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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:05 PM
Original message
i can't understand how educated, intelligent people
voted for bush. yes, i believe both elections were rigged, but there are a lot of intelligent people out there who support this idiot.

i recently did a search on google for a lawyer i used to work with, really smart guy -- now CEO of a large, national company -- but my search also showed that he gave $500.00 to bush's election campaign.

just watching how he acted in the debates -- didn't people realize what a fumbling fool he is.

go figure.
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ananda Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:06 PM
Response to Original message
1. that's because..
.. the Bushites are neither educated nor intelligent.

Intelligence and Bushite are a contradiction in terms.

Sue
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adigal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:07 PM
Response to Original message
2. Bush's policies will put more $$$ into your lawyer friend's
pocket by taking it out of mine. That's why "intelligent" people voted for Bush. As for the values voters, many of them are not intelligent enough to figure out that Bush used them for votes without any intention of giving them what they wanted - plain and simple.
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tulsakatz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:09 PM
Response to Reply #2
6. that's true.....
the only reason why people like lawyers vote for him is because of cold, hard cash!! They know they will get the good tax breaks if Bush stays in office.
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cdb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:13 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. Most of the time its either the social issues or the bucks
the fundies will vote their faith and the wealthy vote for "tax breaks"
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hughee99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:29 PM
Response to Reply #6
17. I thought that * was going to protect corporations
against lawyers? Wouldn't this take money OUT of their pockets?
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Orangepeel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:27 PM
Response to Reply #17
37. not just any lawyers
trial lawyers -- specifically those that help individuals sue corporations, hospitals and insurance companies. I don't think they generally have anything against corporate lawyers.
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The_Casual_Observer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:07 PM
Response to Original message
3. bush represents big money interests.
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lilymidnite Donating Member (330 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:08 PM
Response to Original message
4. Nor can I for middle-class Americans ...
... but for people earning over 150K I'd say it's a pretty simple guess, money -- more money in their own pockets.

To the detriment of the rest of us slobs (not to mention the rest of the world).

E.
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Marie26 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:17 PM
Response to Reply #4
13. That explains the rich people...
But what about everyone else? Bush gets his most rabid support in states like South Carolina, or Kansas, where most people are not wealthy. Most of these people are middle to working-class, & will be the ones hurt by most of Bush's policies. Yet he received overwhelming support in 2000, & in 2004 after people knew his agenda. I've got to think it's cultural. Republicans have sucessfully painted Democrats as elitist, out of touch intellectuals; in contrast with "regular guy" George Bush. Think of the images Rove created for the 2004 campaign - Kerry windsurfing while Bush does "guy stuff" like chopping wood, or playing baseball. Images sometimes count more than reality, & Republicans have managed to create an image of Bush as a regular guy, a guy like them, that most Americans could relate to.
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Leftest Donating Member (232 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:45 PM
Response to Reply #13
41. To your question
"That explains the rich people... But what about everyone else?"


Well.....I hate to stereotype....but. Have you ever watched Married With Children? If so, have you ever seen Peggy Bundy's family from hickville? Then there you go.

Now just imagine them at the voting booth. Can you see that sort of person saying to themselves when they see John Kerry's name "Ahhh, I don't think this fella would be a good choice, he looks like one of them there city slickers.". Then when they see George Bush's name its "Now this fella right here is one of us.".

:crazy:


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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:23 PM
Response to Reply #4
14. middle class
i have to admit that our income is around 150k and the first year of the tax cuts we got a check for $600.00 -- big deal. sure i'd love to pay lower taxes but not at the cost of cutting social programs that help people less fortunate.

how can we live in a country where children go to bed hungry, where people do not have health care, where people have to decide whether to buy their medications or eat, where parents do not have money to send their kids to college, etc.

look at these gas prices. because of our income we're not really being hurt, but what about people who are just getting by, who live paycheck to paycheck, the single mother who needs to drive to work.

how much money does a person really need to make. when you look at those former Enron execs they had so much fucking money they didn't know what to do with it, they owned several houses, several cars, yacts. so yes, they voted for bush because it was MORE money to fritter away, but what about the little guy who supports bush, can't they see that their not being helped.


