How many of you know someone like this?
I also converted 3 years ago. The person you describe might as well be me.
I recall the tipping point, watching the Republican National Convention. Rudy Guliani was speaking, and I very vividly remember the hate and vitriol that was being spewed. Not only by Guliani, but by everyone who came up to the podium. It’s was very interesting yet disgusting, I had never seen that kind of unabashed ugliness. Guliani was literally bashing on Obama for having previously been a “Community Organizer”. He laughed every time he repeated the words. Maybe 3 or 4 times he said it while chuckling. What?? Are you kidding me? Is it now a folly to have human compassion and try to improve one’s community without seeking gain? I could not believe what I was watching.
From that point forward I started looking more closely at everything. I woke up and paid attention. Paid attention to what their true message was, and paid attention to the incredible spin and deceit required to dupe the other 99% of their voting base. I felt like a dupe. I also became much more introspected, and realized that I never truly aligned to their ideals. A was a misinformed, low-information, one or two issue voter.
Now I feel tremendous guilt. Embarrassed that I hadn’t seen the light earlier. My voting record for the past 20 years was a huge mistake. I was arguing for the WRONG side.And now, three years later it is even worse. The right has slid so far off to the extreme, it makes the 2008 election look gentle. They’ve gone off the rails, and people are cheering this on. It’s like so many people just wanting to pour gasoline on the flames of hate and fear.
I am now trying so hard to spread this message. It’s my personal repentance.
I know a few. For some it was finding no WMD in Iraq. For others it was the lack of response to Hurricane Katrina. For still others it was the Terri Schiavo ordeal. I suppose there are some casualties of Pailn, too. And the debt ceiling. And climate change. I knew one in Florida for whom it was John Bolton at the United Nations.
Everyone has a breaking point except the sociopaths.
My parents still consider themselves conservatives, but they are rather secular and they left the GOP around 2004. They didn’t like Bush’s handling of the economy (the deficits thing really bugged them) and they didn’t like how religious the party had become. They’re not exactly big Obama fans, but they look at O and the Dems generally as the lesser of evils (and actually one that in some ways reminds them of the GOP they once liked). If anyone would have told me mom and dad would one day no longer be Republicans, I would have laughed. But the GOP… Read more »
Well said. My dad went through the same thing. He voted Republican until 2008. I think he felt uncomfortable during the Cheney administration with how they were handling the war and the justifications for it really started to unravel after a while. He stopped watching any Fox News when even they couldn’t “put into perspective” for him anymore. But the religious nuts taking over (highlighted by the Terri Schiavo ordeal) was just too much. He decided he’s “Independent” around then and hasn’t voted for a Republican since. He even registers as a Democrat now but still doesn’t call himself one.
The Republicans used to be seen as a bulwark against radicalism. Even if the Democrats weren’t radicals, they didn’t seem, from say 1932-1980, to be terribly hostile towards them. Republicans were the stodgy old squares who weren’t about to go tearing off any flights of fancy, or get in bed with angry, dangerous people marching the streets.
Now, the Republicans are quite plainly the radicals (Michelle Bachman? Dick Cheney? Rick Perry calling Social Security “unconstitutional?”), and someone like Barack Obama is the embodiment of the reasonable center, at least in his demeanor.
That would be my mom and dad – stodgy old squares – no offense intended toward them. 🙂 That said, they really felt like they had been abandoned by the Republican party. After all these years, they’re still trying to figure out how one of their kids took a more Marxian perspective (which ironically enough probably makes me a stodgy old square for different reasons).
Shit, Booman, I’m glad you know a few. I live in a county in Ohio that voted for McCain by more than 2 to 1 over Obama and voted 2-1/2 to 1 for Kasich over Strickland for Governor. I don’t think I know a single repentant Republican. The GOP nominee could have an Exorcist-like head-spinning, projectile vomiting moment during a Presidential Debate and they would still get the vote of people around here by a very large margin.
Am I saying they would vote for Mephistopheles over any Democrat?? Hell yes!
