Well, I haven't posted anything here in a long time. I had a busy summer and the school year is a little crazy. My son Anthony is sophomore at MRHS now and is the treasurer of Amnesty International. My wife is teaching 1st grade in the Kent School District. My youngest son is doing well in 7th grade and might be the most anti George W. of the whole darn Democratic family.
Anyway, I am wondering what you are thinking about the upcoming presidential election. It is less than two weeks away, and may be as unbelievably close as in 2000. Have you gotten "into" this election? Who do you think is going to come out on top? Would you like to persuade any other visitors to this site that they should vote for Bush or Kerry?
Respond here and let us know what you think!
I am very nervous about the whole thing. I am planning on doing some canvassing for Kerry this weekend. I encourage you to get involved. It is going to be close, and for a lot of reasons, I think this is an extremely important election!
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I must say I am less worried with each day. Maybe it is just because I am currently in a state that has no chance of going for bush, I am not sure. But judging from Northwestern I think liberal-minded college age folks are going to make an impressive showing in this election. I have lots of friends that are giving their weekends to take a bus to swing states and canvas for Kerry. I had friends who sat in the dining halls and registered voters, and I spent yesterday evening phone banking with planned parenthood. The actions of some liberal college students may not seem all that exciting to most people, but because of the culture of Northwestern it really impresses me.
Northwestern is quite conservative as colleges go. It is a student body who brought Anne Colter (sp?) and Roy Moore with little protest. I think those things were allowed to go on not because most NU students are conservative, just apathetic--very apathetic. But I have seen students who were once vigilantly uninterested in politics begin to get involved. The pressure to become civicly minded is everywhere. Not a day goes by that I do not get some listserv email reminding me to vote, or get asked by someone on the way to class if I am registered.
If civic-mindedness can suddenly find its way towards my own apathetic Northwestern University--then it gives me hope for the Nation. I am optimistic that us liberal-minded young people will turn out to the polls in unprecidented numbers. --Jessica Joslin (j-joslin@northwestern.edu)
I'm still crossing my fingers and hoping Kerry can pull it off in states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. If Kerry takes those states, it is impossible for Democrats to not take the White House and possibly the Senate and the House.
I sometimes laugh when Repbulicans think they can take Oregon and Washington. Washington a battleground state? Heck no!! If it is, I hope I helped Dems win (the one accomplishment I am most proud of this past summer was registering people to vote).
I guess winner takes all (Electoral College) comes in handy since those of us in Western Washington outnumber those on the other side of the mountains.
Well, until Nov 2nd, pray extra hard everyone!
-Yosef
Hey Mr. Coraggio. Although some poll indicators that give George Bush the advantage, there are some very important developments that give John Kerry some key advantages.
First, no Republican candidate has ever won the presidency w/o Ohio. Recently Ralph Nader has recently been stricken from the ballot in Ohio which gives Kerry an enormous boost. Second, the massive get-out-the-vote drives surely will benefit the Democrats since new voters favor Kerry by double-digit margins. Third, George Bush's job approval rating has been dipping beneath 50 percent and no president in modern history has ever been re-elected with less than 50 percent. One interesting thing to note is the correlation between the price of oil and Bush's approval rating, its really incredible. Vote Kerry and bring back complete sentences. Take it easy Mr. C.
http://www.mydd.com/files/user/2/bushgas.gif
-Gary
Hey Mr. Coraggio. Although some poll indicators that give George Bush the advantage, there are some very important developments that give John Kerry some key advantages.
First, no Republican candidate has ever won the presidency w/o Ohio. Recently Ralph Nader has recently been stricken from the ballot in Ohio which gives Kerry an enormous boost. Second, the massive get-out-the-vote drives surely will benefit the Democrats since new voters favor Kerry by double-digit margins. Third, George Bush's job approval rating has been dipping beneath 50 percent and no president in modern history has ever been re-elected with less than 50 percent. One interesting thing to note is the correlation between the price of oil and Bush's approval rating, its really incredible. Vote Kerry and bring back complete sentences. Take it easy Mr. C.
http://www.mydd.com/files/user/2/bushgas.gif
-Gary
Hey Mr. C. I thought this was pretty funny:
"I think this is an extremely important election!"
