Thinking About Democrats
Jan. 20th, 2004 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenite0I'd originally been pretty disappointed in the Democratic field. I was rooting for Lieberman because I thought he'd confront Bush on issues that are getting glossed over--letting people defend themselves instead of depending on the bureaucrats who failed us before, fixing the corrupt relationship with Saudi Arabia, settling the question of whether we should play defense against the terrorist alligators or go drain the swamp of Arab tyrranies. But Joe doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
Dean frankly scares the hell out of me but there's one great advantage to putting him against Bush: We can have an election that settles once and for all whether we view 9/11 as a criminal act by some thugs who got lucky or the opening of a war against a broad movement of people who want to destroy us. Usually a Congressional vote can settle that but right now we've got a bunch of senators who voted one way and are now saying the reverse.
I don't know much about Edwards, I'm going to have to read up on him.
Kerry I really can't see voting for under any circumstances. An officer who daydreams about call girls while his men are under fire really shouldn't be given higher line responsibilities. And as a politician he's a constant trimmer--I'd expect him to propose a manned mission to Phobos.
The primaries here are March 9th, so I've got time to think. Hopefully I'll have an easier time making up my mind by then.
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Date: 2004-01-20 09:27 am (UTC)Are there open primaries here? And did you register to vote? I asked them to register me when I got my driver's license, and there was nothing to fill out for "party".
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Date: 2004-01-20 10:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-20 03:22 pm (UTC)Which is not to say I completely like Clark mind you. He was a little flippant about gun rights and keeping IT jobs in the US. And
Which is not to say I completely like Clark mind you. He was a little flippant about gun rights and keeping IT jobs in the US. And <a href"http://clarkmyths.com/" target="_new"> sorting out the reality from some of the myths about him</a> can be tricky.
Kerry seems to be all flash, no substance, and some of Dean's supporters bug the shit out of me. Dean himself, (and his supporters) acts like he's got the whole thing wrapped up - hopfully Iowa was a wakeup call.
Lieberman I neither like or dislike - he seems too much of a cypher to me in places. <a href="http://www.johnedwards2004.com/home.asp" target="_new">Edwards,</a> seems decent, I'd have to place him on my list in the #2 slot right now, though I can't say I'm comfortable with his idea for shifting domestic intelligence responsibilities away from the FBI and into a new Homeland Intelligence Agency.
Kucinich seems flaky in a Jerry Brown sort of way. And there's no way I could bring myself to vote for Sharpton. No way, no how, not a chance.
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Date: 2004-01-20 03:56 pm (UTC)As for Edwards--after reading through his site the impression I get is that he doesn't care that much about the threat of another 9/11, doesn't think it's more important than his other issues. That's a showstopper for me.
And the more I've been hearing about Clark the less I like him. He seems to be trying to take over Dean's voters. Apparently he wants elective abortions legal until the umbilical cord is cut (http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=31422), which worries me.
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Date: 2004-01-20 04:41 pm (UTC)The funny thing about this statement is that the Dean campaign and many of Dean's supporters have been doing some serious dirty tricks towards Clark and his campaign. Many of which have been backfiring though. The major complaint towards Clark from Dean seems to be an accusation that Clark is a "closet republican". Which, as a "McCain Democrat", I don't see as being an insult. :-)
I've heard a couple of takes on what he said re abortion. Some right-winger sites & blogs are eating it up, as is some Deaniacs. His campaign manager did say that the editor of the Union Leader may have been trying to warp or twist his words . Quote: "“The issue here is whether or not we’re going to try to inject politics and government into a medical decision by a woman and her doctor and his answer is ‘No, we’re not going to do that.’”
However, most of his statements in the past, however, seem to be more of the "I don't agree with it, but it's a personal choice" variety. (http://www.issues2000.org/2004/Wesley_Clark_Abortion.htm) Considering his background, (raised Baptist, converted to Catholism when he married, left the church he and his wife attended when the priest made remarks about war never being an answer, attends an Episcolpian church now), I'd be surprised if he actually supported abortion "up until the umbilical cord is cut".
Personally, considering how the RNC and Drudge were trying to twist his words regarding Iraq last week, (until they were caught at it), I would have expected them to jump all over anything he said in regards to abortion if he actually said something that indictated such.
His campaign site has a section on his issues and plans, and it's being constantly updated and added to. (http://www.clark04.com/issues/) He doesn't have an offical policy statement on abortion yet, so until he does, I'm going to have to reserve judgement on what seems to be more of a "he said, no he said" debate. Issues2000.org seems to think that his views are at about the same level as all the other democrats in the race though.
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Date: 2004-01-20 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-21 07:29 am (UTC)