues Jeffords was roughly in line with the majority of the Republican Party, before and after his switch: he mostly supported free-trade agreements, voted for making enforcement of consumer protection laws more difficult by moving many class-action lawsuits into federal courts, tighter bankruptcy rules, and a Balanced Budget Amendment. Even after becoming an independent, he did vote with Republicans on many major pieces of legislation. For example, Jeffords did vote against the Bipartisan Patient Protection Act, a bill supported strongly by Republican John McCain and many moderate Republicans like Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, and Mike DeWine. Two years later he voted for the prescription drug bill, derided by many Democrats as a give away to drug companies and opposed by many conservative Republicans who opposed further federal spending, but ultimately strongly supported by President George W. Bush, and the vast majority of the Republican Party.

On October 11, 2002, Jeffords was one of 23 senators to vote against authorizing the use of military force in Iraq. Shortly after that, he was one of only nine senators to vote against the bill establishing the Department of Homeland Security. On November 11, 2003 Jeffords was one of only four senators to vote against the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, a bill which received strong support from politicians from across the aisle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jeffords

If only we had more dems like Jim.

[Bluenorthwest]

61. Jefford's vote for DOMA kept the GOP support for that hate law at 100%. So be proud of that

he stood with his Party when it counted, and his Party was the Republican Party. They all voted for DOMA and Jeffords was not an exception, this in spite of his previous pretense of supporting equal rights for all. When the time came, he was just one Republican out of many. Of course both of Vermont's Senators voted for DOMA, Lahey as well. Guess Vermont might not be as liberal as Vermont thinks it is...
Senator Kennedy called DOMA the 'Endangered Republican Candidates Act" and called it "a mean-spirited form of legislative gay-bashing designed to inflame the public four months before the November election." See Ted was a Democrat for real. Jim was a Republican, part of Party that voted 100% to deny rights to others.

[cali]

64. One vote. One. He was an exception on so many votes when it truly counted, dearie.

and who the fuck is Lahey, hon? And yeah, Vermont is by far the most liberal state in the country.

and who, pray tell, honey, is Lahey. You sure as shit show how ignorant you are about VT when you can't even spell the name of one of the most prominent members of the party and the 2nd most Senior Senator. Yeah, Vermont is that liberal. You're talking about votes from 16 years ago. And btw, Leahy has supported marriage equality for years- and was one of the earliest Senators to do so.

Now, genius, how about commenting on Jim's stellar overall record. Teddy, btw, was an admirer of Jim's and a friend.

Do consider educating yourself about VT.

Are you from MA, dear? If so thanks a ton for Mitt.

[Blue_In_AK]

29. I voted for Jay Hammond for governor of Alaska back in the old days,

and I would do it again a thousand times. Even now we have some good Republicans up here -- as well as some really awful ones. I won't judge a person by his party.

[dinopipie]

31. So you are openly advocationg for the election of Republicans over Democrats

and I thought this was Democratic Underground and not FreeRepublic.

[Quantess]

32. Go on...

[cali]

34. oh golly, you with your 50 posts are telling us what DU is?

[Blue_In_AK]

41. And, hey, he's been here all of 10 days.

Pathetic.

[dinopipie]

43. I have read the TOS here

Have you?

[Blue_In_AK]

40. Of course, I'm not advocating for the election of Republicans,

but I am saying that in certain cases (I can think of one state senate race here in Alaska) the Republican is far more moderate and ethical than the Democrat, who is a crook. Democrats are not ALL good people, nor are Republicans all bad people.


Are you new here? You obviously don't know me.


I want to add a little background here, too, to illustrate what I'm talking about. Alaska, unlike a lot of states, has formed a bipartisan majority in the Senate, given that there is a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans. The Republicans who didn't want to participate or work with the Democrats are in the minority. The minority supports our corporatist, oil-soaked governor, while the majority supports what is best for the people of Alaska. Our Republican senate president, Gary Stevens, stood up forcefully against the governor in the past two legislature sessions opposing a huge tax giveaway to the Big Three oil companies, something that would have shorted our budget by about $2 billion a year. Gary Stevens, a Republican, is a hero to me and many others here in Alaska who care about the future of our state.

Maybe we've got some old-fashioned, atypical, Republicans here -- and I know that the party is in the process of being taken over by Paulites who absolutely HATE the idea of a bipartisan majority and have put up candidates to run against them in the primaries -- but I am really hopeful that the good guys can prevail.



