An excellent LTTE in today's Las Vegas Sun, re: Bush haters

[stopbush]

Thought this was short and sweet:

Letter: Critics can oppose Bush without 'hating'

Bush forces are trying to shame critics of the president into silence by calling them Bush haters. But disagreeing with people hardly means you hate them. For example, Bush claims that he made America safer from terrorists by sending our armed forces against Iraq. Some think the results were the opposite -- telling countries of the world they were either for us or against us may have increased rather than lessened the threat. That doesn't mean we hate Bush. Do we think he made a stupid mistake? Yes. But do we hate him for it? No.

If someone sticks his nose in my face and says, "You are either with me or against me," my reply is: "Buster, I have my opinions and you have yours. Either convince me yours are better than mine or go fly your own kite."

Almost overnight, world sympathy for America over the 9-11 terrorist attack turned to hatred of America. Bush bungled the opportunity to unite the world against the terrorists and their rogue religious ideas. Instead, he divided the world and each country is on its own fighting terrorist cells until we can restore civilized respect and cooperation among nations.

No, we Bush critics don't hate Bush. We just wish our country had been in the hands of more intelligent leadership at this point in history. And it is not unpatriotic to want intelligent people in charge of your government.

PAUL GWIN

link: http://makeashorterlink.com/?M30416BD6

[nhtfopo]

1. I agree, but the Bush hate is out there

I totally agree with her, we should be free to express any opinion, even if it is against the current administration, without being ridiculed. But there are some among us who just hate B* and the R's so badly that they honestly don't care who is in office.

Kind of like the R's were when Arnold ran for governor. He stood for almost nothing that most right wingers want, but he had an R at the end of his name. That is just plain stupidity.

[brainshrub]

2. Bush Hate is a myth.

It's different to politicaly hate someone and personaly hate someone.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

3. I agree with you

I don't hate Bush. But i would go one further to say that if somebody hates Bush that's their belief which they are entitled to under the same constitution which Our Dear Leader defends. Nobody is advocating violence, they are simply expressing their opinion in an open society - indeed quite the opposite.

Those who wish to stifle dissent are those who hate freedom, those who stifle dissent are in the same category as Islamo-fascists who stifle dissent in their own countries and who are now our avowed enemies.

[donhakman]

4. As an artist

As an artistI have been called a Bush hater. Dealing with any particular issue of this administration in words is one thing. But make a picture, and one is called very hateful things ;)

[DrBB]

16. Slaughter of the innocents--how apt

I'm guessing 14th century Italian? Love the head of Saddam the Baptist. And the Texas flag of course. Sweet.

[Demeter]

5. I Felt Sorry for Nixon, even Reagan

They were both obviously impaired.
But I hated their puppetmasters and lackeys who concealed and kept them in office. Jail was too good for them. Fortunately, the Nixon ones nearly all came to bad ends.

The Reagan ones did not. They're still out there, pulling Dumbya's strings.

But Bush himself is evil. There is no other way to describe the personality he presents. And there isn't anything to like.

[Gringo]

6. There are all kinds of valid reasons to hate Bush & his puppeteers.

I'm not sure whether I hate him or not. I don't object to being accused of hate. I just hate when they imply that it's just because of his smirk, or his "chrisitanity", or his arrogant attitude. It's not that, it's his murder of our troops (& civilians) in Iraq, his brreaking of his EVERY campaign promise, his tax cutting for the rich, getting rid of overtime pay, cutting vets benefits, letting his buddies drive a Navy sub & kill a bunch of Japanese, and on and on and on. It's his actions that make me despise him. And of course, the number one thing is the fact that he failed/didn't try to stop 9-11, and exploited that tragedy to the hilt to shred our constitution. Makes me sick to see him standing on those people's graves. He seems so incredibly insincere and braindead, I'm always amazed when people say that they think he's honest. Almost ever word out of his mouth is a lie.

[damnraddem]

7. Hey, that's OK:

one can just as easily hate Dubya while criticizing him.

