No, that's the opposite of what I'm saying; I am saying that what he said about Democrats is NOT horrible. (I said "I didn't understand why it's so horrible," meaning "I didn't understand what's so horrible about what he said," not "I didn't understand how he could say these 'horrible' things about Democrats.") I didn't say anything about truth on either side. Blanket statements tend to have a kernel of truth and a whole lot of generalization - especially when used for comic effect.

You didn't know me when, but I used to be a vocal political activist for breaking the two-party system. This was before the Iraq war, when my priorities were shaken by the actions taken led by our Republican government. And yes, the Democrats didn't stop him from going to war. But personally, I doubt we would have gone if Gore had been in the office. And I very, very much regretted my third-party vote (even if it wouldn't have helped) the moment we stepped into Iraq.

I do review every major candidate, in any party, during the year or two before the election. But it all seems pretty futile to me. No, no single candidate stands completely in alignment with me, and they never will unless it's ME running. We're all beautiful ****ing snowflakes, etc. But that does not stop me from noticing that most of the Republican candidates' political views are in opposition to my views, while the Democrats are (for the most part) campaigning for things I agree with.

I'm not a centrist. I very very much want to get us out of Iraq. I want to stop the hemorrhaging war funds leading to war profiteering while bankrupting the country. I very much want to seek out goodwill internationally because I believe we've sullied our name with our middle-eastern meddling over the last thirty or forty years. I want to legalize gay marriage. I want to keep church and state completely separate. I want to see arts funded and schools funded and social aid programs funded. I want to fund it myself, with raised taxes. I want people who can afford taxes (MYSELF INCLUDED) to pay them. I want wealthy people to pay them even more. I want a better healthcare system. And yes, I even want to unite the partisan country under a common goal of improving life for each other and NOT taking lives overseas. If, in my review, I can find a Republican who agrees with me about these things, I'll consider voting for them.

Heh, re-reading your statement, Kevin, it seems clear to me that you and I just never going to agree here because of our opinions regarding taxation. You are centrist because you're socially liberal but fiscally conservative. I am liberal because I'm both socially liberal AND looking to take and spend too much of your money on things like textbooks for classrooms as opposed to body armor for soldiers. Wait. The Republicans aren't funding that, either!

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, Mitt's real first name is Willard.







I don't know what that has to do with anything, but I believe I figured out why he goes by "Mitt".




:D

I think having a president named Willard would be prefereable to Mitt or Strom or Orrin. I do wonder where some of these names come from.

Augustus Throckmorton Peele for president

Well, we've had one named Millard...

That makes it worse. He CHOSE to go with Mitt, rather than being stuck with it. Now I REALLY can't vote for him.

I have some pretty odd names in my family tree. My grandfather was named Dorr, one further back was Mahetable.

I had a great-aunt Fronie!

Lavancha was a popular name in my mother's family for 3 or 4 generations. My grandmother broke that tradition with her 5 daughters, but then named one of them Gleytus. :rolleyes:

I had a grand uncle named Topsy. (They used to call him that because he used to fall topsy turvy on the street because he was so drunk.)

And my dad's sister's nickname is Faffy. (LOVE that one.)

And best of all, my dad's mom was called "The Black Orchid". I always found that one to be really neat.