and I said, well that's one thing we've got

[sab]

I am so fucking cranky about the state of the election. I've been offline and I vaguely remember skimming past some sort of friends-list disclaimers about talking politics on LJ -- is it okay that I don't care? This is my LJ. I do what I please, yo.

We're in week four of my DNC fundraising, and the response I'm getting from good, loyal Democrats (as well as enlightened Republicans, independents and moderates who are simply afraid enough of Bush that they're throwing money at the DNC and changing their votes this year because the alternative is just so SCARY) is, of course, "why is Kerry being such a gigantic pussy?"

http://www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com -- thanks, se_parsons



And, dude, it's like, UGGHH. I swear to god, I don't even CARE that Kerry's a ginormous pussy. He's a pussy who's going to confirm left-leaning justices to the Federal Bench. He's a pussy who's going to rescind the goddamned PATRIOT ACT, who's going to roll back those goddamned big-business tax cuts, get us out of the goddamned deficit, help rebuild Iraq. He's going to let me buy my Paxil from Canada and he's going to make sure mom and dad get their Social Security when they retire next year. I swear to GOD I don't CARE if he's the weeniest weenie that ever sputtered out a wishy-washy sentence in front of a crowd of desperate Democrats wishing against hope for ANYONE to lead us out of this FRIGHTENING STATE OF FUNDAMENTALIST FASCISM.

I'm sad. I want, you know, Bartlet. Or Clinton. The "Real Thing" that sends me to wearemany's office in the rain with a shit-eating smile on my face saying "this is it; we're back."

Sadly, this is not it. But, you know, Hillary in 2012 rather than 2008 is FINE by me if it means I'm rescued from four more years of this RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT.

Look, um. My nice Conservative friends. I fully respect your right to a difference of opinion. But seriously, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, how can you POSSIBLY WANT your library records subpoena'd?! How can you POSSIBLY think it's OKAY to have to turn over evidence about yourself, or your friends, to name names? What could POSSIBLY be positive about rolling back your constitutional rights in favor of, what, armbands? Want to throw me in the Jewish ghetto? How about a national ID card? Do you really WANT to give my unborn fetus more rights than ME? HOW is this a good idea? HOW is this the country we signed on for? Don't we have a CONSTITUTION for this sort of stuff? Do you really want the goddamned TEN COMMANDMENTS to be used in COURT? Are you FUCKING INSANE?

I gotta go to work now, where I've got to make call after call to those desperate folks who, in the absence of an oasis, will drink the sand because they don't know the difference, and convince them that KERRY IS A GINORMOUS PUSSY and that they'd sure as shit better vote for him anyway or else we're deeply, DEEPLY FUCKED.

Um.

We still don't have internet, but we're here at the Leonardo di Caprio public library where good young Leo's kind enough to let me speechify and take out books on how to build bombs and the good librarians of LA county will, responsibly, burn my records before Tom Ridge's people come a'knocking to ask if I Am Now Or Have Ever Been.

This has been a public service announcement from Los Angeles.

We'll try and kick PayPal's ass and see what's what and get back online with a vengeance ASAP. Until then, I have purple hair. Just ask thassalia.

FUCKING VOTE. For Kerry.

Love,
me

Comments

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

Holy shit, I needed to hear this now, because I keep getting these subliminal messages from friends that I am not a Legitimate Liberal or something because I'm voting for Kerry and not a third-party candidate. I just want Bush out. I am just-- scared of Bush, and I'm tired of having a president whom I do not like, trust, respect, or agree with. And, yeah, thanks. We're trying to mobilize my campus and get everyone registered to vote here, because we're in Ohio, and I need a kick in the ass sometimes to remind me that it matters.

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Make those calls, my dear. 'Cause you're doing the good work, work that needs to be done. Because yes, to all of that. And I'll keep my fingers crossed for the Paypal and the scripts and for Zach Braff to decide that he needs to finanacially support two fabulous LA girls living in a white house, although I think he probably spent all his money on his movie, but he could at least pay for your internet:) And more purple, because the purple hair is the epitome of fabulous.

[vickita.livejournal.com]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This election is a choice between, "Eh," and 'Oh, holy fucking SHIT!!!!" There is no contest.

I would vote for my cat, Daisy, before I would vote Republican in the presidential election this fall. In a heartbeat.

[pene.livejournal.com]

well, but at least I worked out how to register in Pennsylvania. all the way from here. go me.

you rock. I feel very positive about this election. of course, I'm an idiot. ;)

xx

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Dude. I love you. Seriously.