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htuttle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
5. Greed is why
Hey, con artists do the same thing. They hook their marks via the mark's own greed, then take them for everything they got.

In SO many ways, the Bush administration has been a huge con job from start to finish.

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chaska Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:14 PM
Response to Reply #5
10. Yep, people can be bought ...and manipulated.
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politicaholic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:10 PM
Response to Original message
7. There are generally two kinds of intelligent people...
The logical and the sociopathic.

Guess which one desires individual power and justifies their methodology through lies, propaganda, and lack of accountability. Now guess which party they are affiliated with.
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TallahasseeGrannie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:17 PM
Response to Reply #7
12. You are totally missing one category
The GULLIBLE. There is a class of folks who want Bush to be what he pretends to be. It is a very pretty dream. Apple pie, baseball, Chevrolet. Honor, integrity, leadership... focus. Great things. WONDERFUL things. And not everyone is 1)a political junkie like most of us are; or 2) a good judge of character, particularly when the character is in a little box with a glass screen and is never out in public without a team of handlers.

Don't make the mistake of thinking they were all for him because of greed. It isn't true.

These folks are the ones who believed in Santa until fifth grade. They thought they were born in the cabbage patch. They thought prom night would be magic and wedding night even better. They want to believe.
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politicaholic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:33 PM
Response to Reply #12
21. If living in a dream world is a sign of intelligence...
then Bob Jones University should be issuing honorary doctorates to every registered republican in America.

If that's the case then instead of Operation Iraqi Freedom, perhaps it should have been Operation Puppies and Bunnies.

I would love to exonerate the gullable, but instead I would much rather put the deficit directly on their shoulders.
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TallahasseeGrannie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #21
29. But is it their fault
if they aren't as intelligent as you are?

Should we hold that against them? A lot of it comes with education and not everyone has the advantage of education.

If we are going to be the people's party, the party of diversity, we have to acknowledge that the people sometimes aren't very bright. But they are still "the people." And diversity doesn't just include the right hand side of the bell curve.

If we keep up this attitude of "Repugs are stupid salivating morans" then we deserve to lose elections because then we ARE elitists who "know what is best" for the little guy.
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politicaholic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:57 PM
Response to Reply #29
31. I agree...
Your point is well taken.

I was just commenting on your original notion that Gullibility is a sign of intelligence.

When (speaking/discussing/arguing/ducking a thrown beer bottle) with a republican I make sure I never attack their lack of intelligence, but try to change their perception of certain issues through a pointed series of questions that allow them to come to their own conclusions.

I personally am very conscious of what you just said. I avoid being elitist by all means, but there is a difference between elitist in attitude and elitist in action.

Elitist in action makes 1 million new poor people in 2004. It systematically eliminates the middle class through outsourcing and tax cuts for the rich. It puts the deficit on the shoulders of the average citizen by making those tax cuts permanent.

If i'm on the attitudinal elitist side, then fine. I can only hold it back for so long before frustration takes over.
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TallahasseeGrannie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:05 PM
Response to Reply #31
32. Oh, I hear you on the frustration
especially today when we have been waiting and waiting.

I think we're definitely on the same page.

I guess the bottom line is that if we want to win elections we have to get some of those folks over to our side.

They might be flies, so we need some honey!
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Bernardo de La Paz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:14 PM
Response to Original message
9. Sometimes people donate to get access.
$500 won't get you access to Bush, but it will get you more access to your congressional representative or senator or their staffers, and to the party and state representatives. It gets you on lists and makes contacts for you. Some people and companies donate to both parties at the same time.
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electron_blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:15 PM
Response to Original message
11. Most people will tell you they weren't enthusiastic about either candidate
Edited on Wed Oct-26-05 01:16 PM by electron_blue
but chose the lesser of two evils. I've heard this from Dems and Rep's alike. It may not be so much that they *liked* Bush, but that they liked Kerry less.

I still don't get it, though - Bush just always sounded so stupid to me from the get go. I'd never support someone that dumb, selfish & corrupt.

