Sorry to bring this issue back, but…
Flenser wrote:
_____The entire “vote for Kerry” argument always seems to come down to that, in the end. “Kerry is one of us. Bush is one of them, those stupid rednecks. They actually believe in God!”
I’m sure you lack the self-awareness to realize what a stupid prig you come across as._____
Well, after lurking for quite a while, this post by Flenser finally made me mad enough to say something.
Flenser, you clearly think the question of whom to vote for in this election is a very simple choice. Everywhere I go, I talk to people who see it your way, except that they have chosen to vote for Kerry. They have taken up extreme positions, and believe that if I don’t see things their way, then I must be missing a few brain cells. I get this from both sides, and it’s reached fever pitch now that election day is tomorrow.
Frankly, from where I sit, anyone who can cast a vote tomorrow for either candidate without feeling at least vaguely queasy is kidding himself. Kerry is (as the Economist put it this week) a badly flawed candidate, to say the least; but, even if you see eye to eye with Bush on many things — even if, with Bush, you take the terrorists very seriously, and think the invasion of Iraq was more than justified; even if you admire Bush’s resolve not only right after 9-11 but the fact that he still holds it to this day, and even if you think the whole Abu Ghraib thing was a tempest in a teapot, and even if you appreciate that there are things he has done to thwart terrorism in this country that will never reach the headlines; if you think voting for Bush is an easy and painless decision to make, I can’t help but think that you must be a fool. Bush has had to do a lot of harsh things, and make a lot of questionable decisions — and I don’t mean invading Iraq, I mean sequestering those prisoners at gtmo; he has not done his part to win Americans’ hearts and minds, and that’s probably because he has been too certain of himself and his vision. i am troubled about voting for Bush because I cannot influence him to change; if he loses, that means Kerry wins and we are in trouble; if he wins, he may reasonably feel mandated to carry on as he has been.
But the biggest worry I have about this election has nothing to do with who wins. My fear is that it will be decided in the courts; that twice running, people will contest the results of a fairly held election because they don’t like them. That doesn’t lead anywhere good.
The campaigns end tomorrow; after tomorrow, I sincerely hope we will know who the next president will be. You all seem, from what I’ve read, to understand the threat that a divided America represents.
So I ask you: are you all going to spend the next 4 years grousing and poisoning the well, a la Michael Moore, if it isn’t your candidate?