[leadensky.livejournal.com]

But seriously, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, how can you POSSIBLY WANT your library records subpoena'd?! How can you POSSIBLY think it's OKAY to have to turn over evidence about yourself, or your friends, to name names? What could POSSIBLY be positive about rolling back your constitutional rights in favor of, what, armbands? Want to throw me in the Jewish ghetto? How about a national ID card? Do you really WANT to give my unborn fetus more rights than ME? HOW is this a good idea? HOW is this the country we signed on for? Don't we have a CONSTITUTION for this sort of stuff? Do you really want the goddamned TEN COMMANDMENTS to be used in COURT? Are you FUCKING INSANE?

I'm going to take this as a retorical question in, as you say, your own lj. And I'm going to wish you luck and determination and the support of your collegues in your work to get out the vote and get people to vote for the candiate you support.

And if you want to actually discuss why I'm not going to vote for Kerry, and am voting for Bush, come on over and ask questions that don't rhyme with "So, when did you stop beating your wife?

I'm dead serious about both parts of that - being glad you're working your issues and being annoyed at the inflamatory remarks.

- hg

[hederahelix.livejournal.com]

just a big giant thank you. reccea's here, and I'm about to drag her to the gym, where she will hate me, but yes, I want those things too, and yes, I voted for Nader in the last two elections, but right now I might do him seriously bodily harm if I ran into him somewhere.

reccea wants you to know that she thinks you're fabulous.

but the point is, yeah, I want a candidate worthy enough too, but if I think for more than about two seconds about just how bad things can get if Bush gets another four years, I think my head will explode.

so, you know, this is just me, part of the choir, telling you to go right on ahead and keep preaching at us.

[bexxa.livejournal.com]

Sab, I respect your passion and your commitment.

I hope every eligible voter goes to the polls this November, and I hope every one of them makes sure that *their* ballot doesn't have a hanging chad or any other defect that would invalidate their vote.

I held my nose and voted for a Democrat twice. The world did not suddenly become a better place, despite promises that all we had to do was get the evil, incompetent Republican incumbent out of office.

So, respectfully, I won't be supporting your candidate. Thank you for your wholehearted participation in the process, nonetheless.

[corinna-5.livejournal.com]

The combination of your post, and some of the shortsighted responses to it, make me want to go donate more money to John Kerry's campaign. If I donate through you, specifically, somehow, do you get a pony?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

The prospect of four more years of Bush deeply frightens me, despite of or perhaps because of not being American.

I hardly dare ask since you're so busy fighting the forces of very real evil, but are you back online now, and available for RP?

[reccea.livejournal.com]

Amen. Seriously.

I've been trying to explain to my conservative friends that I don't actually care how wishy-washy and whatever Kerry is. I would vote for Kermit the Fucking Frog if it got Bush out of office. I would. I would vote for a muppet.

Your post summed it up perfectly. Yes, I want a Bartlett. I want someone who makes me believe that change is possible and that we have a fighting chance to get this country past the prejudices of the past and into an era where the idea that "all men are created equal" is not just a pretty line but a truth. Where someone's gender, race, and/or sexuality has no bearing on what place they hold in society.

But until I get a Bartlett, I'll take Kerry. Because, really, anyone but Bush.

*Anyone*

Because you're right. If Kerry doesn't win we are really deeply fucked.

[-maayan.livejournal.com]

I like a good discussion as much as the next gal, but then I also have a different understanding of tolerance than most, as in I don't care about the concept itself. The concept doesn't mean anything, since no one tolerates everything. What matters is not whether or not you are tolerant, but where you draw the line.

And drawing the line means that I don't feel ashamed or guilty-tripped or like a bad citizen when I say: No. No, I won't even debate your arguments. You're an idiot and you're wrong. It's pretty much what I say to any number of Christians who've tried to 'illuminate' me over the years.

I tolerate others as fellow human beings, but I don't have to tolerate ideas. And the idea of voting for Bush is plain fucking stupid. Which is what I hate (yes, I weigh my words) most about him: that he's engendered such a breakdown in the political debate that he's crossed my tolerance line to the point were I am forced to refuse rational discussion. (To those who would try to show me the error of my ways on that count: Don't bother.)



P.S. And that you've got a VP who can say stuff like "Voting for Kerry will lead to another terrorist attack on our soil," and get the fuck away with it without a major civil uprising and nationwide condemnation makes me want to puke.

[apathocles.livejournal.com]

Amen. I mean, shit, if I could, *I'd* send over a vote or thousand for Kerry.