What general region of OH? I lived in Columbus (83-89) and Cleveland Hts (89-97). Columbus is swing, Cleveland was D, I know that Cincinatti and Marietta are more R than D, not sure about Toledo.
Cincinnati area. The city itself is generally Democratic. The surrounding counties are heavily Republican. Clermont County is a rural mix, Warren County is famous for its lockdown at the vote counting location in 2004 due to a mythical terrorist threat on election night 2004 and Butler County has its Sheriff Joe Arpaio wannabe, Richard Jones, who might be the most rabid illegal immigration enthusiast outside of Arizona. Throw in fairly large number of country club Republicans and it is a very, very red area.
I’ve read a description of the suburbs and rural areas outside of Cincinnati as a combination of all the worst parts of the North and the South.
As mean Boston and as racist as Alabama.
Actually, there might be some truth to that description. Not to mention that Fox News and talk radio rules this area. There are certainly some bright spots. But you have to look for them. And sometimes you have to look very hard. The growth of minority populations in this area, particularly Hispanics, Middle Eastern and some South Asian, has caused quite a ripple amongst some long time residents. When an Indian buys the long time local carry out or convenience store and an Hispanic market opens on Main Street it shakes the world of some people. And when you start… Read more »
Well..all I will say, is that I have never voted republican in my life, nor will I. But the democratic party ignores democrats like me, with real concerns, at their own peril. Thanks for letting me have my say.
It’s two Americas. When I see a Mexician. Indian. or Chinese grocery open, I get excited. I don’t do much shopping in the aisles of regular grocery stores except in the ethnic foods aisle. I feel more comfortable in a multi-racial setting than in an all-White one. And hearing multiple languages on the streets and in stores is more reassuring than disconcerting. I’ve lived in cities and college town most of my life. Where I live now is increasingly multiethnic. But I also spent a few years in Kalamazoo, where Olive Garden was the best Italian food available, they… Read more »
When I see a Mexican. Indian. or Chinese grocery open, I get excited. Me too. As a child I lived in a mostly white, square neighborhood. As an adult, I have always lived in multicultural settings and I much prefer it. The ethnic grocery stores have a WAY WAY better produce selection (cheaper produce, too) and they actually carry all of the stuff I need for my cooking experiments. I don’t care that everything is in both english and spanish or that the people working there are bilingual. That’s great. BTW, ever tried the Mexican “Mayonesa” (mayo with a touch… Read more »
I’ve had that stuff, or basically that stuff, in restaurants. I’ve never purchased it for home use.
The other day my friend Laura invited me, her brother and her brother’s girlfriend to go with her to Dave and Buster’s for some drinks. We were bored so we said ok. Well, her friends left and were instead going to a house gathering. We followed them from D&B’s to the house, got out, and went in. When we came in, there were a bunch of people talking around the pool wearing overalls and drinking beer. Nothing wrong with that, but their language was…well, uneducated. Again, nothing necessarily wrong with that. We walk up the stairs to the back porch,… Read more »
The bright spot for me is that there are many more areas around us where the diversity is not a problem. The difficult thing for me is that where I live, it is still very non-diverse compared to some of the other suburban areas. So I am in the middle of this environment every day. And it can be quite a drag at times. But it is slowly changing. We have many good restaurants within 30 miles which serve a wide range of ethnic and foreign cuisine. There are a number of ethnic groceries in the general area here, and… Read more »
Indeed, Richard, the growth of the minority population in the suburbs is one of the most important demographic developments of the past decade or so.
That’s happening all over the country. We’re even seeing immigrant populations that skip the urban-ethnic-neighborhood phase entirely and move directly into suburbs. There’s a particular subdivision in Westord, MA – a fairly large on, in Massachusetts terms – that is majority Indian.
Nothing about the Taliban launching an attack on the US embassy and a NATO base in Kabul? IN KABUL.
If this had happened under the Bush administration you’d be ridiculing the policy and demanding a radical change of course from an incompetent Commander-in-Chief.
