As an avid reader and occasional poster on this part of the site, I would like to pose these questions:
1)Has anyone actually changed their allegiance during the campaign, and
2)has anyone specifically changed their allegiance due to what is posted on this site?
Hey! Good idea deano!
I’m interested in this, too. I would daresay that without patting us too much on the collective backs, a lot of very excellent and informative posts and article references (BB, are you listening?) make their way to this forum. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few folks were swayed a little by what they see here. I know that I’ve learned a lot in the past few weeks.
So, anybody?
I’ve gone from wanting Bush out of office to just barely hoping he’ll stay in. All due to this board.
-Nate
Nothing has changed. I supported Bush in 2000 and support him to this day. Although, I was hopeful that the Democratic party would put up someone more credible than John sKerry. In other words, I was open to choices, but given my choices, I decided to stick with the Man in charge ~ George W. Bush.
Have been a bush supporter since the dems nominated Kerry.
This board does rule, though I havent heard ant great arguments that would make me change my mind to support kerry. I’m not afraid of a democrat in office, I.E. Lieberman Would probably have gotten my vote, I was rooting for him in the nimination convention.
Vegita ~ Prince of all Sayajins
I didn’t change from Bush-to-Kerry or Kerry-to-Bush, but I did change partisan preference over the past year. I was a big supporter of Joe Lieberman even before the Democratic primaries began. At that time, things were looking good for him. I had decided he would get my vote at that point, and if he did not win the primary, I would vote for whichever Democratic candidate did.
Ordinarily, my vote would have gone to the Libertarian candidate, but they really disappointed me with their primaries. First of all, I thought Browne would be the candidate once again (fortunately, that did not happen). Secondly, they had all too many medical marijuana commercials during the primaries. That makes me sick. Yes, as a whole, the Libertarian party supports legalization of medical marijuana, and to some extent, the decriminalization of recreational drugs. However, that is not even close to being the major platform of the party. I thought the guys running the primaries were just making us look like a bunch of politically-minded stoners. Weak…
Anyhow, once I found out that Kerry was going to be the Democratic nominee, I reconsidered my options. I certainly did not want to vote for him, especially when there were guys like Lieberman or Clark that could have taken the candidacy. I decided I should go with the Badnarik, despite the poor job that was done in representing my party during the primaries. I guess an advertising faux pas is not the worst that could happen.
In sum, here were my choices, chronologically:
Lieberman → Democratic candidate → Libertarian candidate → Democratic candidate → Badnarik
~Terumo
Terumo,
I appreciate your honesty.
Never considered W.?
I’ve been a consistent W. supporter.
I cannot recall an article or argument that would have encouraged me to vote for Kerry? No one believes he won’t raise taxes. No one really believes he can win in Iraq. No one trully believes he can bring allied troops to Iraq. Press the Democrats and it boils down to “Anybody But Bush.”
What exactly does he stand for? I still don’t know. He’s close to the Presidency and we still don’t know who he is. That scares me.
Not being George Bush is a silly reason for voting for someone. Does that mean Dennis Rodman/Courtney Love/Michael Jackson/Saddam is qualified? They are “anybody but Bush.” It’s simply assinine.
JeffR
[quote]JeffR wrote:
Terumo,
I appreciate your honesty.
Never considered W.?..
[/quote]
Actually, I was a decent Bush supporter from 2001 to 2002. Like I said before, I think he handled events surrounding 9/11 exceptionally well. Unfortunately, those acts did not make up for his policies and preferences being so drastically different than mine. It is not that I was ABB, but I was sure that the Democratic candidate would be likely to match my interests better. Unfortunately, Kerry didn’t meet my expectations, either. A lot of guys would say, “Well, you have to vote for the lesser of the two evils.”
I say, “Like hell, I do. I can vote for Nader, Badnarik, Peroutka, or write-in anyone I please.”
I’m just trying to find someone that I can feel proud standing behind, as you can with Bush.
~Terumo
It’s interesting with the huge amount of debate (and abuse!) fired back and forth on this site, that only a few have said their views have changed, even in a small way. Most of us here are at opposite ends of the spectrum and were commited well before the election, and were not to be swayed. We put a lot of bluster into this forum, and (especially as a Kerry supporter) I wonder what for.
Because it’s like celebrity deathmatch, man! It’s fun! Now go suck down some commie liberal kool-aid, deano!!
hehehe, just funnin’ ya, bro!
I was not at all enthusiastic about this election much like the 2000 election. Approaching the primaries I was excited about Wesley Clark, he actually seemed to have a pair but Kerry was a total disappointment. So I guess I did change my mind from expecting to vote Bush’s democratic antagonist, which could’ve been almost anybody respectable, to a 3rd party protest vote.
I don’t consider myself Democratic or Republican but I’ve always believed the sooner Bush leaves office the better for America. However this board has done alot to show me different views on Bush and other issues, even if it hasnt radically changed any of my beliefs.