Republican Switchers

Some Meditations Before You Vote

Published on Saturday, October 30, 2004 by the Los Angeles Times by Stuart S. Light (a writer in Santa Barbara, California)

This campaign season has been marked with a high degree of partisanship and rancor in the discourse leading up to Tuesday's presidential election. Both sides, armed with focus groups and experts, have crafted messages gilded with oversimplifications and spurious "facts."

Logic, common sense and truth scatter like dust before the powerful and well-financed marketing machines roaring across the landscape. My advice? Take time to reflect on what is truly important, and let your own intelligence and compassion guide your decisions.

Here's some food for thought before you vote:

* Democrat, Republican, Green, Independent, Libertarian, left, right, center, liberal, moderate, conservative, rich, poor, gay, straight, black, white, brown, male, female, pro-life, pro-choice — we're a mixed bag, but we're all Americans.
* No individual, party or ideology has cornered the market on truth or God's blessing.
* Dying soldiers in all countries call for their mothers with their last breath.
* Any child killed by war, poverty, abuse or neglect is one too many.
* Fear is our worst enemy. Those who would scare us are not our friends.
* 9/11 was a tragic event. But everything did not change. The sad fact is, too much has remained the same, or gotten worse.
* Killing innocents in any war dishonors those who died on 9/11
* Those most distant from a conflict are always the ones shouting loudest for war.
* War is almost always a tragic detour from the more difficult road of peace.
* Anyone who impugns your patriotism for exercising your constitutional right to free speech is not a patriot. In a true democracy, all points of view are valued and heard.
* Love is the core value of the Islamic, Christian and Jewish faiths. Only love and understanding can bring the peace and security all good people of the world desire.

Every vote counts, and every vote should be counted.

Endorsements as of 10/30: Kerry leads 186 to 151, including 42 Switcher papers (compared to Bush's 6).

In its daily tally, Editor & Publisher reports that "Kerry also holds a wide lead in circulation of supporting papers, by about 19 million to almost 13 million." You you will find links to some of the other Switcher papers at Dkosopedia . (The most current list of Switcher papers can be found at the Editor and Publisher link, above. Look for all the Kerry endorsements marked with a B, denoting that they endorsed Bush in 2000 before switching to Kerry in 2004.)

CO: Daily Camera (Boulder): 10/17

CT: The Day (New London): 9/26

FL: Bradenton Herald: 10/18

FL: The Orlando Sentinel: 10/24

GA: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution : 10/9
(In 2000, The Atlanta Journal endorsed Bush; the Constitution endorsed Gore.)

IL: Chicago Sun-Times: 10/24

IL: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights): 10/17

ME: Bangor Daily News: 10/23

MI: Flint Journal: 10/24

MI: The Muskegon Chronicle: 10/17

MO: Columbia Daily Tribune: 10/17

NM: The Albuquerque Tribune: 10/12

OR: The Oregonian (Portland): 10/10

TX: The Lone Star Iconoclast (Crawford): 9/26

WA: Seattle Post-Intelligencer: 10/10

WA: The Seattle Times: 9/9

WI: Wausau Daily Herald: 10/23

Editor of the American Conservative endorses Kerry.

"George W. Bush has come to embody a politics that is antithetical to almost any kind of thoughtful conservatism, " says Scott McConnell. Read more here.

Quick list of Republican Switchers for Kerry

As Kerry gains more momentum, and as more people discover this blog, many kind readers are sending ideas for entries--more than I have time to post as a mom with full-time employment outside the home. Thankfully, Dkospedia has a an entire section listing and linking to conservatives and Republicans supporting Kerry. Dkosopedia is a Wiki published by Daily Kos. This is a great example of how, as a group effort, a Wiki can be a very efficient way to collect and share knowledge. Brilliant!

Ordinary Republican Switchers redux

These Errol Morris ads, featuring ordinary people who are Republican Switchers, inspired this blog; I've linked to them previously via moveon.org. At Morris's site, however, you'll find the television ads organized by topic. He's searching for a 527 nonprofit to pay to broadcast them. He also has two different sizes of the print ad that you can photocopy and post or distribute. Those would be great for canvassers to photocopy and pass out in the days ahead.

Swing State Switchers: In Arizona, Republican officials cross over; in Colorado, a Halliburton (yes, that Halliburton) seems likely to vote for Kerry.

