Now I believe it. I truly believe it.

[Bouncy Ball]

I went to a little political gathering Saturday night for a local guy running for office. I ran into a man I've met recently, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly where. Nice guy, he was sitting at the same table with myself and a few others.

Two of the others were Democrats and were talking local and state stuff. It occurred to me to wonder which side this guy's bread was buttered on, so I asked him.

He said "Oh I'm a moderate republican, have been my whole life." (The local guy running for office has a lot of across the board support, which isn't surprising.)

But then, THEN, Mr. Moderate Republican started railing against the bush administration so badly, I actually laughed out loud after a minute or two of it. So now I see evidence of these polls I've been reading lately.

I said "So I take it you didn't vote for him in 2004?"

He said he did in 2000, but in 2004, he cast his first vote for a Democrat--Kerry. He said he wasn't his first choice, but he was "a damn sight better than that idiot bush!"

He regretted that his party didn't nominate McCain in 2000. I asked him what the #1 issue was that pushed him over to Kerry in 2004. He said the deficit bush had created.

Then he started grilling me, asking me who the Dems were putting up for president in 2008. He seemed to be convinced I knew. I kept insisting I'm just a little everyday Democrat. I've got nothing to do with that. (Dean would disagree with that, I know, but we've still got a long way to go on that front.)

Finally the guy said "I would like Gore and Hillary."

I swear to you, the room fell silent. Dems looked amused. Seriously? Are you kidding? No, he wasn't. He liked Gore, always did. And he thought it was "high time for a woman vice president."

Um, ok. Several people assured him it probably wouldn't be a Gore/Clinton (Hillary) ticket in 2008, LOL.

After that, he said "what about Dean?" We explained he's chair of the national party now. Then he railed about what a raw deal Dean got with that scream thing. I have to say, I was liking this guy the more the evening went on. We had a few more beers and he talked about how he saw the footage where the mikes were as they really sounded that night, and he said that's the first time he ever got that pissed off at the media, for misrepresenting what actually happened so badly. I told him "don't get me started on that."

He said he's slowly but surely being pushed out of his party. We were very, very nice to him. :-) He was invited to a county Dem party fish fry coming up.

Keep it up, bush and friends!!! Keep it up!!!

[Stephanie]

1. Love it!

Welcome them with open arms!

[mattclearing]

2. That's awesome.

One of the most shocking things about last week's election in Virginia is that Tim Kaine won "exurbia" here, or Loudoun County, which is basically Republican McMansion land.

That's bad news for R's in general.

[electropop]

8. I'm from Loudoun County

We also defeated 3 Republican candidates for VA Delegate. Mine specifically had been the long-time incumbent. Buh-bye!

[mattclearing]

19. Good riddance.

That just amazes me. The exit polls had VA closer for Kerry than the final result indicated...Zogby said "look out for big surprises in VA," I seem to recall. It's like Virginia is turning blue.

[ret5hd]

3. first thing i'd wonder is...

did the repugs send people like him to dem activities like this all over the country.

[Bouncy Ball]

7. LOL, no this guy is just a regular ol' schmoe.

He's good friends with the guy running for local office, has been for years, went to high school with him, too.

So he was there to support him. It's a non-partisan local race.

[niyad]

4. and we need to remind ourselves to be kind to all these people, who are

probably suffering agonies of betrayal and upset that what they believed simply isn't true.

I try to remind myself of this all the time, living in one of the most conservative areas of the country.

[madokie]

5. Thank you It gives me reason for pause

Now I go forth with my day.

[Terran]

6. My mouth dropped open when you quoted him

on "Gore and Hillary". Wow, amazing. For myself, that's a ticket I would vote for in a second. I still think Al would be a great President, and I'd rather see a woman fielded as VP than to take the plunge head on as a presidential candidate (I'd rather have Pelosi or Boxer, but whatever).

[Bouncy Ball]

10. To be honest, I'd be fine with it, too, as I really like Gore

and always have. I especially have liked him in the last few years, with his fiery speeches!

But I know a Gore/Hillary ticket is SO not going to happen.

[dogfacedboy]

14. I've liked Gore since he hit the National scene.

He should have been our President a long time ago. We really need him now. If he stepped up to the plate, I'd work my ass off to help get him elected. He is absolutely the right guy for the job.

[Bouncy Ball]

17. He's a good man, of that I have absolutely no doubt.

I put him in with Carter, Dean, etc.

All good men who are not in it for their own glory.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. I'm seeing more and more people like this guy

they were good Republicans who believed in the traditional ideals of their party, including fiscal responsibility. Usually it is Bush's reckless spending that turns them off at first, and then if they start doing investigating, they find the corruption and dishonesty, which they abhor. A couple of Republicans in my county were so upset that they created their own political committee and spent their own money on pro-Kerry ads in the local paper (our local Democratic committee wouldn't support Kerry, and when they visited the group, sounded more like the repukes than anything else) and are continuing to let the local folks know that Bush is lying to them.

It's folks like your fellow and this couple that will sound the death knell of extremist repukes, I think....

[Bouncy Ball]

11. Yeah, this guy is anything but an extremist.

Hell, these days, he's practically liberal his party has moved so far right on him!

[sandnsea]

12. Liberal Republicans

god love 'em, let's not scare them away.

