Independents

[ShapeShifter]

I believe and strongly feel that the independents of this country will decide the next president. Democrats believe Kerry is going to win, and the Republican believe Bush is going to win. But, who do the independents believe is going to win?

[angus]

If you had asked this question three months ago, before I changed my registration from Declined-to-State to Republican, I'd have told you Bush will win.  If I tell you that now, you'd think I was campaigning.  But I'll tell you anyway:  Bush can and should win.  He got us into this mess, he gets us out.  Kerry is fast becoming a loose cannon.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

According to most recent polling, a majority of independents believe that Bush will win the election.  But why is this an important question?  The same polls show a majority of independents plan to vote for John Kerry.

[classical liberal]

People are stupid like that.

[Gustaf]

It isn't really stupid to say that you'll vote for Kerry but think Bush will win. It makes sense to me.

[MAS117]

The Nader support is not not nearly as strong as last time... and the Green party already endorsed Dennis, so did the Natural Law Party

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

According to most recent polling, a majority of independents believe that Bush will win the election.  But why is this an important question?  The same polls show a majority of independents plan to vote for John Kerry.

Independents need to know how important they are.  All the Dems are voting Kerry.  All the Reps are voting Bush.  Its gonna come down to them.  If they start to lean heavily to either side, we're looking at a landslide in Nov.  I think they are much more likely to lean slightly to Kerry.  

[zachman]

Independents will vote lopsidedly for Kerry here. I've said it once and I'll say it again; Bush has no support here outside of the republican partisans.

[classical liberal]

In playing to the Christian right, he has alienated everyone else.

[JNB]

 Bush has hardly played to the Christian right outside of some cheap rhetoric. All Bush has played towrds is business intrests. In the circles I run in, conservative/traditional Catholic circles, I have met only one person who is a ethusiastic Bush supporters, others will either hold their nose if they vote for him, or go for other options(though none consider Kerry an option). Online, the Evangelical Christians do not seem to care much for Bush either, consider thmselves to be more tokens.

  As for Independents, there is no unified group of independents, but they can be very roughly broken into two different groups. One, the group the media would like to say defines Independents are fisclaly conservative but socially liberal, basiclaly DLC types in all but name, the 2nd group, about as big as the first group, are socially conservative but fiscally populist, the bulk of them former Democrats.

[angus]

agreed, he threw them a bone on day 1 by overturning the Mexico City Rule, but generally he has not played to anyone except the wealthy,

JNB, Obviously you're not a big fan of GWB.  I must admit that I didn't vote for him last time either.  Or his father, for that matter.  Sure, he's a major screw-up, but I have become increasingly convinced that his reelection will be a benefit to the country.  First, it will say to the Democrats that their message of intolerance and arrogance will not resonate.  Secondly, it will ensure that we never have to live through a Kerry administration.  Most importantly, George Bush and company must see our invasion and occupation of Iraq through.  As Carol Mosely Braun said, "Americans don't cut and run.  We broke it, now we must fix it."

[dunn]

All Bush has played towrds is business intrests.

true

[WMS]

[interesting point but not my topic...]

  As for Independents, there is no unified group of independents, but they can be very roughly broken into two different groups. One, the group the media would like to say defines Independents are fisclaly conservative but socially liberal, basiclaly DLC types in all but name, the 2nd group, about as big as the first group, are socially conservative but fiscally populist, the bulk of them former Democrats.

Yep, that's pretty much me there, although I'm more centrist in both social and fiscal categories. I believe, in European systems, these would be borderline Christian Democrats, one of the woefully underrepresented points of view in the usual U.S. liberal-consevative political dynamic...