Please send a link to this story to every moderate you know in Arizona and Colorado, two key battleground states, and ask them to pass it on to other moderates.
In this fascinating story from the Guardian newspaper in Britain, three strong Republican women protest Bush's policies toward women. Two -- Linda Binder, a Republican State Senator, and Judith Allen, a lifelong Republican and former Superior Court clerk -- are from Arizona. Mary Lou Halliburton, a Colorado Republican, is a retired lawyer who worked in the Nixon White House. Her family founded the company that Dick Cheney headed. So frustrated was she that she started a group called Republicans Who Want Their Party Back. According to the article, Halliburton won't say whom she is voting for but many think it will be Kerry.

And then there's Steve May, a Republican former state legislator from Arizona. A Kerry supporter, he says, "Contrary to the man he promised to be in 2000, he has become a fiscal liberal and a social conservative.....Those of us who care about the Republican Party must repudiate this administration and this campaign. Bush has not governed as a Republican should govern on issues of freedom, family and fiscal responsibility." Learn more here.

Republicans switch in key Swing State: Ohio.

Please forward to all voters you know in Ohio--and ask them to forward it to others in the state. "Often people vote from habit or party loyalty. I believe that in this election of 2004 there are greater considerations and all voters should ask themselves: Are we better off than four years ago? Are we safer? Is our economy stronger? To me the answers are clear. That is why I support John Kerry for president." So says Republican former General Assemblyman of Ohio John A. Galbraith. And then there's Retired Republican judge Robert L. Black, who will support Kerry because "The record of this incumbent president is a history not only of repeated violations of the key principles underlying our democracy, but of the core values of the Christian faith to which he claims commitment." (Thanks to the folks at www.democraticunderground.com for notice of this Switcher.)

Reaganite: "Why Conservatives must not vote for Bush."

On Salon.com: "A Reaganite argues that Bush is a dangerous, profligate, moralizing radical -- and that his reelection would be catastrophic both for the right and for America." The author is Doug Bandow, former advisor to Reagan and a fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute.

Former Bush-backing business leaders switch to Kerry-Edwards.

Robert Trigaux, business columnist for the St. Petersburg Times writes about business leaders switching to Kerry. An excerpt: "Consider wealthy corporate Texas financier David Bonderman, who founded and runs the Texas Pacific Group investment firm in Fort Worth, and who backed Bush both when he ran for president in 2000 and earlier for Texas governor. Now he's supporting Kerry - and he's not shy about saying so...'
He's turning out to be the worst president since Millard Fillmore - and that's probably an insult to Millard Fillmore.'"

Why Conservative Jews should support Kerry.

In The Jerusalem Report, Gershom Gorenberg, associate editor, explains why Jews supporting Bush because of his stance on Israel would be better off switching: "Bush's supposed support for Israel is an illusion. The real Bush record on Israel consists of missed chances and neglect. Four more years of the same is unthinkable. Everything in Bush's record shows he has neither understanding of diplomacy nor interest in it....John Kerry's approach to foreign policy is fundamentally different from Bush's. Kerry is obviously eager to plunge into diplomacy, and to create confidence in agreed solutions." You can download a PDF of the opinion here . I couldn't find it online. Please share this article with Jewish voters on your e-mail list, especially those in Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, and other swing states.

Former Bush-backer Iacocca will vote for Kerry: "We need a leader who is really dedicated to creating millions of high-paying jobs all across the country."

Business leader Lee Iacocca backed Bush in 2000 but he's "changing sides." CNN.com said that Iaccoca is "attracted to Kerry's economic plan, including his job creation proposals. He also said the presumptive Democratic nominee both understands change and will 'level' with the American people about how to adapt to that change."

Son of Republican President Eisenhower endorses Kerry; calls Bush's war moves "maverick": "Recent developments indicate that the current Republican Party leadership has confused confident leadership with hubris and arrogance."

The lifelong Republican son of Republican President Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower has left the Republican Party to become an Independent. Eisenhower is endorsing Kerry because of Bush's maverick decision to go to war and his fiscal irresponsibility. "Senator Kerry... is courageous, sober, competent, and concerned with fighting the dangers associated with the widening socio-economic gap in this country, " Eisenhower said.

Nation First, Party Second excerpts and links to many other Switchers not (yet) blurbed here.

Find more Switchers here, including a link to a long article in Esquire by Ron Reagan Jr., pictured here with his family. (Click to enlarge image.)

Former McCain aide, Bull Moose Republican wants Kerry for President.

