Saturday, July 10, 2004
A Letter from Mrs. Tinheart
Mike Retzer
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
July 1, 2004
Dear Mike,
Imagine my shock (and horror) at receiving correspondence addressed to me by your organization. I laughed at the first sentence of your letter: 'I don't want to believe you've abandoned the Republican Party, but I have to ask...Have you given up?' Where to begin with that question?
My husband and I have been wondering why the Republican Party was canvassing us. We've received your kind invitations to eat rubber chicken with the President in Washington (at only $2500 per plate!) We received your lovely photo of the President and Mrs. Bush (suitable for framing) and have been using it for dart practice.
I suspect that somehow the Republican Party has the misguided notion that because we subscribe to Fortune, Forbes or perhaps The Economist, that we might be kindred spirits or even fellow travelers. Let me assure you. We are NOT.
I have been a member of the Democratic Party since the age of eighteen. Even before I reached voting age, I assisted in registering voters in the inner city and worked for Democratic candidates. My husband registers as an Independent and will probably vote for a Green Party candidate. He's contrary that way. ( Note...I will definitely not be voting for a Green Party candidate -- I'm beginning to think my wife doesn't read my blog! )
So you can continue to spend your money trying to get us to part with some of ours. In fact, please do! Just don't hold your breath waiting for the check. Or rather, please do!
Sometimes, even in this rather urban part of Tennessee, I feel a bit forlorn as a Democrat. I am surrounded by Republicans. People who, while probably perfectly lovely when not thinking too hard about school prayer, seem a bit intense about 'Morning in America,' or whatever the new Republican Party marketing machine is cramming down the throats of the white, middle-class, state-school educated, middle managers that seem to congregate in my neighborhood.
Although I was heartened by all the other Democrats and liberals at the premiere of Fahrenheit 9/11. You should check that out by the way. I think it may factor heavily in some strategy of some sort. Oh wait, that would be OUR strategy. But go see the movie anyway; it's very good.
So Mike, to answer your question, I gave up on the Republican Party a long time ago. I gave up on your party when the draconian (and stupid) public health policies of the Reagan Administration allowed AIDS to kill my friends. No one under the age of thirty should have to attend a funeral once a month.
I gave up on the Republican Party when President Bush declared war in the Middle East in the interest of his Oil friends. I gave up on the Republican Party when President Bush declared war in the Middle East in the interest of his Oil friends. (I put this in here twice because...oh who are we kidding? You know why it's here twice.)
I gave up on the Republican Party when I became a schoolteacher in Florida and had to actually DEAL with that untenable 'No Child Left Behind' policy. I'm not sure exactly how cutting back on teachers, new school construction and textbooks allows children to be better educated. I also don't understand how letting the student to teacher ratio get to 40:1 allows children to be educated. Oh wait, it doesn't. But considering that both Bush brothers attended private school, I'll just assume that the whole thing is just overtly racist and class-ist, and dispense with any justification of that policy as an attempt at strengthening the public school system.
I gave up on the Republican Party when you were so threatened by the thought of losing the presidential election that you sanctioned vote fraud in the state of Florida. How embarrassing that the Philippines are sending poll-watchers here in November!
As you can see Mike, you never had me, so in reality, you didn't lose me. But I can see why you might be concerned about the erosion of the support of your party by the 'swing voters.' All those Soccer Moms, raising their children to believe in those Republican Family Values. Soccer Moms just HATE it when the children that they've raised are sent oversees to fight in a pointless war. Soccer Moms especially hate it when their children lose their limbs, sight or even their lives, fighting so that Halliburton/KBR can continue to be awarded contracts for outrageous sums of money.
To quote from your letter: 'the actions of just one person can have a profound difference on the political process.' I'm just hoping that the one person to whom you refer is Michael Moore.
Sincerely;
Mrs. Tinheart
Liberal Democrat
posted by Green Voicemail 7/10/2004 04:11:00 PM
Friday, July 09, 2004
More Stock to Sell
This just in from Tradesports :
This is a graph of the "strength" of Bush's "stock" between 0 and 100. 0 means that the stock is worthless, Bush will never be president in 2004. 100 means that you can bet your life on it.
The huge bump that you see around Dec/Jan 2003 is the "we got Saddam" bump. It bumped Bush's stock into the stratosphere, but he couldn't hang on to it and his stock went down where it usually is, in the 55-60 range.
At the right end of the graph, you'll see a dip, a return to baseline, and a second dip. The first dip corresponds to April 2004 and the hearings of the 911 commission, along with Abu Ghraib and the revelations of torture of Iraqis by United States troops. Bush recovers from that but then takes a second dip, with the announcement of John Edwards as Kerry's vice-president.
Before today, the lowest Bush had ever sold was 53. Today, some unknown person actually sold Bush's stock at 49.5! The lowest it has ver been. The stock is back up to 52 now, but who knows if it will stay there or if this is the sign of a tendency for Bush to fall below the water line.
And remember: people who like Tradesports like gambling and they like stocks. They tend to skew Republican.
The state-by-state races aren't changed much. Bush/Cheney leads Kerry/Edwards in the Electoral College Column 278 to 260. However, the following states are now in play:
Florida: 51.1 (!!)
New Hampshire: 53
West Virginia: 55
Ohio: 55.2
Conventional wisdom had it that Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida were the true swing states. Whichever of the two candidates had the majority of those states would win the election. Kerry has Pennsylvania. And Bush is weakly holding on to Florida and Ohio.
Let me put it this way: I believe that if the election were held today, we'd be talking about President Kerry. However, the election is NOT being held today. Which is why we should not lose sight of our goals.
posted by Green Voicemail 7/09/2004 03:15:00 PM
