I am a conservative Republican who voted for George Bush, but I can not vote again for the illiterate, ignorant, uncredentialed, untruthful, banty rooster. He should have never been elected and I am ashamed I voted for him. My reason at the time was I could not vote for Al Gore because I did not want a continuation of any administration related to the amoral Bill Clinton, among other lesser reasons. I will vote for a Democrat if it means Mr. Bush (I still can't call him President) is defeated. However, the Democrat must be better than Bush to get my vote (I know, my one vote probably does not matter much anyway, but I want and need to vote). I will force myself to watch the State Of The Union address tonight because that is my civic duty as a U.S. citizen, but the sight of Mr. Bush and his diction is just about all I can take.

Many of my views on life and society are formulated by my conservative upbringing, education, and my innate conscience of right and wrong.
I may not be able to support the Democratic Party because of some of my conservative views:

I am against liberal social welfare. People need to be productive citizens and I have no sympathy for bums, drug addicts, social misfits, and people who believe their way in life should be given to them by society. I am for helping all people get back on their feet, but with a positive payback to society for that help.

I support the death penalty for anyone with 3 serious felonious crimes, 3 strikes and you're out of life (not for life). Societies spend an inordinate amount of funds to house criminals that can not or will not function in society. For one homicide, you get the death penalty.

Illegal drugs should never be legalized.

Homosexual marriage should never be allowed. I would support civil unions for homosexuals only because there is no other option. It is one of the great conundrums of life.   

Government should be downsized where possible, but outsourcing to other countries should not be allowed. Outsourcing to U.S. citizens is prudent, but some jobs are inherently governmental.

NAFTA is a failure.

Illegal immigrants should not be given Amnesty.

The Death Tax is wrong.

There should be a strong and unwavering separation of church and state. I doubt that a Christian, Jew, etc. would want a Muslim President to publicly praise Allah or be compelled to adhere to the principles of the Koran in government buildings and institutions. The Bible, Koran, and all ecclesiastical references should be left out of government and let people practice their beliefs on a personal level.

Though not a clearly political (Democrat vs. Republican) I am against the Iraq invasion and we should leave soon. This was Mr. Bush's Christian Crusade and retribution for "them" trying to kill Bush Sr. and to "finish" the war his daddy started. This is just what would you expect a son to do to gain a father's admiration and pride. Once the Bush cabinet was formulated it was evident that the "Old Guard" was ready to go to war. I just did not think Mr. Bush and his Christian followers would lie to go to war and needlessly risk the lives of our soldiers.   
Also, I think the "war cabinet" was one reason why Saddam was so defiant and it was a provocation to all Muslims. I'm sure it appeared to them that all America, by electing another Bush and many of his father's former cabinet members, was determined to go to war against them. If Mr. O'Neill can be believed, this is more evidence supporting that view.

The biggest problem facing the world is the increase in mankind's population with the resultant overuse of nonrenewable resources. This is another great conundrum in life. As a father, I am not sure I want the government setting limits on family size, but some incentive should be given to people who voluntarily limit family size. Illegal immigration of cultures that have large families will only exacerbate the population problem.

I once was considering voting for Mr. Dean. I thought that as a physician he understood the scientific method and could apply that knowledge to logically work through societies problems. However, now I see him as the banty rooster of the Democratic Party, intelligent but not too smart. His demeanor is off-base and he does not seem to have consistent views.

As a veteran, I strongly considered Mr. Clark. His credentials as first in his class at West Point and being a Rhodes Scholar were very impressive. He seems to have a problem telling the truth much like Mr. Clinton, another Rhodes Scholar. Yet another great conundrum: wise, educated men who are very untruthful and of flawed character. I just don't understand that. I do understand Mr. Bush. He is transparently uneducated, dishonest, and a fool. He believes God speaks directly to him and that he is following God's direction. I will try to turn his speech off tonight before his obligatory valediction of "may God continue to bless America" (ughmurka) or "God Bless America".

So, about the only Democrat I could possibly vote for is John Kerry. If you can, give me some good reasons to vote for this man.
                
Cruiser