It's strange -- we really don't hear much about Kerry over here at all; I would guess that most Australians don't even know who he is. (Of course, most Australians don't know jack about their own politicians. Heh.) But, from what we *do* hear about him, the 'pussy' reputation just doesn't make it through over here at all. (And why did writing 'pussy' just then feel so dirty?) Probably the most we ever heard about him was during the whole Vietnam thing, and since Australia has never been as pro-Vietnam (or pro-war in general) as the US, I don't think it bothered anyone down here at all; certainly, the only actual criticism I heard was from US reports.

And I can't even comment on the stupidity of the fact that Bush may well get back in, because Australia's in the exact same goddamned position, and the Howard government is probably going to be re-elected for the billionth time. Because they utilise the politics of fear and hatred. Because people think 'better the devil you know'. Because people don't give a shit who they've got in charge, as long as *they're* not the ones dying. (And, although I don't think it's been said outright, the government are basically doing the 'imply that a Labor government would increase the chances of a terrorist attack on Australian soil', the fuckers. No, *you're* the ones who're gonna provoke terrorist attacks, by staying in Iraq, siding with Bush, and doing nothing to *repair* our fucking relations with the Middle East. Fucking hell.)

Do I want Mark Latham as my next PM? Hell, no. He's irritating as all hell, and I don't think a lot of his policies are going to work (if he ever even bothers to try to implement them). But, I mean, shit. If they win, Labor have promised to: a) pull out of Iraq, b) sign the Kyoto Protocol, and c) pull money from the most ridiculously overfunded private schools, and spread it out amongst the poorest public schools. (Amongst other things, of course.)

Yes, these are election promises. I'm not naïve. But, if a Labor government manages to pull just *one* of the above things off, then it'll still be a *huge* improvement over what we've got now. And, for the moment, that's the best that I can hope for; I'll work with whatever I can get.

Unfortunately, I'm not optimistic. Every time it looks like Labor's starting to get somewhere, something always happens to make people flock to the conservatives. Last election, it was the Tampa crisis. (Because asylum seekers are EEEEEVIL, and are planning to blow up Australia from their leaky, leaky boats!) This time around, there's the Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta. Always right before the election, and somehow, the Libs manage to make people believe that we'd be less safe from 'outside forces' if we were under Labor. Even though these things are happening, y'know, UNDER THE LIBERALS.

Fuck, it makes me sick.

[gingerwood.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I want a Bartlett too. I'm not convinced that Bush is the anticrist, but he shoved me off the fence and into the Kerry camp when he suggested that elections might be posponed if there was a terrorist attack. The thought of elections being posponed for any reason scares me deeply, and I don't want a person in office who would even consider it. And yeah, the Cheney's scare tactics didn't help either...

[se-parsons.livejournal.com]

I'm delighted that you're doing this. Fight the good fight.

I've lost heart a little since Dean is gone. Because a pussy he was not. And I just can't stomach sending money to the DNC. Obama doesn't seem to need my help, so I think I'm concentrating on getting rid of Henry Hyde and driving around with my Kerry/Edwards bumpersticker.

Which, fortunately, won't get me fired like that poor woman in Alabama.

I also think I'll be phone banking to Wisconsin or something if the Democrats around here would really get their shit together.

[huzzlewhat.livejournal.com]

I surfed over here from sorlklewis, and just had to add my head-bobbing agreement. I understand your tension, your frustration, and your inability to engage... because I'm at the same point myself. I've sent money, I've attended house parties, I've signed up for election-day "protect the vote" duties in Philly, and I'm scared silly. But I'm in a swing state, so I can't just let it go because yes, it is that bad. I've gotten two people registered to vote who hadn't been before, and I'm counting those two Pennsylvania votes in the Kerry column as ones that I'm personally responsible for. And there are two and a half months left.

[semielliptical]

Just wanted to let you know that this post made me go to the DNC web site to make yet another donation against Bush. You are doing good work!

[fourteenlines.livejournal.com]

I just want to live in a world where holding a minority opinion doesn't get me the McCarthy-esque label of "un-American." Because, hello, I'm an American. Therefore, the opinions I hold are American. George W. Bush doesn't have a monopoly on defining what it means.

The sad thing is, I'm not sure it's the administration that's causing that state of affairs, though I do believe it is encouraging it. Even an "I disagree with you, and it upsets me, but I still like you" is an improvement on that score. (As in, see above.)

Am I alone?

[(Anonymous)]

Am I truely the only one who doesn't think a man who would plan to have his boat drive into an ambush can not be a ginormous pussy?

The more I learn about Kerry, the more sure I am that he will be a great President. I just hope he isn't handed too much of a mess in January.

(I loved your post, btw!)