Back when I was in a rage over the pending re-election of George W. Bush, thinking that there is no way the country is going to let it happen again, actually living in what I considered to be a coup d'état government - - - speaking loudly to anyone that would listen as to why we should not allow George W. Bush to be rewarded with his abysmal failures by granting the man another four years.
I so much wanted him disgraced like his father... shown the door after only four...
Then, on a rainy night in Ohio... the reports coming in that in Democratic districts there were only two working voting machines and the lines were around the block... people waiting hours to vote.... Diebold having their way with this election.
It reminded me of a conversation I had with some open minded conservatives. You know, the kind of guys you could have a beer with. Politically connected guys, but at a very low and local level, mainly due to the money influence they happened to have.
The gist of this discussion on the flip.
Three very conservative types, with money and the kind of influence money has - albeit at a local level. One of them was a developer, so he deals with the county officials all the time, plays golf with them, arranges favors... you know - the scumbag that builds 700 townhouses in the last remaining habitat for an unremarkable and obscure amphibian that isn't cute enough to get the Sierra Club involved in stopping him.
Anyway, just setting the stage - in an open and honest conversation, these guys agreed with me that John Kerry should be the next president, that they intended to vote for him, and were very much against the re-anointing of King Bush.
Of course we had very different reasons for our common goal, and you can all guess my reasons - although this was pre-Daily Kos for me, I've been voting for Democrats since - well, since before Disco.
The subject of this diary is to demonstrate the prescience of these guys I was talking to. They were not voting for George W. Bush because they believed he was going to ruin the conservative movement for 12 years after his second term.
They saw him for what he is; a fake, a phony, a man that says what needs to be said to garner conservative support and then does what is best for himself and his close allies. George W. Bush is not a fiscal conservative, that is obvious.
These guys were in complete agreement with me that the whole WMD booga booga was the means to an end. An unjustified means, as well as an unjustified ends, by the way. Damn, it was good to talk to intelligent voters that ideologically disagreed with me, but had the brains and the foresight to see the poison that is George W. Bush.
These guys believed that the politics of George W. Bush was going to change, cheapen, ruin, and cost them a conservative government for likely the rest of their lives. All for his personal eight years of enjoyment.
These guys would rather have had 4 years of John Kerry, then an attempt to wrestle back the White House for a real conservative. They believed that a conservative government was going to give them the retirement they hoped for.
Cheers to those guys for having the strength of their convictions. If only those that are now completely disillusioned by the antics of commander codpiece could have flushed the Kool-Aid from their veins in time to see the train wreck that was rushing at them full speed four years ago... we would have a very different election cycle this year.
Here's to at least 12 more years of Democratic control of the White House and Congress. It will likely take 4-6 years to get the Supremes 'balanced' again - another few to get a liberal majority -
Four years ago I never could have imagined an Obama presidency. When I heard him speak at the convention I needed someone to help lift my jaw back up - I thought to myself - where has that guy been? Why hasn't he been campaigning for Kerry to boost the numbers beyond 49.9%? I was very impressed with the young Senator from Illinois.
He has had a well deserved meteoric rise - and he is going to be a GREAT president. Even for retiring conservatives.
I have a feeling those guys are not on the McMini Me train wreck. They probably won't vote for Obama, they'll just stay home.
Republicans that stay home in November are my favorite kind of conservatives.