Republicans Not Evil and Other Astounding Facts!
Fear. Fear of terrorism, yes. But in the larger sense, it's really fear of the unknown, including John Kerry. That's why the focus on his "flip-flops." We don't know what he's going to do! Better run and hide!
With W - the convention message seemed to be - you may not always like what he does, but you know he's not going to let anything (including facts or international laws) make him change his mind or admit that he made a mistake.
The Republicans are betting that we'd rather stick with the devil we know than take a chance on the devil we don't know. In times like these, with terrorist threats and an uncertain economy, that's often a safe bet to make.
It's been nearly a decade since I was last registered as a Democrat (not that I've ever been a Republican), and if you've read my pieces here at Suite 101 and elsewhere, you know that I'm usually not a "lesser of two evils" kind of guy. I'm a proponent of voting your hopes, not your fears. In the past I've used this space to recommend votes for Ralph Nader and other independent and third party candidates.
This time, however, the stakes are too high to put in a vote against the system. I would rather be disappointed with four years of Kerry than terrified with four more years of Bush.
Yes, I'll be voting my fears too. But in this case, the devil I know is a greater fear than the devil I'm not sure of.
In 1980 Ronald Reagan ran with a stump speech in which he said, "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours." He'd conclude the speech by asking the listener if they were better off now than they were four years ago. Using Reagan's test, there's no way I can support the re-election of this President.
How about you? Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Do you really feel safer today than you did on September 10, 2001?
The RNC put on a great show. The Parade of Moderates was entertaining. I even enjoyed listening to the President. I'm not going to seriously tell you that any of these people are evil.
We all have different points-of-view, and in a democracy they are all equally valid. I'm just saying that, from where I sit, this country cannot afford four more
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