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DaveSZ
When The Levee Breaks

Registered: Jan 2003
Location: ATX
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| quote: | Originally posted by imokruok
This article essentially starts to bring up specifics on what the Bush re-election team has been saying for a long time. Dean's the easiest candidate to beat, followed by John Kerry. Kerry's been a senator for 18 years, and has a dismal voting record when it comes to defense, taxes, and investment...and the record has been recorded for everyone to see and research over the next 9 months. |
Kucinich, Mosley Braun, Sharpton, and Dean would have been much easier targets than Kerry.
The main thing about Kerry's senate record I feel could hurt him is his stance on gun control, but it's also a stance shared by many Northeastern Republicans. I'm a person who would always stand up for the rights of hunters, but the question is, do you need an AK47 to hunt with? I think it's fucked up anyone can go to a gun show and buy a gun without a background check. That must be where most felons and psychos get their guns. The 2nd Amendment doesn't allow people to own rocket launchers, and I think it's reasonable to set some limits. The only question is what those limits are.
His record in Vietnam is going to blunt most any Senate vote on National Security, but his voting against the first Gulf War could also hurt him some. In my opinion, Bush's credibility on N.S. has been eroded quite a bit, and that's basically the only issue he has to gain reelection.
As for Southern States, I think Kerry has a reasonable shot at Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, which are mostly democratic states.
I imagine he will be campaigning in those states quite hard.
Mathematically, Kerry would just need one extra state like Missouri or Arizona in the Electoral College over the usual blue states, and could win without any Southern states. I'd hate to see any candidate write off an entire portion of the country that has probably suffered the most economic hardship though.
Georgia used to go blue sometimes, but has recently been taken over by Ralph Reed and Pat Robertson's clan. They are now trying to ban the word 'evolution' in the public schools.
My prediction is that basically if all the millions of people who lost their jobs and healthcare coverage in the past three years go out and vote, it almost won't matter who Bush is running against, or how many gay bashing ads against his opponent he runs. I think it's around 60,000 textile-manufacturing jobs that have been lost in South Carolina alone in the last 3 years. I was watching C Span the other day, and there was a conference of (White) textile mill owners and workers in South Carolina. They were asked if they had voted for Bush last election to raise their hands. All of them did. They were asked if they would vote for him again; only two out of many dozens raised their hands.
That's very telling.
Most of the liberals in the Senate (including Hillary) voted for the IWR. They all had the same bad intelligence, and I believe McCain when he says he doesn't think anyone intentionally misled about WMD. There also seems to have been some room for diplomacy even within the resolution. Bush and Cheney have misled the American people about the link between 9/11 and Saddam however, and don’t tell me they didn't because I watch the news media. 
This is quite funny to read in hindsight:
| quote: |
Senate approves Iraq war resolution
Administration applauds vote
Friday, October 11, 2002 Posted: 12:35 PM EDT (1635 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) --
In a major victory for the White House, the Senate early Friday voted 77-23 to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions.
Hours earlier, the House approved an identical resolution, 296-133.
The president praised the congressional action, declaring "America speaks with one voice."
"The Congress has spoken clearly to the international community and the United Nations Security Council," Bush said in a statement. "Saddam Hussein and his outlaw regime pose a grave threat to the region, the world and the United States. Inaction is not an option, disarmament is a must."
While the outcome of the vote was never in doubt, its passage followed several days of spirited debate in which a small but vocal group of lawmakers charged the resolution was too broad and premature.
The resolution requires Bush to declare to Congress either before or within 48 hours after beginning military action that diplomatic efforts to enforce the U.N. resolutions have failed.
Bush also must certify that action against Iraq would not hinder efforts to pursue the al Qaeda terrorist network that attacked New York and Washington last year. And it requires the administration to report to Congress on the progress of any war with Iraq every 60 days.
The measure passed the Senate and House by wider margins than the 1991 resolution that empowered the current president's father to go to war to expel Iraq from Kuwait. That measure passed 250-183 in the House and 52-47 in the Senate.
The Bush administration and its supporters in Congress say Saddam has kept a stockpile of chemical and biological weapons in violation of U.N. resolutions and has continued efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Bush also has argued that Iraq could give chemical or biological weapons to terrorists.