[DrBB]

8. I don't hate him. I despise him. There's a difference.

Hate describes an emotional aversion, a feeling of ill-will or even violence toward its object.

Despising is a moral judgment: contempt.

1.to look down on with contempt or aversion <despised the weak>
2 : to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful

I despise him for having been elevated to power through illegitimate means, I despise him for having led a life of extreme privilege without ever having earned anything worthwhile by his own efforts, rescued from repeated failures because of his family's connections. I despise him for weaseling his way into a cushy alternative to the Viet Nam draft and then not even bothering to fulfil his obligation under that arrangement. I despise him for what he is willfully doing to this country, and for lying about it--not even having the courage of his own convictions. Above all, for personal reasons, I despise him for having been given access to the world's greatest institutions of learning--again, through no merit of his own--and having squandered that opportunity. PROUDLY squandered it.

But I don't hate him.

[0007]

9. Watch this five minute video -

and then tell me how ya feel!

http://www.angelfire.com/creep/gwbush/remindus.html

[chaumont58]

15. Yours is close to my feeling

I don't hate Bush. I just can't find him worthy of such an emotion. I'll go along with despising, but still, the emotion I feel for Bush is like the emotion I feel for a fence post.
I do have a stock of political hatred and it is reserved for the Washington press corps. No term is ever fit so well as the nom-de-plume, beltway whore. I have a seething hatred for Tweety, Fat Tim, Mark Shields, Al Hunt, Margaret Carlson, most of CNN. Not much of it extends to Faux. Faux is Faux. They really make no bones about their lack of objectivity. The same can not be said for CNN. As far as I am concerned, the mess we are in and the mess the world is in, can be laid at the feet of Len Downie(former editor of the Washington Post), and his minions inside the beltway.
They are protected by the US Constituion and Sullivan v. the New York Times. They need it too, for they would lie when the truth would serve them better.

[radiclib]

10. Count me as a proud Bush Hater

To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson in "A Time to Kill":
Your damn right I hate him and I hope he burns in Hell.

[wabeewoman]

11. My friend who has been a life-long

staunch republican HATES bush(and will not vote for him)! My husband who has been a voter but not involved in politics HATES bush! Personally I loathe him but I am encouraged. There are no campaign ads he can run which will change these feelings....

[snippy]

12. Rational people have to hate Bush if they love their country.

Nearly everything he does seems designed to hurt this country.

[progressiveJim]

13. Zell has it right...

Reading this board with the attitudes that have seem to taken control of the Democratic Party of today it is a shame we have become a party of hate. Hate wins nothing something some republicans found out in the days of Clinton's time. More and more of the leadership of our party is pandering this theme as exploited by Dean isn't good and godforbid another attack comes while we spread our hatred. We shall reap our rewards, if hate is what we are selling I'm not sure how we can ever come back? Under Clinton we lost the Senate, Congress and most State Houses now we have Dean as our bearer of arms? It saddens me that our once great party of Roosevelt and Kennedy has come to this. Remember Kennedy and Nixon were great friends, when Kennedy fell sick in 59' Nixon pondered the idea of dropping out of the presidential race till Kennedy assured him not to.

Progressive Jim

[snippy]

14. You and Zell are wrong.

If you love America you hate Bush. If you believe in the Constitution you hate Bush. If you hate perpetual war you hate Bush. If you hate perpetual fear you hate Bush. If you hate imperial rulers willing to kill for political benefit you hate Bush.

[oegthe]

17. Hatred of *

"Hate wins nothing" -- ??? What else can explain the power of * and his allies?

Reply is TO the post; FOR those who can reason.

[grok]

18. An ominous substitution..

Hate is right. Hate works. Hate clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Hate, in all of its forms -- Hate for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind.

--

My apologies to Michael Douglas, "Wall Street", and "Gordon Gecko"

Grok

[littlejoe]

19. I, for one, hate the S.O.B.

[Skittles]

20. I DO HATE HIM

AND I REFUSE TO APOLOGIZE FOR IT.