Sorry, Ed. Maybe you can send me my editorial assignments from now on.
I’ve been monitoring the situation. When I have something to say, I’ll say it.
Have I not been clear on where I stand on Afghanistan? Or Libya? Or our forward basing structure?
Maybe you can send me my editorial assignments from now on.
This made me lol. and right? So now Booman is expected to have a front-pager on anything that shows a policy-failure of the administration (when he’s already made his opinions made clear?)
There are plenty of other blogs out there, ya know.
in the White House tonight you would be all over this story and you’d be livid about it.
You don’t deny that, do you?
Right, because every event in Afghanistan used to generate a front-page post.
WTF are you babbling about?
My mom is a liberal on everything except for abortion and TEH GAY. Well she repeats conservative talking points about unions and trickle down economics, but when I provide counters — or show how much better other countries are on a lot of fronts, she acts surprised. Just yesterday we got into a discussion and I mentioned that Sweden has universal day care and she was like, “How the heck do they have that?” Also she tried asserting that health care here is better than Britain, and I again refuted that. She’s like a creationist (heh, irony aside, as she… Read more »
Also, about my mom, this came up:
Me: “I’m not voting for anyone who votes to cut Medicare in any way that hurts beneficiaries or raises the eligibility age.”
Mom: “Me either.”
Me: “Well who are you going to vote for then? Every single Republican in Congress voted to destroy Medicare earlier this year.”
Mom (in a voice that half calls me a liar half grumbles): “Well I almost didn’t even vote last time anyway.”
I shrug my shoulders about the ‘repentant’ ones. what do they want – a pat on the back?
G-T-F-O-H
The R’s I know are all like the writer in the article with their 1 or 2 issues. When my frinds lost in their long and grinding fight in the Supreme Ct over the Exxon Valdez they were speechless when I crassly pointed out that they got the decision they voted for. And it’s all coffee shop talk opinions based on what they’ve heard from Limbaugh or Fox, there’s just never any curiosity about facts, it’s all opinion. Will they ever see the light? Well so far they’re squeezing their eyes so tightly shut I’m afraid a crowbar would snap… Read more »
Obama working it in Ohio today. At just past the 7 min mark the crowd really gets into it.
My Dad voted for Jeb Bush in his most recent run for Fla governor, ’98 or ’02 I think. But he got really uncomfortable with the anti-evolution stuff a few years ago – he is a medical doctor/man of science – and voted Dem in the past few election cycles, plus threw some Dem candidates money. Interestingly, most of the doctors he eats lunch with at the hospital he works at hate Obama and where very loud in their support of Rick Scott in the leadup to 2010. But he says they’ve been real quiet, almost meek, in the last… Read more »
I have a friend like that, a man of conservative bent. He came around because he trusted the Bush administration when it said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and was genuinely appalled when this turned out to be a lie.
I’m discouraged more conservatives didn’t have that reaction.
This can be a constructive excercise as long as we loom within as well. I am a lifelong democrat born in Massachusetts. I am 50 years old and have voted Democrat all my life. Upon moving to Ny, I worked as a volunteer on both of Hillary Clintons campaigns. I did not vote for Obama for one reason and one reason only. My tipping point was when i saw them throw the Clintons under the bus with phony claims of racism. The Democratic party embraced this with glee and ressurrected every right wing talking point against the Clintons that they… Read more »
A live PUMA sighting!!
Yeah, you’ll love this site.
any refutation of what i said? or is this another DUmping ground?
And I DO like the site…I visit it every day. But sticking your head in the sand and clapping louder isn’t forwarding the discoursre..or don’t you discuss here?
what did you say?
That Obama is doing warrantless surveillance?
That his campaign (accurately) accused the Clintons of the worst kind of racial politics?
That this somehow angered you?
Whatever.
Tel me…if you can..
a SINGLE instance where either of the Clintons were racists?
One
only ONE
Click the link in my first comment to you.
