A Republican friend of mine finally admitted to being open to be swayed to vote for Kerry. She asked me to make a case for such a vote. Here's my case to her:
I won't try to convince you that Kerry will be better on the economy, environment, education, health care, national defense, the real war on terror, and respect for our civil liberties. Although I strongly believe that's the case, this opinion can be refuted by ideology differences or simple stubbornness. Like Bush, you could ignore the facts and cling on to the belief that no child is being left behind, jobs losses aren't a concern because people are making money on eBay, the largest deficits in history were unavoidable and aren't mortgaging your future, global warming is fuzzy science by thousands of scientist the world over, Americans are safer now living with orange alerts from time to time, the economy is the best it's ever been, and it's OK if the French don't like us because, well, we don't like them either. If you are bent on believing Bush can do better next time I won't even bother to dissuade you -- it would be a frivolous exercise.
So, why should you vote for Kerry? The answer comes down to one undeniable realization that's much more important than whether I can convince you to like the man and his domestic policies.
Read More