As political rancor rises, anger could boost voter turnout

This has got to be very frightening to Bush and his friends in the GOP Congress. This effect is NOT symmetrical.


http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/special_packages/election2004/9245342.htm

<snip>

A poll released this month by the Pew Research Center found that voters are paying more attention to election news than they did at the same point in the last three presidential elections. Fifty-eight percent of those polled said they are giving "quite a lot" of thought to the election, up significantly from the 46 percent who said that four years ago.

<snip>

Top confidante Karen Hughes, who helped Bush get elected Texas governor in 1994 and followed him to Washington, says she finds it "mysterious" that a man who campaigned as a "uniter, not a divider" could be described as a polarizing figure.

In comments made to Texas reporters several weeks ago, Hughes blamed Democrats for rejecting Bush's bipartisan overtures early on.

"I do think he has worked hard to foster a more civil level of debate in our country. You don't hear him calling people names or engaging in the kind of name-calling that we've seen" from Democrats, she said. "The types of labels and words that have been applied to our president I think are unprecedented in presidential campaigns. They're a new low."

more...

I'm sure he has his secret stash of the good stuff hidden away...

And do you need the jaws of life to get it out of there?

Her comment really made me laugh. Can somebody get her a CLUE? ROFL!!!

I hope the media ensconced at the convention harp this story to death and let the nation see the video - get Teresa Kerry on to discuss the non-event and make the whole thing crystal clear.

People will be pissed off at this attack on the wife of the candidate and get a chance to see her for what she is - a plain spoken, sharp-minded, patriotic American woman.

I find it mysterious that someone like Karen Hughes even exists. Her very existence exemplifies to me the fact that women will sell out their entire soul to play the same patriarchal politics in that domination hiearchy that is destroying the world.
Who are these people? Who raised them? Have they never suffered, have they never lived lives without having someone wipe their arse for them?
They live in a priveldged and insane world. They are responsible for murdering thousands, and they are getting away with it.
It makes me ill to think that a woman would whore herself for power, and it once again proves to me that the gender of a person doesnt matter when it comes to being a total power hungry asshole.

She being the mama figure?

My definition of the word "mother" does not include Karen Hughes! ackkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Karen in Leather? Whips? Chains? High Heels/Boots w spurs/?????

Its all her fault for 9/11. She did not get to see the DPB at the Aug Meeting 01 cause she was not there.... Had she read the damn thing...Bush woulda, shoulda, coulda......

Cause we all know Bush not gonna read 1 1/2 pages of"Ssame old Shit".

As a matter of fact, he don read...period.

Any at all? --- Oh... that Secretary of Transportation was a Democrat... wasn't he?

There's one. A bit meaningless, but it's one.

Any others? Any at all?

-- Allen

(I forget whom) to be in his cabinet. That went nowhere. The Senator politely declined. And everyone else saw it for what it was - a blatant attempt to pull one more Democrat out of the Senate so that the republi-CONS would have a more solid majority. I guess that's what you call "reaching out to the opposition, in a bipartisan gesture" - at least if you work from THEIR dictionary.

And from time to time, he asks Democrats to vote for him. But that's about it. Otherwise, he freezes 'em out, provides briefings only to HIS side of the aisle, punishes those who don't follow along (well, he even did that to people in his own party, which is why you don't see Jim Jeffords of Vermont in the republi-CON ranks anymore).

LA had a repub Gov at the time to appt his replacement, and it would have tipped the balance to the repubs in the Senate, IIRC. I think this was while we still had the majority. As much of a sellout as he is on certain *issues*, Breaux stood by the party. Unlike Zell.

at the world...Bite Me, Jenna claimed. I'm rich and I'm proud, and fok you world.

Behind, then not funding it?

It isn't what GWB says that is polarizing the country - it is what he does. That is no mystery in my mind....why is it a mystery to her?????????????????????

they're not going to let go of power.

and they're certainly not going to allow the people to decide who does and doesn't have power.

whether it's under the guise of a turrist attack or whether they just scare the crap out of people so they don't turn out, the monkeying with this year's election results will make 2000's look like a clean count.

