Republicans for Kerry

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Republicans for Kerry
1
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 12:20am
GOP: Republicans for Kerry organizing

By HILARY BENTMAN

Bucks County Courier Times

Daryl Renschler said he's going to do something he has not done since 1976 - vote for the Democratic candidate for president.

In the era of Watergate and Vietnam, the lifelong Republican gave his support to Jimmy Carter. Today, nearly three decades later, Renschler finds himself again mistrusting the government and hating what he contends has become a quagmire of a war.

Come November, he'll vote for John Kerry.

"We were misled during the Vietnam War ... and they're misleading us now," said Renschler. "Normally, a war unites a country. This one split it.

"I don't know what we're doing in Iraq. Someone gets you in a mess; you need someone else to clean it up," he said. "Kerry has a better approach to extract us from this mess we're in."

The Solebury resident is part of the recently formed Bucks Republicans for Kerry, which hopes to get people to vote - particularly younger constituents - against George Bush.

"I'm ashamed to be associated with ," Renschler said.

Across the country, groups are popping up in support of the opposition. And it's not only Republicans for Kerry. There are Democrats for George Bush, too, though that group has not manifested locally. Experts say issues like the war in Iraq and the economy drive voters to Kerry, and gay marriage and abortion push them to Bush.

"It's to quietly say, 'I can't do it this time.' To do it more publicly is unusual," said Joan Hulse Thompson, an associate professor of political science at Arcadia University. "People are not just satisfied to vote against but to organize against him. That's a step beyond."

Sue Tinsman is taking that step. The 82-year-old lifelong Republican ticks off her beefs with Bush like clockwork. The war. The loss of international support. The economy. The environment. Education.

"I could go on and on. This is the most important election in our history," said the Solebury resident, who says her choice this year could even strain relations with longtime friends. "I'm a moderate Republican, but I don't think our administration is currently moderate. It's extremely conservative. Kerry is a moderate Democrat. There's not much difference between them and moderate Republicans."



Ted Morgan, also a professor of political science at Lehigh, says he's not surprised a Republican group for Kerry would crop up in Bucks County.

"It's exactly where I expect it to come from. It's an affluent area. There are old-money Republicans, and most are alienated by Bush. Kerry doesn't freak them out. He's one of them," he said. "Bucks is kind of interesting. It's kind of progressive. The religious right being in politics scares them. They're more libertarian."

Bucks County has always been a stronghold of Republicans. As of Aug. 7, there were 201,870 registered Republicans and 164,551 registered Democrats in the county. But the Democratic candidates at the top of the ticket in major elections in recent years have carried Bucks. Both Bill Clinton and Al Gore did it, as did Ed Rendell in his gubernatorial bid in 2002.

"Republicans, too, rallied around Rendell, and maybe that's being tapped to some degree ," said Colon. "Rendell is not a great coattail, but he may have given pause to think, 'Maybe I'm going to continue in this direction.' In Bucks, there's a stronger independent group than people think."

Joseph Duffy, a Republican from Solebury, said he intends to vote Democrat in November.

"Kerry is a mixed-up fellow," he said. "But he's a far better choice than Bush."

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2004
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 12:27am
I'm one of them.

I'm voting a straight Republican ticket this November.

Except for President. I'm voting for Kerry. Bush is the worst president we have had in decades.