Posted on 10/17/2004 10:54:34 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
My oldest daughter turned 18 just in time to vote in this presidential election. She is a product of a the California public school system and is attending a Western state university. I convinced her to register to vote because of the importance of fulfilling her civic duty, but she still hasn't made up her mind between Bush and Kerry. Her appetite for politics is pretty low and she doesn't have much spare time to read up on the issues and candidates because of her college workload.
How would you go about convincing her to vote for Bush? Can you recommed a short and concise summary of the candidate's positions? I especially want to explain to her how dangerous Kerry would be to our nation's survival, but she tends to dismiss any information provided by Dad as being terribly biased.
I've saved many articles over the spring and summer from many great authors and analysts like Steyn, Davis-Hanson, Henniger, etc., but it takes a person a long time to digest all these to form a coherent view of why Bush is good and Kerry is bad.
What would you do? Thanks for your help!
Our daughter is a freshman at a CA university as well, a new California voter. She has been astonished at the level of political ignorance there. Fortunately the university is more conservative than most CA state universities (SLO) but she still has a fair smattering of liberals about who give her a hard time about the Bush/Cheney sticker she prominently displays on her backpack.
I'm looking at a 2004 Texas Voters' Guide right now. Do you have anything similar for your state? She can then see where all the candidates stand on issues. It is recommended that if one declines to answer then call yourself. Me, I figure if they don't care enough to inform the public , I just mark them off.
That oughta do it. Unless you raised a wimp. ;-)
Come on, dad. She's 18 and you don't know how to push her buttons?
Convincing her to register to vote was a mistake. I was in a similar situation with a fellow employee in my company, and because of his thorough lack of understanding of civics and political issues I convinced him that we'd all be better off if he stayed home on Election Day.
My mild mannered Chihuahua, Brandy, flies into a rage at the sight of Kerry or at the sound of his voice.
I trust her judgement.
More informed by newspapers?? Informed with what? Media bias? Oh yeah...that's just what his daughter needs...NOT
If Kerry won(God forbid) there would be such an exodus from the military that Kerry would HAVE TO reinstate the draft.
All 18 year-olds are pretty self-centered, simply by way of their being 18 . I'm not trying to slander your daughter, selfishness is just a fact of life at that age. Anyhoo, this means that your arguments have to directly relate to her. 18 year-olds have no conception of what's going on halfway around the world.
Ask her if she wants to be able to find a job upon her graduation from college. Here's why....
I graduated from college in 2001. That year had very poor prospects for new college graduates, because the economy was already on the way down. And we all know what happened to the job market following 09-11-01. After that day, job prospects for new graduates were horrible. Probably half of my former classmates (along with myself) were still living at home six months after graduation, because no one could find employment beyond supermarkets and the mall.
We all know that the economy is tightly tied to our national security. If another terrorist attack occurs (and it will if Kerry is elected), the economy will again go south. However, we have not had any terrorist attacks on our soil since 09-11-01, due in large part to the President's efforts to protect the country.
So as someone who has been in the situation she will occupy in four years, I can tell her this:
-If she wants to be able to find a career-oriented job in four years, vote for President Bush.
-If she doesn't mind attending four years of school just so she can ask if her customer would like having their groceries in paper or plastic bags, vote for Kerry.
Why not persuade her to base her vote on issues of character and not politics? Ask her if she is aware that when Tuhrayza agreed to marry Kerry she insisted that he have his first marriage annulled which thereby rendered his two daughters from his first marriage illegitimate in the eyse of his own Church? What does this say about a man who would do this to his own daughterss to marry megabucks? And what does it say about her that she would insist on such a thing knowing full well the girls would become in effect illegitimate? Rather cold blooded of both of them isnt it?
Oh my....my children, age 18 to 40 and my sons and daughters in law, will all be voting for Bush. Their decision was not a product of their formal education, it was a product of being raised by a mom and dad that instilled in them personal responsability, love of God, love of Country and who taught them how very wonderful this Country is and to appreciate and honor it.
Of course, they all also like my cookies and if Mom were to discover that they voted for anyone but Bush, they would never see another cookie so long as they live:))
Seriously....the kids are all committed Christians & Conservatives, neither of which have anything to do with the public school they attended. That deal was a daily retooling.
I would say something like this:
"When you're young, it's easy to see the world and your interests all wrapped up in the present moment. The past is past and irrelevant. The future has not happened yet...and may never happen and so it's irrelevant too. The point, too many people say, is to enjoy the moment and get all you can.
There will be many people--politicians included--who will promise you everything you want right now--and don't worry about the effect on your future and the future of the nation...and the future of the world.
Like it not, what you (and we) do on election day will determine some important aspects of the future: the security of our nation, the economy, the march of freedom across the world, the way law is made and interpreted, and the kind of world you and your children will live in someday.
As you grow up and begin to get serious about marriage, you will have to judge the guys who come into your life. What you really need to look at is not words, deeds, and accomplishments. They are important, but they are not the key indicator what a person is like. You need to examine CHARACTER:
Is this person someone you can trust with your future? Is this person someone who will keep his promises? Is this person someone who will be there when you need him? Is this person someone who is looking out not just for his interests, but yours? And more important, is this a person who is looking for what the future will hold for BOTh of you as you grow into your relationship in the years ahead?
And most important, is this a person of principle? Are there solid, unchanging ideas that guide his life regardless of circumstances ("For better, for worse,..etc."?) Or do his ideas depend on his circumstances ("I'll love you forever...until I stop loving you.")?
Voting for a candidate is much like deciding on a future mate. A great deal hangs on what you decide--not just for yourself but for many other people as well.
Choose carefully!"
I really don't understand this. I have 2 children who have been voting now for several years. They have always voted our family values. They have never been undecided. They saw thru Kerry immediately. Seems to me this would be a no brainer.
Trying to think like an 18 y/o female here.
I wouldn't overwhelm her with too much information, but I would ask her to tell you a couple of her big issues and then you can respond to them.
One simple way to teach your daughter is pretend that she is the Board Member of a corporation (the US Government) and she is interviewing Kerry for the job of President, She ask Kerry "What can you do for me and my corporation?" And Kerry will answer "I will do this and that just like he had been telling everybody during this campaign stops." She would then follow up the question and say - "Is that in your resume, Mr Kerry?"
And Kerry will say "No it's not but I have xxxxxxxx". How can you accomplish something that you have no experience?
Then you daughter would then ask the killer question = "In your 20 years in the Senate what have you introduce as a bill, "anything" that would benefit people like me?"
If Kerry said yes, she would ask "What Bill number was that?" The truth is there is none.
Kerry's answer, surely, would be "No".
Then ask your daughter would he hire such an applicant?
Tell her, that her vote, is the result of that interview. Our government is run by the people (each person is a member of the board of governors) and not by politicians.
El Oviedo
Tell her if Kerry wins all financial support on your put to her is shut off.
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