Devil's advocate, though, they say the same about the Dem's. They think Kerry was dumb, selfish & corrupt. My dad will tell you *all* of them are dumb, selfish & corrupt.

I think people vote for who is in their best interests. Some voted for Bush because of the "pro-life" angle, but not anyone I happen to know personally. All the people I know who voted for Bush in 2004 or 2000 said they did it bcs they thought he had better financial policies for either 1) the middle class or the 2) the country as a whole (or both). I disagree.... but there you are.
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fencesitter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:27 PM
Response to Reply #11
15. The R's did a good job of demonizing Democrats..
I think folks are really afraid to trust democratic candidates on the federal level. Wild eyed tax and spend liberals, make us live next door to married homos, take our guns and SUVs away and hug all the terrorists. Now even when the conservative administration is going down in flames, they're more likely to elect another "honest" conservative than a Dem. I really fear this is true.
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meow2u3 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:40 PM
Response to Reply #15
26. Repuke propaganda turned voters against Dems
The likes of Oxyrush battering people for years with repunk propaganda, without the Dems getting a chance to challenge their false assertions, is what has turned much of the public against us. Only now, with AAR, is our side getting the opportunity to refute their lies. But we won't open people's eyes overnight. It'll take a while before the cobwebs can be peeled off their eyes before they see the light.

Lies unchallenged and repeated often become accepted as the truth. No matter how we think otherwise, those right-wing propagandists such as Insanity and Rush have really done a number on Americans.
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:29 PM
Response to Reply #11
18. enthusiastic
my husband felt the same way. he didn't like either candidate so he decided not to vote. not a good idea, but it was his decision.

i've just always believed that it was the dems who were for the little guy, and the repubs for big business. somewhere along the way these things must have gotten switched in people's minds.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:27 PM
Response to Original message
16. Since 2000
My view has been that it is not possible to be intelligent, informed, sane and to have voted for Bush.

It was likewise true in 2004, and we can now swap "support" in place of "have voted for."
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shantipriya Donating Member (367 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:30 PM
Response to Original message
19. intelligent people!?!?!?!?
I think they vote for idiots like Bush and Republicans because:
1)they are racist and therfore will not vote Democratic because of the vast reprsentation of minorities in the Democratic Party
2)repugs give them Tax cuts
3)they have no world view
4)they are selfish, only interested in their own well being at the expense of others
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lyonn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:31 PM
Response to Original message
20. You answered your own question
He is now a CEO of a large company. Money talks and votes.
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:35 PM
Response to Reply #20
23. CEO large company
i certainly would like to believe that he got that position because of intelligence and hard work. i can tell you that when he and i worked together in the 80s, we were both busting our asses working till 2 a.m. and sometimes all night. of course i was making a ton of money in overtime, but he was not on the clock.
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lyonn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #23
33. Maybe his $500. was a token fee to
satisfy the corp. Did he contribute to Dems? My husband is a retired atty.,surburan type, who was hard working, cared about his clients and charged too little. I worked in his office for years and decided that he had chosen the wrong occupation. Many sleepless nights wondering what you might have missed in a pleading, hearing, etc., and long hours researching, typing, you know the routine. I can see why a really sharp guy might say screw it, I'm going for the bucks. But, what about our country?

The other side of this issue is too many middle age and younger citizens are working long hours just to have a decent place to live, kids stuff they need, insurance, time with the family and vacations and don't really have time to watch the news and read. In other words, many Americans are uninformed.
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joeprogressive Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:35 PM
Response to Original message
22. It doesn't even make sense for upper class
They did much better under Clinton. I asked my father, who loves Bush, to answer me this question, "would you trade your Bush tax cut to have your 401K and the economy back as it was under Clinton.?" Without hesitation, the man that never gives straight answers without long explanations said, "abslotutely"

