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"I have already been told by one of our True Conservatives (tm) that they do not care what I say and that any explanation that is factual is *belittling* their opinion.

What we have here are folks who adore our few minority bomb throwers and have been looking for an excuse to stand on their so-called principles and not vote or vote for whatever-his-name-is, the isolationist, anti-Israel, so-called Constitution Party candidate who is probably not even on that many ballots."

No, you are wrong. In reference to me (the one who said you were belittling my opinion)-- it was not because of facts you presented, but the illustration of the guy you knew..."he carried around a copy of Einstein's Theory of Relativity and pulled it out whenever possible to make points on science. He may or may not have really understood it, but it sure impressed anyone who didn't."

Sorry, I'm probably just too sensitive-- I should have ignored your remark.

But again you are wrong on the voting point also. Because
I very definitely plan to vote, and I will be voting for George W. Bush for President. I am strongly pro-life, and Bush is my only choice for President.

Then again you say: "Several of us have spent several threads trying to explain the situation. They do not want an explanation. They want to foment dissension."

And I have to say it once again, you are wrong. I have no desire to "foment dissension." My statement was that no matter what you say, regardless of the explanations you give, I still do not think that we need foreigners to monitor our elections. That is my opinion on this issue.

Please, you are way off base on these accusations. Let's try to remain on good terms in our discussions here at FR.

If I was wrong, I do apologize for it.

We are all quite tense as the future of our country and indeed, perhaps our very lives and those of the people we love, are at stake.

I appreciate your vote for the POTUS and I side with your pro-life stance.

My experience on the left, although it seems like a long time ago, was at the edge of what I call *cadre*: grass roots activist leaders. They take great delight in the single issue citizen on the right and go to great lengths to facilitate dissension among us. If you trace back some news releases, like those from Environmental News Service, for example, which fomented dissension on the Farm Bill: that agency is fully run and staffed by former Gore staffers. We also have people on the right who will throw ideological bombs at our side on the various hot-button issues, as well. Some folks are so far right, they are indistinguishable from the far left in tactics. I have known some of these folks IRL. Some are hoping for a hot CWII and some are what I called keyboard cowboys. Whichever, they harm our cause and can get Kerry and other Donks elected by scaring the moderates.

No one wins nationally w/o moderates. In phone polling I have done recently for the campaign, about 1/2 of Bush supporters describe themselves as *in the middle* on right-to-life, meaning they would only support an abortion ban w/the inclusion of exceptions for the life of the mother. This is just FYI and as an explanation, pertinent to your important issue, of how the election is stacking up, at this point. Only about 1/3 of Bush supporters are concerned about Kerry's tax policies. Honesty and security seem to be the major reasons for the majority of supporters.

SO: I have no wish to fight with anyone supporting our candidate and I respect &/or share a lot of the issues that are important to many.

I did not mean to belittle anyone, either. I apologize if I made you feel that way.

I do think that a lot of us are operating on our last nerve.
I am pretty sure that I am, anyway. I am so furious at the press bias, there are no words I can use here to describe my feelings. We will have to thrash out our differences within the right/center right after the election, whether we win or not. If we don't find common ground, we will be a coalition of minorities for the rest of my life.

Back to the topic of this thread: I do not think this administration is about betrayal of America. Just the opposite. I agree with those who have characterized the observer issue as a straw man. I do have a lot of suspicion about those who throw out straw men and I can become exasperated by those who then light a match.