Naspino

November'04 Talking Points

He's Like Us -- Legacy, Legacy!

Michael Moore, "Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for too aggressive a right-wing agenda"

It’s the Christians Stupid

Billy Underwood, chairman of Colbert County, Alabama Democratic Party "It must be slipping," Underwood said. "We got out-Christianed."

Paul Krugman, NYT "The religious right - not to be confused with religious Americans in general - isn't a majority, or even a dominant minority. It's just one bloc of voters, whom the Republican Party has learned to mobilize with wedge issues like this year's polarizing debate over gay marriage."

Richard Glover, Sydney Morning Herald "Over there at least, there's nothing wispy or fragile about what seems to be the defining brand of Christian, with their belief in war, wealth and welfare-reform. Look at the voting patterns and they sure are good haters: many of them tempted into voting for the first time by the chance to condemn gay marriage. Hate got them out of bed and voting in a way love never did."

Maureen Dowd "W. ran a jihad in America so he can fight one in Iraq -- drawing a devoted flock of evangelicals, or "values voters" as they call themselves, to the polls by opposing abortion, suffocating stem cell research and supporting a constitutional amendment against gay marriage."

Hunter S. Thompson to Sean Penn on how Christians ruined the election "I've got the worst possible news. Colorado has gone to hell like all the other states. They must have all voted the same way they prayed."

John Bice, Michigan State University "Faith bestows certainty of belief, often in spite of direct contrary evidence. The conviction, held by many, that Jesus literally exists in cheap wine and thin wheat wafers is distressingly revealing. Individuals capable of believing such fantasies are literally capable of believing anything."

Ted Rall, Yahoo "...if militant Christianist Republicans from inland backwaters believe that secular liberal Democrats from the big coastal cities look upon them with disdain, there's a reason. We do, and all the more so after this election. "

Bill Gallagher, Peabody Award Winner "America's political soul was in the grip of George W. Bush and the wacky religious right. Protecting the nation from their radical agenda requires our urgent prayers...More importantly, it worked because Rove and his allies on the religious right -- Evangelicals and Catholics alike -- were able to so effectively mobilize anti-gay sentiment and make that a more decisive issue than the mess in Iraq and Bush's horrible record on the economy."

We're Educated, You're Not!

Ted Rall, Yahoo "These oases of liberal thinking--New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Boston--are homes to our best-educated people, most vibrant popular culture and most innovative and productive businesses...By any objective standard, you had to be spectacularly stupid to support Bush...Educational achievement doesn't necessarily equal intelligence. After all, Bush holds a Harvard MBA."

Bill Gallagher, Peabody Award Winner, "This is not meant to be smug, but just to point out that, the lower the IQ, the more appealing George W. Bush is and vice versa. "

Morality is About Saving the Whale!

Gersh Kuntzman, Newsweek "How could my party yield the moral issues to the party of war, wealth and waste? Fuck you and your fuck moral values! If you take the central issues that liberals fight for—a clean environment, fair wages for working people, expanded civil rights, the rights of homosexual adults to copulate freely—these are ultimately American values."

Bill Gallagher, Peabody Award Winner "In Oklahoma, where "moral values" come "sweepin' down the plain," the stench of hatred, intolerance and corruption always hung in the air. California is leading the nation in the quest for cleaner air standards and requiring more fuel-efficient cars, in spite of the opposition of George W. Bush's corporate sponsors in the auto and oil industries. The environmental movement thrives and makes important strides in Oregon and Washington state, where people are proud to say they're tree-huggers as they fight urban sprawl and the spread of Bush's Wal-Mart Nation.

But That Will Cost Too Much!

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND "All he talked about today were things that will increase the deficit," said "He's going to have to at some point confront reality."

We Own the Blacks Not You!

Juan Gonzalez, NY Daily News "Forget what you've been told the past few days about Bush and the Republicans making any major inroads into the black and Hispanic vote. Blacks and Latinos, even Asians, voted in greater numbers for the Democrats than they ever have. And they did so because they feel deeply threatened by the current Republican leadership."

Joan Baez, hippy Kerry singer, pretending to be Alice a 15-yr old black girl from Arkansas "de prezident, he be a racist, de prezident, he got a bug fer killin'. Seems lak haf' de country be plumb crazy."

America the Sucky!

Jason Eaten, children's book author on his citizenship "Absolutely priceless in 2000, its value has been steadily decreasing over the last four years. It is only in fair condition now, but can certainly be enjoyed by the many gun owners, warmongers, creationists, plutocrats and homophobes that make up 51% of the country."

Bill Gallagher, Peabody Award Winner "The first seven people I spoke with on Black Wednesday said -- separately and independently -- they want to go to Canada. Ifind the air in Houston filthy and stifling, just like the political climate there. Listening to people brag loudly in those horrible Texas twangs is insufferable. In Toronto, I can breathe and the people speak English."

That Imperialistic Military!

Ron Koby, talk show host and lawyer "If you're a soldier, and sick of the Bush war in Iraq, contact me, I'll help you get out!"