When the rich realize they are better off under dems and middle class figure out repubs are leaving them behind, the tide will turn. Until then, I consider them all dumb asses.
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lyonn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:13 PM
Response to Reply #22
34. That is the big question
How can people not realize how really great it was during Clinton's watch? During the last 2 pres. campaigns that issue was moot. To say nothing of war, scandals and secrets of this bunch. Our intelligence community is a joke and they still spout we are keeping you safe!?
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 03:11 PM
Response to Reply #22
44. upper class
we did better under clinton. the company my husband works for gave commissions and variable pay bonuses depending on your job performance. all of that stopped. this last year they came back with the commission, but nowhere near the amounts they used to give.
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mokawanis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:37 PM
Response to Original message
24. watching vs. reading
might explain a lot. Many people use tv as their sole source of news and as a result have a shallow understanding on what's going on around them. They watch CNN for 30 minutes, then switch over to faux news for a while. Then they pick up the local paper and read the editorial before a quick scan of the Time mag. that came in the mail that day.
My point is that the devil is in the details and people don't have the time, or, worse, the inclination, to explore all sides of a story and make an informed decision.
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butterfly77 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:38 PM
Response to Original message
25. They voted for him because of ...
gays, racist,money and they like to run everyones lives . These are the same people who claim to stay out of people's business. They want to run everyone's lives here and all over the world. These people (not all) but a majority want everyone to act like them talk like them and claim they are doing it in the name of love and god.
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #25
28. isn't it ironic
that we're fighting fundamentalist islamists and yet this administration is trying to turn this country into christian fundamenalists.
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Felix Mala Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:42 PM
Response to Original message
27. FEAR... Fear of losing the junk you collect
Not to mention the daily warnings of eminent annihilation if any Democrat is ever elected to anything in the country.
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #27
30. fear of losing
Edited on Wed Oct-26-05 01:55 PM by catmother
well we have a good income (which i mentioned before) and we're thankful, but we live way under our means because of fear. i'm 64 and my husband is 58. he doesn't know how much longer he'll be able to work before his job is outsourced and we realize that one illness could wipe us out so we try and save as much as we can and at the same time try to be very charitible.

on edit: my mother-in-law had a very substantial amount of money -- savings, stocks, my father in laws pension. well she had a stroke in 1992 and never recovered. all of her money went to nursing home care. she had always talked about her "money" and the "will" -- well when she died last year there was $1500.00 left in her account and my husband and his sister had to pay for the funeral.
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Yupster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 01:34 AM
Response to Reply #30
60. Have you learned from your mother-in-law
and bought long term care insurance Cat?
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 11:07 AM
Response to Reply #60
66. long term insurance
i've tried. they won't cover me because i have chronic fatigue syndrome and i take certain medications. i had brokers try about 40 different companies.

thankfully we got my husband covered. it costs $118 a month but at least if something happens to him i won't lose anything
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SheilaT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:17 PM
Response to Original message
35. One thing to keep in mind
is that a large majority of people honestly believe they will be in the top 10% or even 5% sometime in the foreseeable future. So they see the tax cuts for the rich as something that really will benefit them.

And rather than just brand people as racist bigots, take a moment to understand that a lot of working class and lower income white people are genuinely fearful of having their jobs (and possibly social status, such as it is) taken from them by poor blacks or by immigrants of some kind.

When people say that (mostly illegal) immigrants will work at the jobs citizens won't take, what they're actually saying is that they are not willing to pay some basic minimum that would make the job worth taking for someone who's not totally desperate. Which is then interpreted as the shiftless poor having a sense of entitlement.

The reality is that this country has built much of itself on the back of exploited labor, whether slave labor, women and child labor, or the most recent group of immigrants. As long as there's always someone out there who will do the work for a little less money this will continue happening.

The complaint about supposedly too-high wages in parts of western Europe is actually a function of those countries not having a large class of desperately poor citizens or immigrants willing to work for ever-lower wages.