Marshall Wittmann, a former aide to Republican Senator John McCain has a long and thoughtful essay about choosing Kerry over Bush. An excerpt: " I am an independent McCainiac who hopes to revive the Bull Moose tradition of Theodore Roosevelt, and I support the Kerry-Edwards agenda. Don't get me wrong -- this Bull Moose is not completely in agreement with the Democratic donkey. But the Bush administration has betrayed the effort to create a new politics of national greatness in the aftermath of 9/11."

Reagan administration veteran Clyde Prestowitz explains that four years of Republican rule have put the country on the wrong track.

In the first of a series from Mother Jones on prominent conservatives who have become Bush critics, Clyde Prestowitz, counselor to Ronald Reagan's secretary of commerce, says this and much more: "I think that we are less safe today than we were three or four years ago. And I’ll tell you something else: I have recently had discussions with several former national security advisors -- people who were national security officials in former Republican administrations -- who have told me they feel the same way. They fear that the administration’s policies are further endangering and undermining the security of the United States."

Former Repub. Gov. of Michigan will vote for Kerry: "The truth is that ... Bush does not speak for me or for many other moderate Republicans on a very broad cross section of issues."

This is a very powerful statement from William Milliken, Republican former Governor of Michigan (1969-83). An excerpt: "My Republican Party is the party of Gerald R. Ford, Michigan's only president, who reached across partisan lines to become a unifying force during a time of great turmoil in our nation's history. This president has pursued policies pandering to the extreme right wing across a wide variety of issues and has exacerbated the polarization and the strident, uncivil tone of much of what passes for political discourse in this country today."

Pedigreed Republicans ditch and switch: "Sen. John Kerry offers us a choice. He offers us hope and a new direction..."

Two longtime prominent Republicans from Kentucky prefer Kerry. Writes Ballard Morton from Kentucky: "For nearly 50 years, I considered myself a Republican. I usually voted for Republicans, and I voted for George W. Bush in 2000. I have deep family roots in the Republican Party. My father, Thruston Morton, served as a Republican U. S. senator from Kentucky and also served as national chairman of the Republican Party. My uncle, Rogers Morton, also served as national chairman of the Republican Party, served as a Republican in the U. S. House of Representatives, and served in the cabinet under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. I cannot in good conscience vote for President Bush in this election."

Ballard's aunt, the Republican Congressman's widow, concurs.

Top security advisor to first President Bush criticizes George W.; calls Iraq war a "failing venture"

He may not be a Switcher, but a Brent Scowcroft, the former security advisor to President George H. W. Bush and a mentor to Condi Rice has blasted George W's handling of foreign affairs. He is pictured here to the left of the first President Bush. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Staunch conservative: "Bush has the most dangerously simplistic view of the world of any president in my memory."

Longtime, staunchly conservative columnist Charley Reese (just Google him) will vote for Kerry:"I will swallow a lot of petty policy differences...to get a man in the White House with brains enough not to blow up the world and us with it. Go to Kerry's Web site...You'll find that there is a great deal more to Kerry than the GOP attack dogs would have you believe."

Nixon EPA Chief will vote for Kerry: "It's almost as if the motto of the (Bush) administration...is...polluter protection."

In this story from CNN, Russell E. Train, who ran the Enviornmental Protection Agency under Presidents Nixon and Ford, "accused Bush of weakening the Clean Air Act and said the president's record falls short of those set by former Republican presidents, from Theodore Roosevelt, who advocated creating national parks and forests, to George H.W. Bush, who supported revised standards for clean air. " Train supported George W's father, George H. W. Bush in 1988. (Thanks to this blogger for linking to Republican Switchers and for the links to the Train and Anderson stories.)

Republican ex-gov: "Kerry has ... far superior intellect and character than Bush. He speaks honestly to the American people, his ethics are unimpeachable and, clearly...he has far better credentials..."

In this story from Minnesota, (registration required) former Governor Elmer L. Anderson (1961-63) explains his vote for Kerry: "As taxes for the wealthy are being cut, jobs are being outsourced if not lost and children are homeless and uninsured, this administration is running up the biggest deficit in U.S. history -- bound to be a terrible burden for future generations.

This imperialistic, stubborn adherence to wrongful policies and known untruths by the Cheney-Bush administration -- and that's the accurate order -- has simply become more than I can stand.

Although I am a longtime Republican, it is time to make a statement, and it is this: Vote for Kerry-Edwards, I implore you, on Nov. 2. "

Former Republican Congressman: "Ending secrecy and bringing truth and honesty back to the White House are reasons enough to elect Kerry and Edwards."