Christopher Hitchens view of the Clintons exploitation of race is quite illuminating: I never quite understand how the Clintons’ initial exploitation of racism was overlooked the first time around and has been airbrushed from the record since. After falling behind in the New Hampshire primary in 1992, and after being caught lying about the affair with Gennifer Flowers to which he later confessed under oath, Clinton left the campaign trail and flew home to Arkansas to give the maximum publicity to his decision to sign a death warrant for Ricky Ray Rector. Rector was a black inmate on death row… Read more »
BooMan is being nice. I, and my fellow bloggers did a Clinton Attacks Obama on Racial Issues Wiki. I do believe, that before it was all said and done, we were over 60 incidents.
We always challenged the Clintonites to do their own Wiki, showing the ‘ sexism’ that Obama supposedly threw against Hillary Clinton.
Funny how that Wiki never appeared.
are you saying that obama isn’t continuing the warrantless surveilance?
dude, everyone credible says the bush surveillance state has expanded under obama. you deny this?
seriously, you DENY this?
Obviously you are as racist as I am…
i’m not talking to you.
no offense.
booman, you deny that warrantless surveilance has expanded under obama?
really?
Warrantless?
As in, the special court doesn’t sign off on it?
Got links?
dude, you know that special court is a joke as well as I do. please. Seriously,please. put it this way man, you know how I haven’t commented here much in the past few weeks? it’s because I finally decided you’re so full of shit I can’t read you anymore. It fills me with absolute rage to read the crap you write. No offense, I think you’re a nice guy and all, but with the exception of stevend, it’s like fucking narnia most of the time. I’ve had to add you to a ton of other blogs I can’t read anymore.… Read more »
you know what’s frustrating to me? I just read the Common Dreams article and did a serious skim of Greenwald’s piece looking in particular for the relevant information. I didn’t even find what I expected to find, which is how infrequently the court turns down requests. Greenwald doesn’t claim that Obama is doing warrantless wiretaps. He’s says straight-up that the proposed law would not allow them. Now, if you accused the president of wanting to make sure that the government can retrieve information on any platform if they do have a warrant, that would be correct and we could… Read more »
And I’m just curious.
There are 14 articles displayed on the front-page, most of which were written by me.
Can you find one argument in any of them that you disagree with or find infuriating?
Seriously. I want to know.
You know, you could have just acknowledged that you were wrong to say “warrantless wiretapping,” instead launching into this personal diatribe.
Because you were totally wrong, and have no evidence whatsoever for that claim.
“And I DO like the site…I visit it every day.”
Hey, Einstein: see how your name is a link?
Click it, Mr. Everyday.
Still waiting…
only ONE
What makes you think I would have the slightest interest in treating you seriously, sock puppet?
Go redeem your Red State points, chump.
Hey, Joe.
I appreciate you’re ardor and everything, but there’s no need to be nasty. We have one rule around here. You know (or should know) what it is.
I haven’t been nasty at all..
You guys are the ones who attacked me and called me a racist with no evidence..
I thought I was being polite
that comment was not directed at you, but on your behalf.
You guys are the ones who attacked me and called me a racist with no evidence..
Note that he keeps writing this, despite the fact that not a single person has called him a racist.
It’s not working, Red State.
“Why don’t you just come off it and admit what your real problem with Obama is: Race.”
Do try to keep up…
No. Someone did say that his problem with Obama was ‘race.’
Right, I should have said, “…even to people who haven’t written a single word about him being a racist.”
I said VISIT, not post..now I see the problem.
No, you don’t.
You’re lying, and it isn’t working.
I do thank you for being so astoundingly incompetent, though, and providing such a clear demonstration of what to look out for.
How can you possibly know wether or not I visit here each day…the page is listed in my favorites and it has been for over a year. I like to hear different views. But, i see this is a cheerleading forum and one not given to discussion.
I posted my first opinion ans was promptly labeled a racist. And STILL, no one can refute a thing I have said.
I apologize for your rough treatment.
However, I can rebut all your points with ease.