So, basically it's fear that made people (somewhere around half of the electorate) actually vote for George W Bush last fall. Fear that they would lose even more than they've lost. Fear coupled with true ignorance of why and how things have gotten as bad as they have. And now, the fear is that they were wrong in the first place for voting for him.
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:51 PM
Response to Reply #35
42. top 10%
when we were first together, we didn't dream of being in the top 10%. we just tried to get out from under bills. it was a second marriage for both of us and my husband had to pay off all his ex-wife's bills, alimony, child support and even had to pay for her attorney. we were living in a shithole of an apartment where we froze our asses off in the winter because the landlord was too cheap to put on the heat. but, slowly, we came out from under and we're doing fine. but if you would have told me that back then i wouldn't have believed it.
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AspenRose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 03:51 PM
Response to Reply #35
49. I'll agree with Sheila's assessment
Mainly because I see it up close and personal; my husband is a 35 year old (birthday today), white male, Ph.D. from New England (!) and it is fear that made him vote republican.

It's like he's morphed from the 'angry white male' to the 'fearful white male.' And even though he'd admit that there are a LOT of things he doesn't agree with Bush on, he was more afraid of Kerry. In my opinion he chose to be willfully ignorant because I can't fathom how someone of his intelligence could justify voting for Bush either.
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elperromagico Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:25 PM
Response to Original message
36. Bush's debate tactic works with his supporters.
Here's a dumb illustrative point. Ask Bush and Kerry their opinions on cookies.

Kerry: "Cookies are a delicious after-dinner treat, particularly when made soggy by milk. However, they must be consumed in moderation lest one become overweight."

Bush: "I like cookies... uhh... cookies are great... uhh... I really like cookies."

You or I might look at Kerry's position and see an intelligent, sensible position on cookies. We might look at Bush's position and see fumbling foolishness.

But a Bush supporter might look at Kerry's position and see a convoluted, flip-flopping mess. They might look at Bush's position and say, "That guy likes cookies."

We listen to Bush and hear nonsense. Bush supporters listen to Bush and hear a man who "says what he means and means what he says."
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BurgherHoldtheLies Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #36
40. 'C' is for cookie, that's good enough for me. LOL.
Like your cookie analogy...sums it up well. We hear nonsense, they hear commitment to cookies.
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Yupster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 01:38 AM
Response to Reply #36
61. A real example was
in the Town Hall Debate a woman asked if her tax money would be used to fund abortions?

Kerry gave a long answer saying how much he respected her views and other people of faith and she had a good point, but then there were also people on the other side who had a good point too.

Bush said as long as he was president her money would not be used to fund abortions. Period.

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loyalsister Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:30 PM
Response to Original message
38. realizing what a fool he is
falls into a defined category. The truth is, people like the guy.
They watched him and found him to be resolute and determined.
Unfortunately for us, as bad as a president he is, he made a great candidate. He has created a persona that we know is false.
The trouble is, it is our bias that has led us to that information. People who just watch him on the news are not likely to come across it. So, they believe that this pseudo populist persona is real. Oddly enough, they relate to him. They may work supervisory positions in their jobs and mispronounce words, don't know the meanings of a lot of words, and appreciate the fact that he doesn't seem to be ashamed of it. He seems like a down to earth guy trying to do his job the best he can while people constantly make fun of his intelligence.
They sympathize and respect him every time he appears to be the slightest bit "presidential."
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #38
39. fool
i've heard people say "he's the kind of guy you want to sit down and have a beer with". well that's all well and good, but i don't want my president to be "one of the guys". i want someone smarter than me.
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loyalsister Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #39
43. What you want
Edited on Wed Oct-26-05 03:00 PM by loyalsister
is not what everyone wants. I have heard people say they think he seems like a "nice guy." It appeals to people for some reason. I don't think that they necessarily doubted his intelligence. I think they are getting their hearts broken right now.
The naive ones are the people who do doubt his intelligence. He's stupid like a fox.
It takes one hell of a clever con artist to have pulled off what he has for the past five years. No way Clinton could have gotten away with vacationing through half his presidency, having an attack under his watch while on vacation, lying to start a war, etc.
The usefulness of stupidity has been greatly underestimated by those who continue to claim he is.
The convenient escape:
He is a victim who can't possibly be responsible because-- even as his harshest enemies will tell you, he's too dumb.
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Uncle Joe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 03:44 PM
Response to Reply #43
47. His down fall will be the day when
most Americans can chew gum and walk at the same time, in other words being incompetent does not mean you cannot also be corrupt.
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loyalsister Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 09:37 PM
Response to Reply #47
51. Of course
Edited on Wed Oct-26-05 09:42 PM by loyalsister
perception is not always reality.
Marketing would not be a profession if they always matched.

