"There's something happening here, but you don't know
what it is, do you, Mr. Rove?" Yes, the _resident's TV
blitz (CODENAME: Operation Carpet Bombing) is going to
commence on Thursday, and yes, it will only cost tens
of millions and he will have hundreds of millions
(much more than the published goal of $170 million),
BUT remember the "capture" of Saddam (only a small
bounce), remember the'04 SOTU (it fell flat), remember
the Meat the Press interview (it fell flat), yes, I
know it is hard to imagine that -- with the "US
mainstream news media" acting like a battered spouse
that will always take him back, and black box voting,
and all that money in the war chest -- the _resident
can be expelled from the office he holds
illegitimately, BUT he can be defeated, for numerous
reasons, remember there are many patriots in the US
intelligence community and the US military, and the
foreign relations establishment that are disgusted and
furious, remember too there is the Kevin Phillips
factor...YES, they must be working on the Tommy Franks
("They'll declare martial law if...") option...
Doug Thompson, Capitol Hill Blue: “I should be all
choked up at not supporting the President,” says
Meagher. “But when I think about the 500 Americans
killed in a war, with what we’ve done to Iraq and with
what we’ve done to our own country, I can’t see any
other way. Look at it. We’re already $2 trillion in
debt. Something has to be done."
Support Our Troops, Restore Fiscal Responsibility to
the White House, Save the US Constitution, Repudiate
the 9/11 Cover-Up and the Iraq War Lies, Show Up for
Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4106.shtml
>From Capitol Hill Blue
The Rant
Republicans Who Support 'Anybody But Bush'
By DOUG THOMPSON
Feb 23, 2004, 01:57
George Meagher of Charleston, South Carolina, is a
veteran and lifelong Republican who, by his own
admission, put his “heart and soul” into working for
George W. Bush in 2000.
Meagher organized veterans and once proudly displayed
pictures of him and his wife with Bush.
No more. Meagher may vote Democratic this fall because
he’s fed up with what he sees as lies and deceit by
President Bush and the Republican leadership in
Washington.
“I should be all choked up at not supporting the
President,” says Meagher. “But when I think about the
500 Americans killed in a war, with what we’ve done to
Iraq and with what we’ve done to our own country, I
can’t see any other way. Look at it. We’re already $2
trillion in debt. Something has to be done.”
Meagher is not alone when it comes to Republicans who
are having serious second thoughts about George W.
Bush.
John Scarnado, a registered Republican and sales
manager from Austin, Tex., voted for Bush in 2000 but
now says he will vote for John Kerry if the
Massachusetts Senator wins the Democratic nomination.
Scarnado cites Iraq and Vice President Dick Cheney’s
ties to scandal-scarred Halliburton as two reasons he
can’t vote for Bush again.
“It’s just too much old boy politics with the Bush
administration,” Scarnado says. “I don’t like that.”
Neither does Londonderry, New Hampshire farmer Mike
Cross, who voted Republican in 2000 and who says he
doesn’t care much for John Kerry but has “had enough
of George W. Bush.”
In travels around the country in recent weeks, I’ve
found many Republicans who feel betrayed by their own
party. They say the President lied about his reasons
for going to war with Iraq, has abandoned basic
Republican principles like a balanced budget and now
ignores states' rights.
“He acts more like Bill Clinton every day,” says one
state GOP chairman. “How am I expected to rally our
party to support someone like that?”
Some say they may stay home on Election Day. Others
say they will hold their nose and vote Democratic.
“I’ve had with George W. Bush’s lies and his fat cat
buddies,” says Sandra Waterson, a banking executive in
St. Louis. “He’s a disgrace to the Presidency and the
Republican Party.”
Tim Blevins, a Vietnam veteran from Waterloo, Iowa,
isn’t fond of John Kerry’s antiwar activities after he
came back from Vietnam but says “Kerry went to Vietnam
and fought like a man. He didn’t use his daddy’s
connections to hide in the Air Guard and avoid
fighting for his country like Bush.”
Publicly, Republican strategists say they are not
worried about dissension in the GOP ranks but
privately they admit real concern.
“The fallout is significant,” admits one GOP pollster.
“We could be seeing as much as 15 percent of
Republicans who won’t vote for the President’s
reelection.”
This jives with a recent nationwide CBS News poll that
shows 11 percent of those who voted for Bush in 2000
now say they will support the Democratic candidate.
Another poll by Princeton Survey Associates finds 19
percent of Republicans and 56 percent of independents
say they can’t support Bush’s re-election.
Bill Flanagan, an Ohio Republican, is one of those.
“The lies and our boys coming home in body bags are
reasons enough,” he says. “I can vote for John Kerry.
I can vote for just about any Democrat over George W.
Bush.”
The defections aren’t limited to voters. In the last
two months, a dozen Republican members of Congress
have told me they will distance themselves from Bush
in their reelection campaign.
At a recent GOP retreat, House Speaker Dennis J.
Hastert faced hostile Republican conservatives, led by
Rep. Chris Cox of California.
At one point during a heated closed-door debate, one
angry GOP house member told Hastert: “We might as well
have a Democrat in the White House. At least we know
what to expect from a Democratic President.”
© Copyright 2004 Capitol Hill Blue