http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/25/palin.tension/index.html It is not bad enough that they are going to lose and lose badly...they may implode spectacularly along the way!
You know Stu Joe this actually is scary. As I have stated in the past I have voted both Republican and Democrat as well as Independent. I have stated my leanings toward Obama since I joined this forum. I have been ridiculed and dragged through the mud at times and yes, I have, raised a ruckus myself at times. All this aside is this another part of the "October bomb" the Repos were gonna drop? It seems odd to me that a campaign bent on destroying the "unknown, evil, muslim, tied to terrorists etc." figure of Barack Obama might be a bit more focused on that goal and find other avenues that may actually work. As it is they haven't - it's the same old sorry crap over and over. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" so why pump up the fear factor? There is so much fear and negativity being spouted by the Republican party now they have, indeed, shot themselves in the foot. It's not just Obama's charm and charisma. Not by a long shot. The tactics utlized by the Republican party will, most likely, lead to their downfall in the upcoming election. They have no one to blame but themselves. I've said it on many occasions that politics is dirty. Period - but you can only sling so much mud at a fan before it starts to flow back. The Republicans have achieved this level. Put on the blinders and keep slinging! So yes, the party is imploding. Sarah Palin sees it (one of the few things besides Russia actually) and she's setting herself up for 2012(?) Well, she's got a bit of time to "serve" in Alaska first so that may be a problem. I do feel Obama will be our next President. Walking into a terrible mess at that and it will take more than four years to clean up. If he does a decent job in the first term I'd be likely to vote for him again. If he does a horrible job I'd vote against him. No one has a crystal ball after all. For the record I've done this fairly recently. Voted for a guy named George W. Bush his first election. Voted Independent the last one. Call me left, right, crazy whatever. At least I don't blindly follow parties and their "ideals".
I have voted Republican a couple times, Democrat once and Independent once and will be voting Independent again this year. If it really mattered in my state or I had no choice, I would probably have to lean toward Obama this year but it would be more of a vote against the McCain/Palin ticket than a vote for the Obama/Biden one. Maybe the Republican party will have a revelation that they have chosen the wrong paths if they implode badly enough this election. They are likely to not only lose the Presidential part but are setup up to get a beating on the Congressional side too. Maybe they will realize that there needs to be a smaller, more liberty minded and fiscally conservative party in the US and that they need to step away from the trough and become less married to the socio-religious issues. Of course, they could retreat even further into the 'base' too. A lot will probably depend upon what kind of President Obama really turns out to be. My biggest concern about Obama is that he reminds me of Bush in 2000. You probably remember the anti 'Nation Building' comment he made and the reputation of him being someone to reach across the aisle and stamp out partisanship and the 'compassionate conservative' stuff. He campaigned as a moderate of his party. What was seen was not what we got and I fear the same with Obama/Biden only to the opposite extreme.
yeah, I ditto most of what you have said, voted across parties and voted for Bush. I dont think I was completely uninformed as I watched his speeches and debates and I honestly thought he would concentrate more on the US, withdraw a bit from the world stage, a more hands off approach, and that he was more moderate. I feel I was duped and it probably, more than anything, made me a huge skeptic regarding any politician and what they say during election time.
I pay ZERO attention to what any politician says at election time and nearly zero the rest of the time. The only purpose of nearly all of their speeches is to twist their words so it sounds like they are going to do what you want them to do when they really are going to do the opposite. My support or denial of a candidate is based solely on their past record. As I have heard many time before, the best indicator of future performance is past performance.
An interesting point no doubt. Especially in this election. We have a guy named McCain who has a past. We have another guy Obama that has very little past. We have a Biden with a past. We have a Palin with very little past. The "past" Obama has is laced with "connections" and "fear". The "past" McCain has is laced with GW Bush and his voting record. Yes, very basic I know but that's how it tends to come out. Now toss in Biden and Palin. Biden is just Biden to most. Been around for a while but seriously not being "attacked" all that much. Palin has no "past" but the mud is coming her way. Now she's a "maverick that doesn't listen to the maverick". Also being labeled a diva. Now I'm not saying I agree with all of this but it's how it's playing out. The Republicans have attacked over on over on the same issues. Obama has "dusted them off his shoulder". Biden was "angry over tough questions" recently. Sorry, I saw the video and he was just laughing at the questions. In all fairness McCain has taken his share of media abuse as well. Still, he comes off as a reasonably intelligent man at times. Palin is the key to a successful Republican strategy and she does not "fit the lock". People can rip Obama all they want and they have been but Palin, even though a governor, has NOT been in the spotlight. Now she is. She's being torn apart on a much larger stage than Alaska and it shows. She wants to be beauty queen again basically and it ain't gonna happen. She's not just killing the Republican campaign but shooting her own self in the foot at the same time. Of course she is getting help from the party to do so. It will be interesting to see where she is 2010 let alone 2012. One might think that when people like Colin Powell and the Goldwater clan jump ship it might say something. Or are they just "reaching across the aisle?" Back to topic. The Republican party has, indeed, imploded. It's almost as if they WANT to lose the election at this point.
You missed my point. BO has voted (when he votes other than present) for higher taxes, spread the wealth, more power to the government, etc. Those are all concepts I completely disagree with. I do not care if he told me personally that I would win if he were elected, he would not get my vote.