It just so happens that this label of incompetence is one of the best things * has going for him. Expectations are so low that people think he is a success when he doesn't screw up.
If anything keeps him out of trouble, I bet the perception of total incompetence will be it.
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gcole Donating Member (46 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 03:11 PM
Response to Original message
45. He makes it simple
Everything's black and white. Your with us or agin us. We fight em there so we don't have to fight em here. Very simple. Easy to digest. Requires no thought or analysis. People like that. Doesn't matter that it's far from reality.

Reality, with all its shades of gray, is hard to get your brain around if you're too lazy to read past the Fox headlines. My political conversations with repugs (even smart ones) are usually pretty short because when I realize how simplistic their world view is, I just power down and say why waste my time.
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ernstbass Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 03:20 PM
Response to Original message
46. It's a matter of greed
they vote their pocketbooks
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npincus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 03:50 PM
Response to Original message
48. culture wars
Edited on Wed Oct-26-05 03:51 PM by npincus
Kerry was characterized as the candidate for the east-coast, latte drinking, mercedes-driving crowd (elitists) and Chimp was the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with (a guy like "you"), or some shit like that. And smart guys on Wall Street liked his pro-business policies better.
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 04:54 PM
Response to Original message
50. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
drdtroit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 10:16 PM
Response to Reply #50
53. Yeah, you're right.
A murderous, megalomaniac, psychopathic, ex-junkie, dry drunk, ignoramus is a much better choice for the country.
I gotta hand it to you, you're breadth of vision and scope are astounding!
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mitchum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 10:00 PM
Response to Original message
52. Your former associate is a greedy piece of shit
it's that simple
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 10:21 PM
Response to Reply #52
54. i really hate to
think that about him, but you're probably right. i also recently found that a person i'm about to do business with gave $300 to the RNC. it really changes my perception of people.
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opihimoimoi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 10:34 PM
Response to Reply #54
55. The Need for Greed somewhat explains it
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BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 10:40 PM
Response to Original message
56. Many "smart," "educated" people voted for * based on prejudice,
a lack of understanding about how government really works, TOTAL lack of knowledge about how screwed the economy is, etc. Being smart about a certain subject, (law, medicine, whatev) doesn't mean you're intelligent about anything else. Many colleges in America allow people to graduate without any sense of history whatsoever. Also, just because you are intelligent and have even several degrees does not mean you can rise above your bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia or fears of "terrorism." It also doesn't mean you have accurate information about our currently unsustainable deficits, or that you fully understand what little info you may have.

Many people who voted for Bush are assholes, pure and simple, pathetically clinging to their petty, self-serving desires, "goals" and "values."
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spooky3 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 10:51 PM
Response to Original message
57. they're not voting for Bush; they're voting for a machine
Bush is a good distraction for the easily distracted. Non-threatening (phony) nice guy. But the corporate types couldn't care less whether Bush could string together two correctly pronounced words. They know that he is merely a figurehead and they liked what the guys behind the scenes (and yes, it is mostly guys) were planning to do.
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LiberalFighter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 11:18 PM
Response to Original message
58. There are different types of intelligence
My dad was extremely competent at his job in addition to holding different positions in other organizations from treasurer to president. He was at ease in giving presentations to groups and giving interviews.

But when it involved domestic situtations he was not mechanically inclined. After retirement he was more of a hindrance when it involved elements that my mother was mainly responsible.
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-26-05 11:35 PM
Response to Original message
59. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 11:36 AM
Response to Reply #59
67. where the hell
did you come from? and for your info i have over 20 pairs of birkenstocks.
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Zero Division Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 01:57 AM
Response to Original message
62. The intelligent can be blinded by ideology and base instincts
just as easily as those with less knowledge and cognitive abilities. Many will vote for even the worst of those they see as their social/political representatives over those they do not identify with for whatever reasons. Many would prefer to maintain their willful ignorance at any cost rather than ever come to any agreement with "one of them".

