How George W. Bush converted a conservative into an Ex-Con

What made a lifelong Republican voter take a step back and re-evaluate? Well as anyone who has a child can tell you, this makes you look at the world very differently than before. Politics took a new meaning when the author considered effects for his own daughter.

So, after years of casual following of politics, he finally sat down and spent some time researching presidential candidates for ‘08 with what he describes as a "truly open mind, for the first time." This led to further soul-searching and research into all manner of political information, including the current state of affairs as a nation.

The conclusion?

"I am no longer a conservative. I am now an ex-conservative. An ExCon, if you will. Join me and let’s try to make a difference."

The reality:

"At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if you are at war or at peace - the federal government must be fiscally responsible. Sure, if we are under imminent threat of being destroyed, then maybe caution goes to the wind, but, otherwise we must keep some level of restraint. While certainly a strong military & strong national security are vitally important, a strong economic & financial situation is at least equally important, perhaps even more important for a superpower. Just ask the U.S.S.R."

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Study: Republicans Alienate Youth; Will Lose Presidential Race To Democrats

A new study, which you can get a copy of by just clicking on the title of this post, reveals that the Republican Party is so out of touch with America's young people that the party will lose the 2008 Presidential race for that reason alone. Here's more directly from the study...

"A major, multi-mode survey of America’s young people recently conducted by Democracy Corps shows young people profoundly alienated from the Republican Party and poised to deliver a significant majority to the Democratic nominee for President in 2008.1 The political stakes with this generation could not be higher.

In 2008, young people (ages 18-31) will number 50 million, bigger than the baby boom generation.

By 2015 they will likely comprise one-third of the U.S. electorate. While participation among young people still lags well behind other generations, turnout increased two election cycles in a row and, in 2004, jumped nine points (to 49 percent).2 In 2004, younger voters were the only generational cohort outside of the World War II generation to support John Kerry (56 percent). In 2006, younger voters supported Democrats by a 60 – 38 percent margin, the highest of any generation.3
The looming disaster Republicans face among younger voters represents a setback that could haunt them for many generations to come. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama lead Rudy Giuliani—the most acceptable of the Republican offerings among youth—by significant margins, assembling a diverse coalition of support and leading the vote among independents.

Exploring attitudes toward the parties themselves, young voters’ reaction to fundamental issues and their perceptions of the GOP suggest a fundamental alienation from the Republican Party, a crisis that will not leave with the Bush administration.

Young people react with hostility to the Republicans on almost every measure and Republicans and younger voters disagree on almost every major issue of the day. The range of the issue disagreements range from the most prominent issues of the day (Iraq, immigration) to burning social issues (gay marriage, abortion) to fundamental ideological disagreements over
the size and scope of government. This leaves both potential Democratic nominees with substantial leads over Rudy Giuliani, but importantly, both Democrats still have room to grow their support among younger voters. The current problems with the Republican brand are not fully reflected in young people’s preferences in for President."