I don’t really want to get into the racism in Hillary’s campaign, but I am certainly prepared, having documented it for a year of my life.
I’d love to have a discussion about this at some point..maybe there was something I missed..but I honestly didnt see it and there was much about that campaign that troubled me. Perhaps we can begin an email dialouge. I really am interested..and am NO racist..you guys dont even know if I am black or not.
You missed A LOT.
People shouldn’t jump to accuse you of racism. We’re not Bill Frist and cannot do armchair psychology.
However, you are the one coming on this forum saying that it was an outrage to suggest racist tactics from the Clinton campaign.
You’re getting strong pushback because you don’t know what you are talking about.
In any case, I don’t see how we benefit from rehashing that shit now.
I have my grudges, but bygones.
Everyone take note. This is what to look out for: A. the page is listed in my favorites and it has been for over a year Uh huh. And yet, the very first time he was ever moved to comment, it was 1) on a thread about the internal problems of the Republican Party, 2) completely off-topic, and 3) consisted of an effort to stir up a fight among Democrats. B. But, i see this is a cheerleading forum and one not given to discussion. Repetition of a well-worn cliche from Obot/Firebagger debates. C. Has anyone seen Red State here… Read more »
Any refutation yet?
anything?
Anything at all? facts?
Anything?
Something.
Just not what you wanted.
I again that you for the demonstration.
If you want constructive dialogue, you can’t make unconstructive comments. If you’re here to stir up shit, you won’t stay long. If you want to talk about Clinton, that’s fine. If you want to critique Obama, that’s fine. But comments like this will get you banned.
Any links to Red-State’s coordinated strategy? Back during Geithner’s plan and stuff, I argued that while I liked Liz Warren that she was overextending her mandate and doing things she wasn’t authorized to do. I argued this over at FDL, and they all piled on me for being a “Red-Stater.”
So I’d appreciate proof that this was a coordinated thing from Red-State, as it pissed me off to be called a Red State troll for no reason.
Don’t make me go searching through Red State, seabe! I recall noticing this on another blog: a longtime troll suddenly changed his tactics and began writing “Are you going to take that from him?” – type comments, consistently, one day. It was a very clear departure from his pattern, and was obviously being done strategically, so I checked over at Red State and sure enough there was a post, in response to some intra-wingnut fighting in a comment thread over the debt ceiling deal, about how they shouldn’t be airing disagreements among themselves, and should instead be trying to turn… Read more »
Ok, that works for me. I’ll take you at your word on that; sounds plausible.
I appreciate that. It was icky enough to go over there the first time. It was almost not worth being proven right, and you know how much I love to be right.
silly seabe: unfounded hysterical accusations are joe from lowell’s stock in trade (probably why he’s still stuck in lowell).
if you don’t agree with joe from lowell, you’re a hater, a troll, a racist, a conservative. I’ve been called all of these things.
by a guy from lowell.
And now you’re going to be called a suburban pantywaist snob.
That’s not a PUMA, that’s a sock puppet. This guy wouldn’t piss on Hillary Clinton if she was on fire.
The Red State Strike Force has been sending out marching orders to stir up shit between Democrats by trolling liberal blogs.
Nice to meet you, guy who has never commented here before. I remember your work from 2008:
“Dear Editor,
As a lifelong member of the Democrat Party, I am concerned that Barack HUSSEIN Obama will not be as strong a candidate against Senator John McCain as the She-Beast, Hitlery.
Sincerely,
I.M. Librul”
Clap louder…
You’re not fooling anyone, Red State.
Frenchiecat? Is that you?
And I thought they were endangered…
We’re here..as you’ll find out in NY tonight…
But remember..
clap louder
What will likely happen in special elections (Republicans winning) in NY and NV tonight will have nothing to do with The Clintons. Nothing.
But it WILL have everything to do with todays Democratic (notice I did not say Democrat) party, and evidence of why we should do a little self examination..sorry if this offended you all..
but really now..the race card?
Show me where I have been racist.
you haven’t been racist.
