The Short Bus is Waiting!
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.
"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."
Cool. That means the GOP can have CA back. Ring up 55 EVs in '08.
At first, the threat was little more than a joke.
Whoa! Somebody call Tom Ridge & the g-men!
We ought to collect a fund to buy their plane tickets.
I wonder how much losing these layabouts will drive down unemployment. :P
But then again you poor people have to put up with Peter Jennings and John (the former VJ) Roberts.
BTW health care in this country is not as bad as people make it out to be.
Leave now!!!!!
Dont let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
AMF
Aww, they're teasin' us again. Every election they get us all excited, then they don't perform down to expectations. Our evil money and freedom isn't that bad afterall.
If you don't like it, you can g-g-g-get out!
Please take all your friends!
''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.''
NOW I REALLY want Bush to win...yuk, yuk.
Is this good news or what?
I wish they had all left when Gore lost.
gillian anderson of the xfiles is the only celeb I know of from the last election that actually moved to london after the last election. What a bunch of blowhards. I keeps saying shutup and sing :) and don't let the door hit you on the way out.
"I can't in good conscience allow myself to support another Bush government, even benignly"
This guy hit the Liberal Tri-fecta!
1. Self-righteous
2. Arrogant
3. Hypocritical
All in 14 words - less than one sentence!
Another good reason to elect Bush. I wish they would have said so sooner so I could have made some signs.
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