[Joe Hadenuf]

Actually, in reality, there are only the two. And the differences between the two are for the most part, inconsequential. One day, when enough people get fed up, there will be another.

[luvbach1]

Astute and clever.

[Mr. Mojo]

Some Republicans are totally bewildered by Bush’s not securing our border with Mexico, and allowing thousands of illegals to cross every day.

Nothing bewildering about it. Politicians care far more about staying in power than they do about preserving and protecting our nation.

[RJCogburn]

A major example is the Bushies incredible socialistic Medicare spending bill just passed, that robs the young to pay for the olds medical bills.

While you are correct in your characterization of the Medicare bill, it was the votes of REPUBLICANS that passed it.

Your analsis of the party breakdown is not correct, IMO. While there are some loyal to Bush personally, I think most of the inhabitants of Bushbotland are people who would rationalize the actions of almost any President of their party

[Servant of the 9]

Actually fooling Republicans isn’t very difficult.

Seems that way, but you have forgotten the 'Reagan Democrats' AKA 'The Religious Right' AKA 'The Fetus Party'.
They are the primary reason moderates have trouble voting Republican.

So9

[ChadGore]

"Thou shalt not speak ill of a felow Republican"
--
Reagans Law

[Lunatic Fringe]

I disagree with the conventional wisdom that we are a two-party system.

Of course, the Republicans and Democrats are the two major political parties of this nation. However, there are alternatives out there. How many Presidential candidates were on the ballot is 2000?

George W. Bush (Rep)
Al Gore (Dem)
Ralph Nader (Green)
Pat Buchanan (Reform)
Howard Phillips (Constitutional)
Denny Lane (Grassroots)
Harry Browne (Libertarian)
John Hagelin (Natural Law)
Earl Dodge (Prohibition)
David McReynolds (Socialist)
James Harris (Socialist Workers)
Monica Moorehead (Workers World)

Not to mention the dozens of write-in candidates:

A.J. Albritton (American Republican Party-Mississippi)
Thomas Bentley (Progressive Party-New York)
Alan Caruba (Boring Party-New Jersey)
Clifford R. Catton (Church of God Party-New York)
Fred Cook (Christian Alliance-Georgia)
Ernest L. Easton (Veterans Industrial Party-Indiana)
Jack Grimes (United Fascist Union-Delaware)
Michael Jenkins (Priorities Party-Virginia)
Temperance Alesha Lance-Council (Anti-Hypocrisy Party-California)
Bradford J. Lyttle (US Pacifist Party-Illinois)
Mike B. Martisko (National Sovereignty Party-West Virginia)
Isabelle Masters (Looking Back Party-Kansas)
Bruce S. Nelson (Optimization Party-Europe)
Jeffrey B. Peters (We The People Party-New Hampshire)
Raymond K. Petry (interParty-Hawaii)
Don Rogers (American Party-California)
R.U. Sirius (The Revolution-Illinois)
Mike Strauss (Mike's Party-Massachusetts)
Jeff Sturk (Buffalo Party-Virginia)
Da Vid (Light Party-California)
Jim Watkins (Tupperware Party-Indiana)
William L. Wallace (The Church-Alabama)
Tom Wells (Family Values Party-Florida)

There are all kinds of choices out there for just about every political point of view.

[Michael.SF.]

The Socialists started to infiltrate and take over the Democrat party in the mid 1960s, and today the so-called Democrat party is the Socialist party.

Your time frame is off by about 20-25 years. Do a little research on Henry Wallace Vice president 1941-45 or read Ann Coulters book: Treason.

[nickcarraway]

What party is Lincoln Chaffee in, according to your system?

[Hank Rearden]

The Bushies and Republicans are setting up hyperexpensive vote-buying scams right and left, and making Big Stupid Republican Government bigger and dumber by the day.

How is this different from the 'Rats and Socialists?

[Cicero]

There are a lot more differences among the various Republicans and Democrats than that. For instance, you use the term "Bushie," but GWB is considerably more conservative than his father, GHWB. I notice that you avoid the term RINO. GWB is not a full conservative, but neither is he a RINO. He is far to the right of Susan Collins, Olympia Snow, and Lincoln Chaffee, not to speak of Jim Jeffords.

There are RINOs and RINOs, too. There are the RINOs who vote with the party when they think their constituents will allow it, and so are only as leftist as they need to be to get reelected from liberal districts. Then there are RINOs like Lincoln Chaffee who seem to take special pride in voting just as far to the left as they can get away with, which is quite a different thing.

I'm willing to support a president like GWB if he does the right thing on what I consider to be the important issues, and compromises on the less important ones. You, of course, may have different priorities and think different issues are the most important. For me, the crucial issue is the right to life, and the most crucial job Bush has to do is to start appointing some decent, law-abiding judges. Next after that is national security, which at the moment mostly means dealing with Islamists and China in the right way. So far Bush has done a good job on that, although I'm a bit nervous at the moment about China.

I too would like to see our immigration laws enforced. But it has to be approached in the right way or Bush will be thrown out of office like Pete Wilson. He needs to prevent the Democrats from getting a lock on the Hispanic vote, for instance, like their current 95% lock on the black vote, or else the Republicans can forget accomplishing anything at all. The Democrats have learned to pander to the illegal immigrant vote. It's a form of corruption that needs to be fixed, but it won't be fixed by charging at it like a bull in a China shop.