The outright lies about Clinton trashing the White House?

this site and figure it out:

http://www.wage-slave.org/scorecard.html

That makes sense...why else would we here and at the convention be trying to damp down the anger. We always get it right.

And to Karen, Fuck You, but please take that in the civil manner it was intended.

Or are she, Turd Blossom and all the rest just as clueless as this article makes them out to be?

and an AWOL CHIMPANZEE

Watching the convention coverage is really pissing me off more than I could ever imagine. We all knew the rightwing media was unfair and unbalanced, but watching the attacks being made by the media during this convention is making my blood boil.
Not only do we need to win this election, but we'll be fighting the media for the next 4 years the way Clinton did for 8. This is exhausting, but I've never been so angry in my life, and I was born pissed.

This war is in 1965 as far as I am concerned--- Not enough people have been killed yet for the GREAT UNWASHED MASS OF SHEEP TO BE DEMANDING AN END YET---

sorry for yelling

I watched Clinton's speech and then some republican jerk (Scarbough??) came on and started bashing Clinton. I told my husband to turn it before I put a shoe through the TV. Later he switched it back and Chris Matthews was trying to find someone who supported bush in the crowd???What was that? And then Matthews was challenging some democrat to call out Kerry for voting to give bush authority to go to war. I remember when they focused on democrats at the democratic convention. They are trying to keep Kerry from getting any bounce from the convention. Agghhhh! I hate the t.v news media. I'm waiting to see if the do the same at the repug convention-ha ha ha...

holds your arms tightly and hits you in the face with your own hands, taunting "why are you hitting yourself, huh? why are you hitting yourself?"

Uhh, Karen? Where have you been for the last 24 years?
Two words Karen--

Lee Attwater.

Two more...

Roger Ailes

Two more...

Karl Rove.

You should avoid saying such overtly stupid things in the future, Karen. It does little credit to your role as Token Republican Woman.

Name-calling? Did "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" come out of a Democrat's mouth? karen, karen, karen. Go check into a spa for a few weeks. I think you need one of those enemas-for-health treatments.

"I do think he has worked hard to foster a more civil level of debate in our country. You don't hear him calling people names or engaging in the kind of name-calling that we've seen"


No, Karen, we sure don't...oh, wait! What's that? Could you repeat that, mister bush;

"There's Adam Clymer -- major league asshole -- from the New York Times," Bush said.
"Yeah, big time," returned Cheney.>

Vile Beastiality Experiment!!!

:grr:

Uniter: my way or the highway

Bipartisan overtures: don’t question, just accept my fascist and destructive policies


Uniter, not a divider….compassionate conservative….against nation building….campaign rhetoric that compliments a critter that’s “all hat and no cattle”…

You mean overtures like:
...declaring a moratorium on women's reproductive freedom?
...legalizing the oppression of same-sex couples?
...chipping away at every piece of environmental legislation that's been in existence for the last 40 years?

Oh yeah, Karen...we're such ingrates. Shove it.

And YES, I'm angry, dammit.

Proud member of the Coalition of the Wild Eyed :freak:

Bush calls gay people Sinners.
Bush calls black people Brown People.
Bush calls all Middle Easterners Evil Doers.

I'm sure I'm missing much name calling from the most prejudice President in my lifetime. OH wait, Bush calls Kerry a flip flopper. There's more name calling from Bush than anyone I know, and Hughes might want to mention that Bush has lead a very negative campaign. So Bush is very familiar with low, lies and distortions. Hughes is just his whore for hire.

With Hannity, O'Reilly, and Coulter perfectly willing to make asses of themselves, he stays hands-clean....

cause nobody's buying her w swag no mo.

just rolled into the White House Storage Center. The boys are unloading the container with the fork lifts and the first pair should be ready in 10 minutes.

As far as the Pew survey - what was their first clue? Maybe the turnout at the primaries and caucuses.

Two years ago my state senate district didn't even get 200 people to turn up at the caucuse - it wasn't much better in 2000. This year it was 800 - and that's in a fairly Republican area.