[Bouncy Ball]

15. No kidding, LOL.

He probably felt like a freaking rock star by the end of the evening. We were picking his brain on just about everything, the war, Gitmo, Valerie Plame (which he's not been following much), etc.

I kept wanting to say "Dude, you are SO a Democrat."

[Skidmore]

20. Old Reagan Dems perhaps?

Where did all those folks go?

[sandnsea]

26. Liberal Republicans

I can have respect for that.

Reagan Dems? We don't even want to go there. All this shit started with Reagan as far as I'm concerned.

[Skidmore]

32. So have the Reagan Dems returned?

[Bouncy Ball]

34. I can't even wrap my mind around "Reagan Democrats."

I know it happened, but WTF???

[sandnsea]

35. Me either

I think they're like the moral values voters. People say they existed, but did they really?

Or were they just baby boomers who didn't want to pay taxes.

[sandnsea]

36. I never knew any

I've always known Democrats, Republicans and people who "vote for the man".

[annabanana]

42. Not Reagan!

He was the beginning of the end for moderate Republicans.. The official name is Rockefeller Republicans, or, for the oldest of us, Eisenhower Republicans....

[abluelady]

13. Wow

A story like that keeps us all going, doesn't it! Sure I wish I could meet a Repug like that.

[Lowell]

16. I'm seeing more and more of this here

in Florida. I was talking with a reformed Republican the other day the the VFW. He was lamenting how the radical right had hijacked his party and he no longer trusted them to be honest about anything. I bought him a beer and encouraged him to look at the bright side, there is another party out there.

[Bouncy Ball]

18. Giggle.

Good job!

:toast:

[BanzaiBonnie]

37. So start making sure these folks know

about the stolen elections. We're going to have to educate them one by one so our vote can be restored.

[patrice]

21. I've got to see them out there knocking on doors with me for our candidate

BEFORE I'll trust them!

[Bouncy Ball]

25. LOL, really?

So it's not enough that they cross party lines to vote for Dems?

Hell, that's enough for me for right now. That's a lot!

Imagine yourself voting for republicans and how much of a sea-change that would take inside either you or your party or both.

Yeah.

Besides, someday we just may see this guy knocking on doors. Meanwhile, I'll chat him up and drink a few beers with him and happily bitch about bush et al with him.

[patrice]

29. Who knows what people do in the voting booth.

I'll admit to a certain amount of paranoia around the possibility of soothing Dems into complacency, "Look at all of these Reps who hate George (or some other Republican). I don't need to ________ , because the tide is the Dem direction now." I don't necessarily trust people who, as far as I know, only talk.

Okay, I'll be impressed by some other productive Dem. group building behaviors, not just knocking on doors.

[rniel]

22. He's a SPY

Karl Rove sent him.

just kiddin'

[Bouncy Ball]

27. LOL, I was about to call you paranoid.

:rofl:

[Clark2008]

23. Can I ask what part of the country you're in?

I can see Gore - really - but I know of NO Republican, paelo or neo-con, who would vote for Hillary.

Hell, I don't even know any Dems who plan to vote for her in the primary election. LOL!

Edited to add that I'm in a Southern red state, which is why I was wondering.

[Bouncy Ball]

24. I'm in a southern reddish state.

I know, that really surprised me, too.

I took it, though, that he regards the vice presidency the way John Nance Garner did: "not worth a warm bucket of piss."

So maybe that's why. :shrug:

[Clark2008]

28. Could be.

I really, honestly, have never heard a soul down here say they're going to vote for Hillary in the primary. Obviously, the Dems I know say they'd vote for her if she won the general election, but most people I know are hoping she won't and that we get a Gore, a Clark, a Warner or an Edwards.
It's odd to hear that a moderate Republican would. Just odd.

[Bouncy Ball]

30. You know, when he said that, the Dems sitting around the table

absolutely recoiled. Not at the mention of Gore, but at H. Clinton.

I agree, it was odd. I'm sure we all thought so. But he seemed quite innocent in his question about it. He seemed like he only barely keeps up with politics as it is.

[Finder]

38. Hillary was repub back in the old days...

so many moderate and liberal republicans would vote for her. I know in my neck of the woods(New England) most mod repubs voted for Kerry in 2004. They would have supported Dean if he was nominated as well.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

31. Now take the next step

Find out on what issues he prefers Rs over Ds. This could be an excellent opportunity to engage in reasoned debate for a change. You may just get a new person in the D column.

[Bouncy Ball]

33. I think we already do have him in the D column.

By the end of the evening, he told me he talked his wife into voting for Kerry in the last election and he goes around talking trash about bush and the way the republicans are "nowdays" to everyone he can. He seemed EXTREMELY pissed off. I would be too if I felt that shit on by my party.

There are none so passionate as the newly converted. LOL!

I didn't get a chance to go into great depth with him, the party was loud and got a bit boisterous (it was mostly Dems, after all) and I had to leave at 8, but I will see him again, especially since he seems to hang out with these people, so now we have mutual friends.

[dogfacedboy]

39. A progressive county board member

in my Mom's area in Indiana had to run as a Republican, as the person everyone wanted to replace was a Democrat.

[lonestarnot]

40. Well never judge a book by its cover Bouncy Ball. I guess in giving up

friends that were on the other side of the fence for 37 years, it's hard to welcome those that have "seen the light." Tiger doesn't change his stripes that easily.

[ComerPerro]

41. Good story