Finally, Bush is soft spoken. He enrages the leftist voters, but he seems like a nice guy to the swing voters. Bush understands that the important thing is DOING things, like the passage of the Partial Birth Abortion Bill after so many years, or the tax cut bills, or the successful invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Better to DO things than to mouth loud conservative slogans. That was Newt's mistake. And I credit Newt with doing some great things. But he brought himself down with his big mouth.

[Little Bill]

Actually there are seven, Fiscial Conservitives, Social Conservitives, Country Club Republicans, Independants ( Road Kill) Liberals, Socalists, Greens (Commies).

[Revolting cat!]

True, but it doesn't really matter. A far right winger could very well find home in the RAT Party, and a few far left winger have found home in the PUB Party. No one is going to kick them out of the party. That's not how it works in this country. What we have are loose associations, mutual admiration societies, based on some vague ideas which are mostly stereotypes. The RAT Party is for the people and the PUB Party is for business. As long as the voters remain complacent and happy with the overall political status quo, and comfortable with their deeply held stereotypes and shallowly held convictions, the status quo remains. Too bad, too sad.

In other countries, you join a political party, pay your dues, become active or not. Or, like most people, you don't join any party at all but you can still vote for party candidates during general elections. However you don't get to choose the candidates, however they are chosen, and certainly the government does not pay for intra-party primary elections as it does here for some absurd reasons. I have heard of cases in other countries where party leaders would kick out of the party some parlamentary deputies who didn't toe the line. They'll stay in the Parlament until the next election, but get no party support of any kind from there on. In Paradise on the other hand, I'm told that somebody like Zell Miller is in the same political party as some illiterate black communist from Houston, and that this is how things oughta be. Oh, well...

[hosepipe]

The democrat party has been socialist for 80+ years...

What sre you ? ...90...

[jagrmeister]

I agree with Bush that Islam is a "religion of peace". Just as I don't stigmatize Christians every time an abortion doctor is shot, nor do I wish to stigmatize a population of 1 billion people when Islamic militants carry out terrorism. The real issue are the people who have hijacked Islam to acquire power and carry out violent acts in its name. We gain nothing by bashing Islam.

[DannyTN]

I was wondering why he left out the libertarians, but then I realized that they are too stoned to vote, so they aren't much of a political force.

[Moonman62]

The Bushies are the Republican Party. It was Reagan who was the outsider.

[mhking]

If Bill 'n Opus had won, there wouldn't be any arguement...

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[TheAngryClam]

Michael Moore is a registered member, and promoter, of the Green Party, chief.

[boris]

From "Weird Politics" in High Weirdness by Mail, p. 156-7, (c)1988, by Ivan Stang.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are three kinds of people -- I call them Larrys, Curlys, and Moes. The Larrys don't even know that there are three types; if they're told, it's an abstraction, because they cannot imagine anything beyond Larry-ness. The Curlys know about it, and recognize the pecking order, but find ways of living with it cheerfully...for they are the imaginative, creative ones. The Moes not only know about it, but exploit and perpetuate it.

The naive, pleasant believers of all kinds are Larrys -- ineffectual, well-meaning do-gooders destined always to be victims, often without once guessing their status. Like sheep, they don't want to hear the unpleasant legends about "the slaughterhouse"; they trust the strange two-legged beings who feed them. The artists, unsung scientific geniuses, political writers, and earnest disciples of the stranger cults are Curlys -- engaging, original, accident-prone but full of life, intuitively aware of the Moe forces plotting against them and trying to fight back. They can never defeat the Moes, however, without BECOMING Moes, which is impossible for a true Curly.

The Moes, then, are the fanatics, the ranters, the cult gurus, the Uri Gellers AND the Debunkers; they are the Resistance Leaders and the Ruling Class Bankers. They hate each other, but only because they want to control ALL the Larrys and Curlys themselves. They don't actually enjoy their dominance; it's simply part of their nature. Nor are they less foolish for the fact that they make the decisions. They suffer a chronic paranoia that is unknown to their less demanding underlings. Larrys and Curlys die in wars started by rival Moes -- the Larrys willingly, the Curlys with great regret. Concepts like "Hell" and "Sin" were invented by Moes to keep Larrys in line; the Larrys in turn, being far more numerous, exert social pressures on the Curly minority to also obey...mainly so the Larrys won't feel like suckers.

The Moes also invent myths, like that of the "Grouchos, Harpos, Chicos, and Zeppos," to throw the more rebellious Curlys off their trail and keep them unsure of the real situations. [When the Curly's finally die of overwork, the Moes find that they cannot live in an all-Larry world; they select special Larry's and vainly try to mold them into False Curlys...but it isn't the same.]

I am a Moe, though not a particularly powerful one; that is why I know these things, and it is also why I dare to tell you -- for most of you will think it's just a funny joke. A few will know it is the truth, but will fight far harder against my Moe enemies than you will against me, a relatively harmless Moe. My fellow Moes -- enemies and uneasy SubGenius allies alike -- will know what I'm REALLY saying, and chuckle in appreciation while plotting my downfall. In vain. ALL in VAIN, boy.