It's really not that mysterious, IMHO.

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LittleClarkie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 02:03 AM
Response to Original message
63. Some of them are true believers, and wanted the SCOTUS nominees
that's why so many of them are hopping mad about Meirs. All that fake smiling in favor of a guy they knew wasn't completely a Conservative, and look what it got them. An office wife for the Supreme Court.

Some of them have him on a pedastal because of 9/11. It's alittle freaky over at Freeperville when someone dares criticize Dubya over there. It's like a cult sometimes.

And some, like us over here, will take ANY Republican over ANY Democrat, just as many of us will take ANY Dem over ANY Repub.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 03:32 AM
Response to Original message
64. The answer is usually greed or ignorance
You can be intelligent (have inborn brain power) and yet be ignorant (not knowing the facts about a matter).

Between this country's lack of respect for true education (real knowledge and understanding as opposed to acquiring grades and credentials) and the dumbing down of the mass media, it is EASY to be intelligent but ignorant.
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The Straight Story Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 04:49 AM
Response to Original message
65. why did smart, educated people vote for IWR and such things? (nt)
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StellaBlue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 11:43 AM
Response to Original message
68. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 07:04 PM
Response to Reply #68
69. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
Jai4WKC08 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 07:42 PM
Response to Original message
70. Don't forget marketing
In addition to greed, ignorance, fear and a lot of other reasons given above, never underestimate the power of advertising.

An awful lot of what makes people vote one way or the other is the gut feeling they have about what one party or th'other stands for (or fails to stand for). The Repubs have spent a long time and a lot of dollars "branding" the Democrats in a certain way. We're weak on defense. We're bleeding heart do-gooders who don't understand humand nature and aren't practical about what can be accomplished. We're fiscally irresponsible, big-government socialists. We hate God.

For most voters, the facts don't matter because they never penetrate those gut feelings, created by a constant bombardment of negative ads.
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 07:46 PM
Response to Original message
71. One is called greed and the
other is delusional.

Not a couple of desirable qualities.
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johnnyrocket Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 09:01 PM
Response to Original message
72. Because they're evil.
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leesa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 10:32 PM
Response to Original message
73. Your former employer is simply greedy. CEOs are making out like bandits
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catmother Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 10:50 PM
Response to Reply #73
74. he wasn't my employer
Edited on Thu Oct-27-05 11:14 PM by catmother
he was a lawyer that i worked with -- i worked in the legal department of a large company so i worked with many lawyers, but he and i seemed to have a unique relationship. his handwriting was almost illegible, but i could always read it because i knew what he wanted to say (psychically connected). and no there was nothing else, we were both married. i can tell you that he could be very mean and demeaning to people (never to me) i would not tolerate that from him or any one else -- just because i didn't go to law school didn't mean that i wasn't as smart as any of them. anyway he was on the fast track and obviously made it to where he wants to be and maybe he stepped on some toes getting there. i haven't seen him in 16 years and it was just a chance search on google that i found out how far he had gone. i did e-mail him and fill him in on my life and he e-mailed me back with still the greatest respect and told me about his children, etc. i told him if he's ever out my way to call and we'll get together, but i don't think that will ever happen. with his position he certainly has a different lifestyle than i do (a lifestyle that i have never had any interest in), but i was happy to see that he had done as well as he has. i don't know why i'm telling you all this and back when i knew him we never discussed politics so i had no idea of his leanings and it probably wouldn't even have bothered me back then.

and yes i'm sure as a CEO he's making out quite well. but my feeling is how much money does anyone really need. how many houses can you live in, how many cars can you drive, etc. i'm happy with the lifestyle that my husband and i have chosen and i hope he's happy with his.


on edit: i was very happy when i found out how far he had gone because he always felt inferior due to the fact that he didn't graduate from an ivy-league law school.

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FreedomAngel82 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-27-05 11:42 PM
Response to Original message
75. Beats me
I guess they believe he's really a republican. Sad really.
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