Bush is back!

As a Florida resident (the panhandle, specifically...very conservative area), I can honestly say I am quite sick of what has happened to both the republican party and a large portion of the voting population in America. As I like to say, the republicans have hijacked religious and terrorist-related issues. All of these issues existed before, but were not split as drastically amongst the parties, and were considered in a much more logical fashion. Now, these issues have been brought to the front lines, and many Christians feel compelled to vote based on these issues alone. It is so black and white for them, that they fail to realize the detremental(sp?) effects of the enactment of such issues. The entire election was won on these issues (if you don't believe me, go to CNN.com Election 2004 and look at the "Most Important Issue" poll).Essentially, Education, the war in Iraq, the economy (including jobs), and healthcare were all "set aside" for terrorism and moral values. In what realm of existence does this make ANY sense? Even IF we are safer from terrorist attacks (which I believe is quite the opposite of the case), is that really worth the effects Bush is having on the rest of these issues? Wake up, America!We essentially have a merging of church and state (to which my religious, conservative friends agreed). In fact, my friend (who happens to be a political-science major), went as far as to say separation of church and state was never even implied by our founding fathers, and that the country should be based off of these moral and religious values. Seeing how as he's quite active in the political scene, I am quite disturbed and frightened by this mindframe.I can only hope that, as many are predicting, Bush will falter, and Americans will once again look to logic in their politics.Edit: I agree with minnemoose in regards to the sadness resulting from this election. The amount of death, pain, poverty, segregation, etc. etc. that I believe will result from Bush's second term eats away at my insides. If I was Christian, you can bet every last one of my prayers would be in full use over the next four years.This message has been edited by Glordag, 11-03-2004 01:02 PM

*nod*...no cites needed (at least for me). I agree completely, though. I brought a few of those points up, but I didn't really bring up the religious beliefs of the founding fathers themselves. I think he just has this preset mindframe that the founding fathers and the early settlers were Christian and meant for this to be a Christian nation. As far as his proof, he mentioned something about the way something was worded or something somebody said or something equally as intangible, lol.But the point obviously isn't whether the nation was meant to be founded as a Christian nation or not, but the amount of people that believe it was. The way this election went, I'd say a rather large portion of the country feels as if it was...This message has been edited by Glordag, 11-03-2004 01:57 PM

So sure of your Rudolph, eh? I hear you might try to run Jeb. Can you imagine another eight years of bush after this term? Oh, the agony . Besides, I don't think Hilary will be able to get anywhere near enough votes to beat much of anyone (not just because she's a woman, but because of her extreme liberal views, despite the fact that I agree with many of them).

So, I'm pretty sure we're screwed. My question is: just how much? Obviously, Bush and his party get a significant portion of their legislation through now. What all will they do? Stem-cell research, abortion, gay marriage, gun control, tax cuts, social security, education, overseas jobs, and immigration are all things that are very susceptible to some reasonably drastic changes over the next four years, and there is much more beyond that.Perhaps much more importantly, what about our foreign policy, the war in Iraq, and possible other campaigns against middle-eastern nations? Is a campaign against Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or any other country in the middle east actually a possibility, or is it impossible given the economic and troop situation? Is there any way he can produce the money and troops for such a campaign? If so, will he be able to garner enough support from the population to go through with it? Why would he want to do something along these lines?Just trying to get the worst case scenerio from everyone, as my mind is going wild with possibilities.

If by laugh, you mean the sudden urge to vomit, then yes . I think the sick part is that this is the typical attitude of a rather huge portion of American voters. Note the lack of any depth to any of the statements made.And last I checked, they didn't give purple hearts out for rice cuts (not that I know how you'd get cut by rice in the first place...).

Honestly, if he can take Idaho like he did, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Democratic party go for it. Obama really seems to know how to earn the trust of the American people, and that's exactly what we need to counter the religious movement going on for the Republican party right now.

Woops...sorry about that. Illinois, indeed. The point stands that the state normally elects Republican senators by a large margin, though, correct? There's also the fact that he's a minority. Whether his opponent was a buffoon or not, stigma like that is hard to overcome.This message has been edited by Glordag, 11-03-2004 06:33 PM

Really? Well that's what I get for watching TV, I suppose. lol. I'll just be quiet on this one from here on, as I obviously haven't done my research. I was much too busy spending my free time researching the presidential race, I must admit.

Personally, I've always heard that Saddam was more or less as against the radical Islamic terrorist groups as us. That doesn't make the way he was governing Iraq any better, but it does take away from the legitimacy of our campaign. And besides, have we really eliminated much killing and pain in Iraq by removing Saddam? At the best, I'd say it's too early to see any concrete results, but my wager is on no.This message has been edited by Glordag, 11-04-2004 06:50 AMThis message has been edited by Glordag, 11-04-2004 06:51 AM

Suddently my "worst-case-not-likely-to-happen-but-still-possible" scenerio of invading other middle eastern countries, feeding the rich, taking away rights, and abolishing separation of church and state entirely seems a bit tame! lol. It's ok Lam...the 48% of us who voted for Kerry have the most logically sound people on our side, and I think we'd be smart enough to lead a successful rebellion against the fundies before they could ship you to an island. Hey, maybe when it's all said and done we'll be shipping the fundies to the island? (;. Of course, that would not be before we eliminated any and all instances of their religious texts on the island, so they are left only with their brains. Perhaps after a good 200 years we could check back and see if any logical reasoning processes developed.In all seriousness though, a draft could never go through in our country right now. At least, I would only hope...

I agree completely. I've found it quite difficult to have much of an influence on this trend, though. Any suggestions as to how one might make steps towards this goal?

Another comment on this topic:I was speaking with my republican fundie friend (who I consider to be pretty knowledgeable in regards to the workings of the republican party), and he thinks it's pretty likely that the issue of abortion will be sent to the states, and that many of them will choose to have it illegal from conception. Granted, I would say this would require a pretty biased judge appointment, but I'd say that will likely be the case, as well. I certainly hope enough resistance is offered up to prevent this, but it seems as if it might be inevitable. Thoughts?This message has been edited by Glordag, 11-05-2004 05:08 AM