Former Congressman Pete McCloskey, a Republican, explains why he is voting for Kerry in a video clip from this Web site (Swift Boats and Swing Votes) and in this PDF of a recent column from the San Jose Mercury News. An excerpt from the 9/10/04 column: "In truth, John Kerry and John Edwards come far closer to the Republicanism of Teddy Roosevelt, Earl Warren, Barry Goldwater, George Bush the elder and, yes, even Richard Nixon, than does the present incumbent." (Thanks to Mainstreet Moms Oppose Bush at www.themmob.com for this PDF and for linking to "Republican Switchers" and other sites that will help you convince conservatives to vote for Kerry. Click on "links." Also, Mainstream Moms lists several "bite size" actions you can take to promote a Kerry presidency!)

Vet: "As a third generation Republican...I can't support the current administration. My vote is for a man who has demonstrated courage and integrity and who will best support his country in a time of war."

I found this page by reviewing my visitor stats and the searches that brought people to this site. The page came up first in someone's Google search for ("Republicans" "voted for Bush" "voting for Kerry") while my site, Republican Switchers, came up second. The quote in the headline is one of several in the story from disaffected Republicans.

"I can see myself as a Schwarzenegger Republican. But I can't vote for Bush."

Says William Saleten on Slate: "I'm no huge fan of John Kerry....But the alternative is a president who sees one side of every issue, no matter how many sides it has."

Republican strategist: "(The Bushes) display no real empathy for anyone who is not of their class."

This article from The Washington Post (registration required) features another Kerry supporter, Kevin Phillips, a former Republican strategist who longs to go back the Republican party of Dwight Eisenhower. According to the article, Eisenhower "was a politician who embraced a top marginal tax rate of 90 percent, who warned of the abuses of the military-industrial complex and who -- in Phillips's telling -- had little use for the country club Republican set." Phillips is the author of one of the many popular books that are critical of Bush: American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush.

Lifelong Republicans speak out in new Errol Morris ads: "I feel betrayed."

Watch and hear why these real people, who voted for Bush in 2000, are voting for Kerry in 2004. The ads were created by famous director Errol Morris for moveon.org. Download a print ad showing the Republican Switchers here. Copy and share it with the Republicans you love!

"It is about the betrayal of traditional, conservative limited-government values, and the use of misleading rhetoric, by ... Bush..."

I received an e-mail from RepublicansForHumility.com. William Frey, M.D., who "strongly supported" Bush in 2000, is the site's editor. As he wrote, "This site is designed by and primarily aimed at conservatives and Republicans. It is about the betrayal of traditional, conservative limited-government values, and the use of misleading rhetoric, by the Bush / Cheney administration. It has been well received and is relevant for Americans across the political spectrum.

Republicans Against Bush Meetup in 136 Places Around the World.

Republicans Against Bush Meetup. Meetup is an organization that uses the Internet to gather, in real time and in real places (i.e., restaurants, libraries), people with similar interests --- whether it be knitting, rock climbing, politics, or hundreds more subjects and hobbies. See if there's a Republicans Against Bush Meetup in your community. If you're an undecided Republican, it might help you make up your mind. If you know and love an undecided Republican, offer to go with him or her to a meeting near you.

Another Republican for Kerry

Another Republican for Kerry tells some interesting stories on his site. One post is about a lifelong Republican and Marine Mom, Nina: "Now she's fighting for a better commander in chief who can make sound judgments and wise decisions. 'I'm a registered Republican, and I'm voting for John Kerry because I believe with all my heart that he cares. I know he's the most qualified to clean up this mess. And I don't believe for a moment that under John Kerry, a Marine going to war would ever have to stop and buy himself a helmet that can mean the difference between life and death." Also see his recommended action steps for persuading others to vote for Kerry.

Back to the Mainstream

backtothemainstream.org is an interesting site that calls for a return to the roots of the Republican party.

(We have) "been abandoned by the present extremist adminstration..."

"Republicans for Kerry 04" appears to be the most established group of conservatives and Republicans for Kerry. From the Web site: "We are ordinary Republicans...moderate, conservative, and progressive -- who believe in the sanctity of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. This unites us in our desire to return our country and our party to the traditional values that have been abandoned by the present extremist administration ...we believe he (John Kerry) more honestly represents these values so vital to the health and well-being of our democracy. " Another organization, with a similar goal and name is Republicans for Kerry (no "04") .

Convinced? Get your toolkit for Kerry Republicans.

Download the Republicans for Kerry-Edwards toolkit, courtesy of the special section for Republicans on the Kerry site: republicans.johnkerry.com. And then sign up as a Republican for Kerry-Edwards.