Iraq has denied having weapons of mass destruction and has offered to allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return for the first time since 1998. Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Tawab Al-Mulah Huwaish called the allegations "lies" Thursday and offered to let U.S. officials inspect plants they say are developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
"If the American administration is interested in inspecting these sites, then they're welcome to come over and have a look for themselves," he said.
The White House immediately rejected the offer, saying the matter is up to the United Nations, not Iraq.
Resolution sharply divides Democrats
The Senate vote sharply divided Democrats, with 29 voting for the measure and 21 against. All Republicans except Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island voted for passage.
Ahead of the vote, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle announced Thursday morning he would support Bush on Iraq, saying it is important for the country "to speak with one voice at this critical moment."
Daschle, D-South Dakota, said the threat of Iraq's weapons programs "may not be imminent. But it is real. It is growing. And it cannot be ignored." However, he urged Bush to move "in a way that avoids making a dangerous situation even worse."
Daschle had expressed reservations about a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, and he was not part of an agreement between the White House and other congressional leaders framing the resolution last week.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, attempted Thursday to mount a filibuster against the resolution but was cut off on a 75 to 25 vote.
Byrd had argued the resolution amounted to a "blank check" for the White House.
Sen. Bob Graham of Florida was one of 21 Senate Democrats voting against the resolution.
"This is the Tonkin Gulf resolution all over again," Byrd said. "Let us stop, look and listen. Let us not give this president or any president unchecked power. Remember the Constitution."
But Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said the United States needs to move before Saddam can develop a more advanced arsenal.
"Giving peace a chance only gives Saddam Hussein more time to prepare for war on his terms, at a time of his choosing, in pursuit of ambitions that will only grow as his power to achieve them grows," McCain said.
In the House, six Republicans -- Ron Paul of Texas; Connie Morella of Maryland; Jim Leach of Iowa; Amo Houghton of New York; John Hostettler of Indiana; and John Duncan of Tennessee -- joined 126 Democrats in voting against the resolution.
Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Missouri, said giving Bush the authority to attack Iraq could avert war by demonstrating the United States is willing to confront Saddam over his obligations to the United Nations.
"I believe we have an obligation to protect the United States by preventing him from getting these weapons and either using them himself or passing them or their components on to terrorists who share his destructive intent," said Gephardt, who helped draft the measure.
But Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said the 133 votes against the measure were "a very strong message" to the administration.
"All across this land Americans are insisting on a peaceful resolution of matters in Iraq," he said. "All across this land, Americans are looking towards the United States to be a nation among nations, working through the United Nations to help resolve this crisis."
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Here is the IWR:
http://www.yourcongress.com/ViewArt...article_id=2686
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http://www.discoboomer.com/forums/
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Feb-03-2004 17:36
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DaveSZ
When The Levee Breaks

Registered: Jan 2003
Location: ATX
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Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, New Hampshire, and Missouri will decide the winner in 04.
Most of the rest of the South except maybe Clinton's and Clark's Arkansas is now off the table with this Mass. Supreme Court ruling.
I doubt even typically democratic West Virginia will vote for Kerry.
The South has been the hardest hit of any region by Bush's trade policies, yet I suspect many of those unemployed will still vote for him.
Nellie, Florida gave a left-wing mandate in 2000 (counting Green Party votes), but it was of course very close. It's certainly a swing state.
The old people vote is a very large constituency in Florida and Arizona, and I think Bush pissed off a lot of old people with his prescription drug "benefit" that bans old people from buying drugs from overseas, and actually decreases coverage for many senior citizens. Arizona has a 30% retiree population for example. The House leader who helped author the bill is now retiring from the House to take a high paying position in the prescription drug industry, so that certainly looks very corrupt. I'd say that issue almost equals in magnitude for Bush what gay marriage is for Kerry simply because of all the people nearing retirement age, and already retired.
If many people are still out of work (and therefore have lost their healthcare coverage), I do think they will hold it against the man currently in power whether that is justified or not.
It's going to be too close to call for any of us, but right now even with all the damning testimony against the Bush Administration from many former Administration officials, I'd still bet on his reelection simply on the gay marriage issue alone.
Kerry and Edward's position on gay marriage is the same as Dick Cheney's, but of course that's not what the TV ads will say. 
Doesn't Dick Gephardt also have a gay daughter or something?
The ticket will probably be Kerry/Edwards, or if Edwards can manage to catch Kerry, Edwards/Kerry.
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http://www.discoboomer.com/forums/
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Feb-05-2004 06:41
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