Do you think average Republican voters are bad people?

I don't. I think they mean well, and think Bush and the Republicans are doing good. Many genuinely believe that Bush is correct. They are completely misguided, but I think they really believe they are doing the right thing. One thing that is wrong with them is that they are complacent in their ignorance. If they would put forward effort to learn more about the world around them, they might realize the reality of Bush. They are easily swayed and tricked, prone to voting on fear, but I think they really think they are doing the right thing.

The real enemy are the people who are misguiding these folks (Kristol, Murdoch, et al), and the people who deep down know they are wrong but are motivated by power and greed (Bush, Santorum, Frist). I don't think the average Republican voter (like Glenn Weis, the kindly farmer down the road from me) is the enemy, and I think branding all of them unfortunate names won't help the Democrat's cause. I think if we really tried and wanted to we could bring those people in to the fold.
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Flame away. I don't want this to be bait, I am more gauging what DU thinks of them. It is true that the Republican party are evil. But are those who are just too misguided to understand the truth really bad people?

just misinformed, mislead, and fucking hypnotized

Much of my family is Pub and they're fun and loveable.

It's just that they don't see a problem until it affects them personally... like Social Security.

Sue

well maybe they would but I they wouldn't mean it. We all have friends and loved ones that vote republican. You are correct, they are misguided and some are just plain stupid and pigheaded.

They are not just totally misguided either.. They have a tendency to believe that way in the first place.... They tend to think war first, rather than negotiation.... they tend to discriminate and exclude rather than reach out and include... they tend to think backward rather than progressively.... and on and on...

The guy in the big red pickup with the BUSH 04 sticker who wont let you merge, or the bloated druggie windbag... those people are the worst. fuck them.

Too much information about how evil the Republicans are. Compare what Clinton did: running a surplus, paying off the debt, super-low unemployment, low crime, etc. Then compare that to an unnecessary war? No way a decent person could vote Republican in 2004. No excuse. It's like a German who supported the Nazis in the 1930's and 1940's - then says it was only Hitler who was a bad man - the people who supported him were just misled. I don't buy it!

and it isn't always their fault. Understand that the original Republican party line is nothing like it is now; they simply don't care enough to find this out. The main problem with this is the media. Think for a second what would happen to Canda if Fox news, CNN, and NBC controlled their news flow.

...either the interest of themselves or those that look/act/think like they do.

I've always said that all humans instictively think in terms of self interest and selfishness. What makes good people versus bad people are those who are most able to rise above that selfishness in order to think and act in ways that run counter to our self interest and more to a common good.

So take that how you will.

they simply don't realize it.

What they "perceive" to be in their self interest. I don't think for a minute that if any of them could see the forest through the trees and realize how the way they were voting affected their actual lives that they would continue to do so.

Just seriously misinformed, blinded by theology, and nieve about what actually is going on in the world.

will ever meet BUT he doesn't care about anything but Bush and Chimpy's cronies. Couldn't/wouldn't have a decent conversation about policy, beliefs, platform, etc. if his life depended upon it. In his world it is Bush & GOP right; the commie loving, welfare-queen, dope dealing, flower picking, gun hating, queer agenda Democrat liberals are the scum of the earth. Period.

For my daughter's sake (she is a newlywed - Kool Aid drinker, ack! For the record she wasn't raised that way!) I do not pick a fight with these people. They are salt of the earth, decent, hard working folk just convinced all that repugs are holy and right that all Dems are evil assholes.

One day the FIL was railing to my daughter about something the Dems had done (I have given up expecting the daughter to correct anything - she listens to O'Lielly for Pete's sake!). Anyway later her MIL told the FIL in private not to say anything about Dems in from of my daughter, that her mother is a Democrat with the inflection in her voice akin to finding out that their DIL has a axe murderer in the family. He did call and apologize to the DIL for going off on Dems like that. My daughter told him not to worry, its even worse than that - that I'm a liberal (like a liberal is another whole degree of axe "murderness"). She told me all he could say was, "Oh-h-h-h-h-h no-o-o-o-o!" with such sympathy. I told her yes, I'm a Dem, I'm a liberal and I'm a progressive and I will do everything in my power to get that crime syndicate out of the WH given half a chance.