The Boston College campus seems to be slightly in favor of Kerry (who I don't think gives the school a lot of support, despite the fact that he went to law school here). I personaly am both saddened and disgusted that the student body gives so much support to a polictician whose policies fail to remain faithful to Catholic teaching (specifically Kerry's position on abortion and gay marriage). A vote against Kerry would be an easy decision if the other option wasn't so horrible. I guess the problem isn't new for Catholic voters who have disenfranchised for a number of decades. In a nation where one party promotes abortion, gay marriage, and other institutions opposed to Church teaching and the other party's economic and foreign policies have earned a poor track record in the social justice department, voting options are bleak.
This is the first election I've been able to vote in, and I must say that I've quickly come to appreciate criticism of the two-party system. The system has advantages, but the damage it does to the system some like to call "democracy" far outweighs them. I myself will be abstaining in regards to the presidential election, as neither candiate is fit to serve. (I actually may write in "Pedro Sanchez,")
- Brett
Hello! Having recently graduated from PLU (which is actually quite liberal), I am still hearing about the tremendous efforts on campus to encourage young adults to vote... we've been discussing this presidential election with vigor ever since the us began meddling with Iraq. I think that young "educated" people are beginning to understand the importance of voting, especially with the word "draft" floating around, coupled with the close election of 2000.
It also seems, however, that there is a lot of frustration with politics in general. Many "swing voters" are resorting to voting for the "lesser of two evils" and are unhappy with the gross lies, exaggerations, and accusations that fueled this campaign.
I am now teaching at Cascade MS (8th grade LA/SS) and we have been doing some work on the upcoming election. I challenge the kids to think about what would happen if they were allowed to vote. I have also been helping them to understand where each candidate stands on a variety of issues. One of the reasons that many people do not vote (in my opinion) is that they don't know - or don't care - who to vote for. By instilling in young people the need to be involved in civics, we are better preparing them to become the future leaders that we hope to see. www.punkvoters.com has some great political cartoons that the kids have loved. This week they have to question an adult about the issues we have been researching... maybe the kids will inspire their parents to get out and vote!
-Crystal K.
P.S. Vote for Judith Billings for superintendent and vote NO for charter schools!
Well im a little outnumbered on this site. It looks like I am the only conservative to make a post on this topic. I would like to say I want the next president of the United States to be one with integrity. Not the type that is claimed to be had by John Kerry. Kerry brought up his ailing grandmother (maybe mother, I can't recall 100%) and implied he possesses integrity at the end of the final debate. When someone has to tell the country they have integrity it shows they do not have faith that the people believe they posess that trait. Integrity is something that the people will believe you have by the things you do, not say. We are a country in a time of war. I do not want a man with the most liberal voting record next to Kennedy in the senate to be leading our country in a time like this. Although he may have misled some people into thinking he will get the job done in Iraq and be a strong protectant for our country. Someone this liberal simply cannot and will not be able to protect our country in a time of terror attacks and war. Diplomacy simply does not work in situations like this and situations after tragedies like September 11th. If he were president during these tragic events maybe he would have tried to find bin laden, and said don't do this again, slapped him on the wrist and sent him on his way. Remember Kerry voted for a war and now is going against it. The strong catholic John Kerry claims to be is also the same man who goes against the catholic religion and votes for abortion and stem cell research (although I do believe stem cell research has great possibilities and I do want to promote its research.) John Kerry also has issues dealing with gun control and hunting. As a hunter, gun owner and one who wants my second amendment rights protected. I do not think a man such as Kerry who tells the public that he is all for gun control and wants the assault weapons ban to be extended, but then in an interview is quoted as saying his favorite gun is a Chinese ASSAULT rifle he got in Vietnam should be thought of as a truthful man with integrity. For all anyone knows he took the gun off a dead soldier and brought it home. Guns do not kill people; people kill people. A handgun is still more dangerous than an assault rifle since they are so easily concealed and they can have more stopping power than most rifles. There is no way to ever get guns off of our streets, criminals will always be able to get guns somehow. A man who says assault weapons should not be around coming from a man who owns an assault weapon. Also a man who falsely received purple hearts in Vietnam and then protested the war. John Kerry’s hometown is Lowell, MA. The Lowell Sun is the local newspaper and they are in a very democratic area. Kerry’s hometown paper endorses George Bush for president. In such a liberal area this seems a little off. But they want their freedom’s protected and to live in a safe society. These citizens know John Kerry cannot get the job done and protect our great country. Without our towns and cities being safe, America will not be what it once was, a land of opportunity. Well this is my $.02 about the upcoming election and I think everyone should get out there and vote no matter who it is for.
- JR Fenton
AMEN JR.
You're my hero.
Kelly Hansen
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