My Republican relatives are now anti-W!

[NicoleM]

I hadn't seen my Repub relatives in about a year. They're the "good" kind of Republicans--they actually think about stuff. Last time I talked to them, they were pretty pro-George W. But now, one of them is criticizing him quite a bit, one of them is seriously on the fence, and another one is giving money to John Kerry!

R relative #1 has been an R for probably 60 years or more. He basically said that W is screwing up Iraq, is making a big mistake in pulling troops out of S. Korea, and has ruined the Guard. He is afraid of a draft. But he said that we couldn't just sit back after 9/11, we had to do something. I said yes, but Iraq was the wrong thing to do. I said we should have finished the job in Afghanistan, because Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and now the Taliban and al Qaeda are on the rise again in Afghanistan. He decided I was right.

We also talked about gay marriage. He's almost 80, so I thought he'd be against it just because he's of a generation where homosexuality was less accepted. But no, he's all for it. He doesn't think it's anybody's business what gay people do, it doesn't have any effect on him, and he certainly doesn't want anybody monkeying around with the Constitution over it.

R relative #2 is technically an independent but he's conservative on a lot of issues. Last time I talked to him about W a couple of months ago, he was still fairly pro-W. But this time he was willing to listen to the facts and by the time I left his house he said I had him scared about another W term. I don't know if he'll vote for Kerry yet, but I'm pretty sure I can talk him out of voting for W if I haven't already.

R relative #3 is very afraid of the way W uses his religion, especially in the Middle East. He's giving money to Kerry and he's voting for him, too.

If those three guys are turning against W, he's in BIG trouble. HOORAY!!

[LynzM]

1. Woo-hoo!

That's a few more! And every few matters (as long as the votes get counted....)

Excellent to hear that you gave them enough info to change their minds! :D

[lovedems]

2. Are they in a battleground state?

WOO-HOO! That is good news regardless of where they live but it sure would be sweet if they lived in a battleground state! :)

[NicoleM]

5. Two in a red state and one in a blue state.

[lovedems]

9. At least one red state won't be won by a higher margin!

That is great news! Congrats on bringing them over from the dark side!

:yourock:

[NicoleM]

10. Actually

two made the conversion on their own. I only helped a little with one of them.

[mark414]

3. my grandfather too

i was recently visiting with my grandfather, 75 years old, life long republican.

i was saying something about how the democrats seem more united than ever this year.

his reply? "i wouldn't know, this is the first year i've ever been a democrat."

and this guy HATED clinton, and LOVED reagan.

during the Wisconsin primary, CNN interviewed him and he talked about how much of an idiot Dubya is

EDIT: p.s. he lives in a battleground state (Wisconsin)

[pansypoo53219]

12. KICK ASS!

i guess georgie is proving the PT Barnum quote. you can't fool everybody ALL the time.

[SlingBlade]

4. They must feel relieved

And grateful to join the human race again, Good for them.
Great for America and the rest of the World.

[Misunderestimator]

6. Very cool! n/t

[demnan]

7. Where do they live?

just curious. Hey my niece would have your same username, you're not my niece are you? Do you have an Aunt who lives in Arlington, VA?

[NicoleM]

8. Not your niece.

Although I'm sure you're a wonderful aunt. :)

Two are in ND and one is in WA.

[Kholst]

11. I've heard a lot of similar stuff...

I've got a friend who is an independant conservative voting for Kerry, and a 90ish great aunt who hasn't voted for a Democrat in her life but, during the primaries, said, "I don't care who the Democratic candidate is. I'm voting for them."

One very good sign is that I haven't heard any stories of the reverse (Democrats voting for Bush).

[shoelace414]

13. Yes!

I agree.. I'm hearing from a few people that said they are republican. they hate what Bush is doing. I don't go deeply into it because I don't want them to start tryign to defend Bush. and I live in Wisconsin.

[slipperduke]

14. That's fantastic news

Now all of you, please, do the same. Turn your Republican neighbours, haul them in from the Dark Side.

There's very little I can do over here in the UK except kick Blair really hard and I did that last week.

I don't like the world after 4 years of Bush, I can't imagine how bad it will be after 8.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

15. I have one to add, too

I haven't discussed politics with my parents for years because my mom is a fundamentalist and it gets too touchy. Well, my dad is a Republican like her, but not for religious reasons, he was always the type that believes in small government. He is in his 70s, is very intelligent and well read.

So out of the blue last week he says to me, "You know I have been against this Iraq war from the beginning and I don't like how they've been demonizing the French." We didn't discuss it any further because he veered off to some other topic, but I thought that was cool. It seems like there are a lot of older Republicans who aren't fooled one bit by Bush and the neocons.