The weird thing is the son-in-law (another great, misguided person) is ex-Marine. I just can't help but wonder how they would feel if this guy had to go to Iraq for this stupid war? They are big hunters, fisherman, love nature, good to their animals, class people so wouldn't they want to save the earth? They are not religious so that doesn't explain it. Finally, the MIL is losing her job after 32 years with the same company - losing everything, salary, benefits and retirement. And they think Chimpy is just ducky. Go figure. As Forest would say, "Stupid is as stupid does."

I don't hate them but I do have the desire to wring their necks from time to time.

Him and his family were some of the nicest people you will ever meet, but they also had the same beliefs your FIL and MIL have. I will never understand why people can be so hateful. Sorry to hear about your daughter moving to the dark side. I hope and pray that my little girl does not! LOL!

Anyone Repuke I've ever met in my life fell into one of those three categories. Either stupid (ie, ignorant, wouldn't dare question anything McClellan says) or evil (ie, corporate fat-cat pigs, uber-Christians with alterior motives) or both. Simple as that.

The intelligent ones are bad though - they know better and still support the SOBs.

:puke:

I know some people who are good people and heart, and voted Republican. I very strongly disagree with their choice on who they voted for. But, there are so many reasons why a person chooses a candidate, or a party affiliation. I think a bad person is more likely to be a Repbulican, but not all Republicans are bad people.

a lot of them, though...

just ignorant (ie: misinformed). They are too easily duped by their own party.

for thinking of themselves first.

They don't give a crap that the deficit has to be paid by the next two generations. Just as long as they get tax cuts now. They don't want to pay their fair share and do the "Christian" thing such as help the poor. "people are poor because they're lazy." Look hard enough in the bible and twist the words and you'll be able to justify anything.

They couldn't give a shit for the soldiers, that ribbon magnet on their SUV does not exempt them from supporting a war based on a lie.

Science is not the devil. When science can keep them alive they sprint to it, but until then nobody can have it and all of the scientists are lying.

They're anti-abortion and also anti-welfare, which in turn make them all hypocritical morons.

Support the troops, bring them home.

...they do not oppose the crimes of this country abroad. There is a moral imperative to do so.

...out there and not be repulsed by it, then they must be getting a degenerate charge out of it. A thrilling ride through hell-fire on another continent. An American boot on the Arab throat. Those republican pukes revel in that stuff. They sleep contented, knowing that 12 aircraft carriers, 5000 nukes and Alan Greenspan's economy are going to keep them safe and prosperous.

If that is not evil, I don't know what is.

If they think that Lt AWOL is doing good in any way shape or form they are bad people because they have demonstrated the inability to deal with reality.

No-one in their right mind could possibly think this guy is good OR correct in ANYTHING.

I know they don't think of themselves as bad. I know they might be just fine as a neighbor or coworker. But short of criminal behavior, it's hard for me to think of behavior much worse than living and spreading fundamentalist religion.

I think they have values I abhor, that's all!

If supporting evil doesn't make you a bad person, why do we even bother with concepts like Right and Wrong?

Now, I'm not saying that they are irredeemably evil. But their actions, whether they take them because they truly believe, or are lazy, or brainwashed or whatever do have evil results for our Republic and the rest of the world. Somehow, I cannot ascribe goodness to them.

they are sheep that will follow anybody. The bushies got to them before we did.

is either a liar, a hypocrite, or just an idiot.

who would vote to take away my rights as a citizen. Don't tell me hate is not culpable.

Ignorance doesn't make one bad, just ignorant. Voting in one's own individual economic self-interest (or at least believing you are voting that way - like if you don't like to pay taxes) doesn't make one bad either, at least in my viewpoint. Selfish, yes, but not evil. Voting a certain way because you are scared and you believe that a certain candidate will help you feel less scared - that's cowardly, but not bad either.

Here's what's bad:

People who vote Republican because they want to force their fundie religion on everybody in America - they're BAD.

People who vote Republican because they think Bush will put their Muslim neighbors in a concentration camp - they're BAD.

People who vote Republican because they think that homosexuals, women, African-Americans, *insert minority group here* should have their rights taken away are BAD.

People who vote Republican because they think the Republicans will help them screw their minimum wage workers and let them dump pollutants in the rivers - they're BAD.

It all depends on the reason. At least in my book.

I would never have thought of her as a bad person - until I heard her make the stmt the USA should appropriate (steal) all the oil in Iraq and then "nuke" their country. It was a shocking moment I have never forgotten.

Then I remembered all those other shocking little utterances I never paid attention to before and they started to make sense. I'll put it this way, her thoughts are scary to me - and wrong (bad).