I didn’t suggest that you were racist.
Nobody has said you were were racist.
Can anyone come up with any examples of people who use the phrase “race card” and traffic in complaints about how they can’t criticize Barack Obama without being accused of racism?
Re: Repentant Republicans (none / 0)
“Why don’t you just come off it and admit what your real problem with Obama is: Race.”
Do try to keep up…
Obama made your icon Secretary of State and you’re still mad? He turned the White House briefing room podium over to Bill Clinton at the end of last year to extol the virtues of his debt compromise and you’re still mad and won’t vote for him? Why don’t you just come off it and admit what your real problem with Obama is: Race.
“Why don’t you just come off it and admit what your real problem with Obama is: Race.” Just like pretty much every Red State Strike Force sock puppets. I think Secretary Clinton is fantastic, one of the most capable Secretaries of State this country has ever had. She’s just what she was in the Senate: a work horse, not a show horse. Her department is running as well as it ever has in my lifetime. Obama really seems to lean on her. I was skeptical when he offered her the position, but she’s knocked it out of the park. No… Read more »
ahhh
the race card…
right on cue..
the last refuge of those without a response..
good luck with that
Way to convince everyone you’re not a Tea Bagger!
Keep it up, Red State. You’re just making it that much easier to recognize your sort next time.
“fashionable to embrace the wars”
Are you serious? I know NO Democrat who “embraces the war”. Most are opposed, and getting more so.
Note that Obama has stuck pretty closely to his promises on Iraq. Afghanistan, not so much.
Huh?
Obama has stuck quite closely to his promise to concentrate on the war in Afghanistan, and commit a greater effort there after years of Bush’s neglect.
Still waiting for anyone
ANYONE to stop cheerleading and refute a SINGLE thing i have written
anyone?
Ah well..
NY tonight will prove MY point..
but then again..I suppose they’re all just a bunch of racists.
I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but that last comment proves that you’re not really what you claim to be.
It’s okay. I can understand why the topic of this post you’ve just vandalized makes someone like you uncomfortable. I’m sure you’re an “independent” since Obama said something like “You’re nice enough, Hillary” at one of those debates in 2008.
So it’s understandable that someone desperately clinging to a fraudulent set of beliefs would get so defensive.
Tiny violins and all that.
Well..thank God Obama didn’t call her “That One’
Thanks for the laughs guys…and for demonstrating exactly why the democratic party will be unable to ride the race card to victory in 12.
I was giving an honest opinion..
you guys cant handle that.
What a waste.
I will address your points one at a time. Now that I’ve thought about it, I think I remember correctly (and I may not,) but I think it was McCain who called Obama “That One” at some debate in 2008 and I can’t remember the context. But at the time, I think I forgave him because he is an old man with dementia so it was just an Oh, Grandpa! moment for us in the audience. I sure hope we run on our actual values in 2012 and not on “the race card” because that would be really stupid. Your… Read more »
How have I vandalized the thread? Believe it or not, I AM a democrat, and as I said earlier, ignore democrats lie me at your own peril. 2010 should have shown you that. I posted genuine thoughts and concerns and have been labeled: a racist a sock puppett a red state something or other and had very little discussion of anything I said, with the exception of a few, whose comments I read. Although i disagreed with a lot, i can see their points. That, is my idea of a discussion. Clapping louder, pulling the race card, and ignoring dissent,… Read more »
But
To also be fair..
Many other places simply would have deleted my comments.
My hats off to Booman to at least let them stand and to respond to them in a cogent manner
How have I vandalized the thread? Because the topic was called “Repentant Republicans.” Did you even read it? You just came in here flaming about Hillary Clinton or something. Puhlease. How many people did you get into fights with? And what were they about? Hell if I know. Maybe you are a Democrat. I don’t know. But how many comments have you burned up challenging people on nonsense? (BTW, we’d welcome you even if you were a friendly Republican who wants to discuss an issue seriously.) I’d say you’re a troll but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.… Read more »