Posted on 11/01/2004 5:45:25 AM PST by SolutionsOnly
Some left-leaning Californians say they would rather leave the United States -- and go to Canada or elsewhere -- than stay with George W. Bush as president.
''I certainly don't love the climate of Vancouver, but I love the sanity,'' said Steve Crawford, 54, a singer and actor working as a volunteer at the Democratic Party offices in Santa Monica.
He and his wife, Karen, have been investigating selling their home in Pacific Palisades, an upmarket area close to the coast, and moving to Canada.
''For someone like me, if this happens, I can't in good conscience allow myself to support another Bush government, even benignly. And a lot of other people are saying the same.
''I have a good friend who is adamant he will leave if Bush is re-elected. He's picked two countries and will definitely go to one should this happen.''
In the heavily Democratic state, famous for its Hollywood- and San Francisco-inspired latte liberal politics, such talk has become increasingly common at Starbucks and at dinner parties.
At first, the threat was little more than a joke. Now, on the eve of one of the most polarized elections in recent history, some say they really do intend to leave should ''the worst'' occur.
There seems little doubt Californians will deliver the state's valuable 55 electoral votes to the Democratic candidate. In a poll on Friday, Mr. Kerry had a seven-point lead statewide, with a 24-point lead in Los Angeles county and a 35-point lead in the San Francisco Bay area.
But fear at what may happen in the key swing states of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania has led to an escalation in coffee-shop chatter about emigration to Canada, Britain and elsewhere.
''Do you think Great Britain would give us political asylum?'' a woman in Starbucks asked. ''It's just ... I don't think I can stay if Bush wins again.''
Mr. Crawford said it would be a difficult decision to move his nine-year-old son from his elementary school. ''But if I feel he's going to be living in an environment that's not safe for him, then I will do it. First and foremost I'm a dad.''
Gretchen Witte, 35, from Alhambra, east of Los Angeles, who runs her own Internet business, is making plans to move to London, where she previously lived for eight years, should Mr. Bush win.
''As a woman, the current climate is becoming intolerable. Bush has just appointed a man to the FDA reproductive health panel who believes that women with medical trouble should pray to Jesus for relief. If this is what America is becoming, I cannot live here. The only reason I can sleep at night is the thought that I can leave the country if he wins.''
Robert Boleyn, a 35-year-old independent consultant from Los Angeles, says he hears people ''all the time' 'saying they will emigrate if Mr. Bush wins.
''But I think it's often more a measure of frustration with the last four years than a real intention to leave,'' he added.
Voluntary exile as a political statement is nothing new. Democrat-supporting celebrities have a habit of making (usually empty) threats to leave should the election not go their way. Robert Redford, a vocal critic of Mr. Bush's policies, was reported this month to have vowed to move to Ireland, where he owns homes near Dublin, if Mr. Bush is re-elected. Before the 2000 poll, Alec Baldwin's then wife, Kim Basinger, told Germany's Focus magazine the actor ''might leave the country if Bush is elected ... and then I'd probably have to go, too.'' Mr. Baldwin did not leave.
The only public figure to carry out his promise was Pierre Salinger, the White House press secretary during the Kennedy administration, who died last month. Before the 2000 election, he said: ''If Bush wins, I'm going to leave the country and spend the rest of my life in France.'' He did.
The real reason these people will leave is not Bush, but the influx of illegals and their impact on the state of California and its tax, medical, and educational systems. But they can't say that, it's not PC. No, much better to bad mouth Bush and still get the best cocktail party invites and jobs in Hollywood. Anyone who tells the truth is blacklisted.
Man, without the libs, Southern CA would be pure paradise. I am ready and willing to help pack any suitcases!
Let's hope this fool goes to Canada and has to deal with Canadian reality...their collapsing health system, influx of Muslims, etc. and lack of national self esteem...well-deserved, by the way.
Promises, Promises, that's all I ever get..
By God, he did at that. A Liberal trifecta. He'll feel right at home among the Euroweenies, appeasers, and dullards of the world who were too cowardly to stand up for right and integrity and honesty. America may not be in the mood to save Europe's bacon again, by the way.
My eldest son lives and works in NZ. The exchange rate is tough on them, but it's a socialist paradise and since he was brainwashed by the Cambridge elite, he's as happy as a clam at high tide to be there. The last time he visited, early summer, my male mini dachshund bit him on the ankle...just a nip...but well deserved. I did not apologize. Randy (my son), plans to vote for Nader, I think. Even he realizes Kerry is a man of extremely bad character.
None. They just want attention. Narcissists.
What a shame, this really makes me sad. They are so deluded they would actually rather a traitor become President than President Bush. The thing is, they don't realize how very much they have all been lied to. We should pity them, but oh well.......!
Come to America. We're delighted to welcome hard working people with heart and common sense.
ROTFL! Is this the "Peace Train" Cat Stevens or whatever it calls itself these days was singing about? LOL
none of these bleeping nicompoops are worth a cup of spit!
I say the sooner they leave the better!
They may find, however, that the socialist governments in those foreign places will a big chunk of money from them for the privilege of residency!
Yeah, probably... if you want to avoid another beating, anyway.
I wonder what part of the Bush agenda he thinks will make his son unsafe? Killing and capturing terrorists? Preventing the acquisition of nuclear weapons by hostile nations? Providing more security here in the US? Continuing to build up our national defense system from the neglect and scorn it suffered under 8 years of Clinton?
Just how does this Dad think his son would be safer under a president who is anti-American, anti-defense, anti-preemptive strike on terrorists, is supported by a group of homosexuals who prey on young boys (Lamba), and who has been proven by his own recorded words and acts to have been an active supporter of an enemy nation in a time of war?
Sometimes I have to wonder if the entire American left has allowed blind, senseless hate for America and traditional American culture to rot their brains.
Bull, You're playing with words. The fact remains that an average of 195,000 people in the USA died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 .
I would invite any proponent to go live, not visit, live, in Canada
You might find that your invitation has results you may not like. I've lived here all my life , watched my children born , and grand children born under the Canada Health Act . Watched family and friends deal with every imaginable cancer and survive . The examples cited here and elsewhere regarding the problems with health care in Canada are far out weighed by the Thirty Two Million people who are not dropping over from lack of medical care. I know a lady who needed and received not one but 2 MRI scans in a 48 hour period . The guy wanting one for insurance purposes can wait or pay for it in a private clinic . It'll cost him about 700 bucks .
But they NEVER do! My personal comments to these bozos is "Don't go away mad, just go away."
"'I don't think I can stay if Bush wins' - US Celebs. "
Liars.
Actually she is. Doing quite well for a 74 year old . She's having cataracts removed from one of her eyes next week , the other eye in three weeks . They were MRIs' , that's a wee bit different than a C Scan.
I posted the link, obviously you never bothered to read the article,
Among the findings in the HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals study are as follows:
About 1.14 million patient-safety incidents occurred among the 37 million hospitalizations in the Medicare population over the years 2000-2002.
Of the total 323,993 deaths among Medicare patients in those years who developed one or more patient-safety incidents, 263,864, or 81 percent, of these deaths were directly attributable to the incident(s).
One in every four Medicare patients who were hospitalized from 2000 to 2002 and experienced a patient-safety incident died.
Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health desribes how the US health care system may contribute to poor health.
http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/30/doctors_death.htm
ALL THESE ARE DEATHS PER YEAR:
12,000 -- unnecessary surgery
7,000 -- medication errors in hospitals
20,000 -- other errors in hospitals
80,000 -- infections in hospitals
106,000 -- non-error, negative effects of drugs
You add it up.
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