(One other thing -- the Senate race I mentioned above with the corrupt Democrat is not Gary Stevens' district.)

[dinopipie]

44. Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Nothing but excuses to justify what you did.

You still had a choice to not vote for a Pub, you even had the choice to write in a name yet you (and others here) vote for Pubs instead.

I hope you are getting what you voted for.

No matter how you twist and spin it YOU are the one who voted for the Pubs and are now trying to justify what you did.

[Blue_In_AK]

65. Blind allegiance to party over principle is a Republican trait.

But you do go on with yourself. I really don't care what you think about how I vote.

[Bettie]

36. I used to believe that Republicans had the best interest of the country at heart

Or at the very least that they were decent people with different ideas.

I no longer believe that.

I believe, with all my heart, that it is not possible to be a decent person and a modern-day Republican.

My FIL is an old Republican. He voted for Obama last time and will again. He's tired of what his party has become in the last 30 years or so.

Now, if a Republican relative or acquaintance loses their job, home, health or whatever, I remind myself that this is what they have voted for, this must be the conclusion they wanted.

Petty? Maybe.

[Iggo]

37. Same to you, buddy.

[libtodeath]

38. Repukes are the face of evil in this country

I despise them with all I have and hope they do get the fruits of what they wish for.

[Capt. Obvious]

39. TLDR

I jumped right to the comments - they're shorter and give me the gist of it.. and how I'm supposed to react to you.

[dinopipie]

45. So you don't read it yet you post a comment?

Not very smart way to go through life, but it is your life and your choice to be partially informed.

[cali]

47. bwahahahaha.

aren't you something.

[dinopipie]

49. Why yes I am

Nice of you to admit it.

[cali]

51. well, you just take it how you need to for your

poor wittle needy ego, dear.

[Aerows]

50. Here's the thing

Every single one of them think it will happen to somebody else, not them. Somebody else will get the tainted food and water. Somebody else will get robbed by a bank. Somebody else will get hit with an outrageous medical bill.

And until it happens to THEM, they don't understand.

[ileus]

54. Why do they hate America?

Is this their way of showing patriotism?

Is this their way of caring for the future?


Is this their way of supporting "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness?




if so it's one fucked up way of being...and I hope I never stoop that low as a human...

[slackmaster]

55. Automatically giving your vote to any name with a "D" after it is a lot easier than thinking

[Zorra]

63. Yeah. Voting against a republican does not take a whole lot of thought.

(R) ?

No.

Predetermined decision.

[PatSeg]

57. Excellent rant

I understand your anger and you are not alone.

A lot of my bitterness is towards the people who voted Democratic in 2008, but then stayed home in 2010 or became inpatient because "change" didn't happen fast enough, so they voted republican (brilliant).

[Zorra]

62. I'd vote for a Labrador Retriever before I'd vote for a republican.

I always go for the compassionate and more intelligent candidate.

[RebelOne]

67. I have voted for Chip Rodgers here in my district of Georgia,

mainly because of his stance on animal issues. He introduced the ban on dog fighting.

[ZombieHorde]

68. I hope everyone finds some peace and happiness in their lives. nt

[Tommy_Carcetti]

71. Even as a protest vote in a county commission race?

Because I'll admit I did vote Republican in that one.

Sadly, the incumbent Democrat that held my county commission seat was a corrupt ego-maniac, but a shoe-in for re-election because of who he was.

There was no write-in option and I didn't feel like just abstaining my vote because I wanted to protest the current seat holder. So, knowing that there was no chance in hell the Republican challenger had in winning, I voted for the challenger instead. Strictly as a protest vote.

[LynneSin]

73. Just remember that those of us who have voted for a republican, especially decades ago....

republicans weren't so vile back then. Yes, I did once vote for Arlen Specter, I think it was back in 1992. I also once voted for Tom Ridge because I was pissed at what Bob Casey Sr did for women's right to choose (which is nothing even close to vile as what GOP senators are doing today and Ridge is pro-choice).

But I can honestly say I have not voted for a republican in almost 20 years and those are the only 2 republicans I have ever voted for and then only one time.

[mick063]

74. very good response

Describes me as well.

Voting GOP 20 years ago was much, much different than voting GOP now.

What changed it all?

FOX News....the single greatest threat to America. Only Russian strategic nukes can do more damage.