Is she a bad person? Well, I can't bring myself to say so, but I sure look at her a lot differently now, and it's very sad.

and for that fact, I think they are really bad, and I hate them!

of those who vote for republicans. And yes, I agree that's bad.

I'm sure some Republicans are decent people, just as some Germans were decent people between 1933-45, but they've given their support to President Nitwit. Until they can cure themselves of their moral sickness, they don't deserve our sympathy or understanding, they need a strong does of vitamin Dean and kept out of voting booths.

and that's not their fault. If the media weren't the rightwing monopoly it has become, they probably wouldn't think this way. My parents are a perfect example. They buy everything hook, line and sinker because it's everywhere and they never get to hear the other side.

and their 4+ years watch: I'm thinking, I'm thinking, yes (1) fiscal soundness and integrity of the government; (2) the economy and jobs markets; (3) the stock and capital markets; (4) the rule of law, international law, treaties, organizations, and goodwill; (5) environmental issues; (6) social security and the safety net; (7) health care; and (8) most of all, world peace.

My FIL, MIL, and one SIL and her husband are all Bush voters. They are pretty much clueless about politics and current events. They never consider the implications of ANYTHING they do on anyone outside of their little sphere. They are complete believers in the American dream of neverending growth and a house in vanilla suburbia, along with the SUV in the driveway.

They are, for the most part, wonderful people to their family. But they just don't care about anything past tomorrow, and they don't care unless it directly affects THEM.

That's the way I see most Bush voters and Republicans. The Talibornagain, OTOH, is another matter....

they are enabling fascism

they are bad people

period

I think they intentionally gloss over very serious issues in addition to being misguided.

In other words, I think the brainwashing is somewhat self-inflicted. On some level, they KNOW detainees were tortured and killed, for god's sake the administration admits it, but they conflate and rationalize it as "hazing" or nothing important or bad.

its a reality disconnect. Even though the leaders count on it, they still have to participate in that disconnect on some level.

And it's funny watching them when they realize what they voted for this time! Too bad we all have to pay for their ignorance!

the rest are just misguided.

The truth about the Asshole and Kerry was out there for anyone with a shred of intellectual curiosity or integrity, but many of them chose to vote for the Asshole anyway. They are very BAD people, and should be SPANKED SEVERELY!!!

:nopity:

misguided, often uninfomed/misinformed. This is the average voter, not the extreme party faithful, that is a whole other breed.

went overboard trying to prop Bush up as a leader when they were scared after 9-11, and so they couldn't be honest with the American people and tell them that 9-11 was Bush's fault and detail his incompetence.

Most people do not know that Bush was handed the Hart-Rudman Report on Global Terror on Jan 30, 2001 and that he refused to read it. Very few know that while John Kerry was investigating the funding of terrorism by international financiers and banks and forcing closure, George Bush was making deals with these same banks that were lining his pockets while furthering his alliance with the Bin Laden family.

More like republicans hoodwinked. Freepers are on the opposite end BAD, and believe what they are doing is good and just and will reclaim christ's kingdom and whatever else they tell themselves.

I just think they are clueless and narrow-minded, they don't see the big picture, they want to see only what they want to see, in other words, they are misguided fools. The true evil ones are the people who use these people as pawns, and fool them into believing the shit say is right.The average Republican voter is only guilty of one thing in my book, and that is falling for the trap. When I say I hate Republicans...I mean the Republican politicans, the jerks who run the dog and pony show...not those who are fooled into believing their vile lies.

I agree with you.

Most Republican folks are just normal people. They watch the Today Show, listen to age-appropriate music, are concerned about their taxes and their future and their children and grandchildren's future.

They're not stupid; they just have no frame of reference regarding today's politics and media. You can't blame them because the right-wing has been feeding people this crap for decades.

Their LEADERS are the bad people.

They started with local school boards and church offices.

They moved up to state legislators and the House of Representatives. Some of them are U.S. Senators now, at least the ones who had enough financial support.

A few were like David Brock, swept up in a wave of money and support and thus motivated to capitalize on their own fortunes. Unlike Brock, most never reflect on such things and continue to concern themselves with life as they know it.

But Grandma Jones down at the Baptist Church doesn't know any of this, nor does she care. She just wants to see her grandchildren live a good life and has had her Depends scared off by 9/11 and the Bushco rhetoric. So she "supports the troops" and prays that her family is safe from the false threats espoused by the right.

I think most Republicans are clinging to the belief that America will survive as a 19th century country in a 21st century world.