One of the many strange hallmarks of Election 2004 is the numerous Republican groups which have formed to organize support for Democrat John Kerry’s campaign. There are also, of course, “Bush Democrats” around, but they’re far less organized, and if my colleague Patrick Mulvaney’s crawl around the internet is any indication, far fewer in number than their counterparts.
President Bush’s extremist agenda, his Administration’s skyrocketing budget deficits and his dishonesty in the run-up to war are the main reasons cited by longtime Republican voters for abandoning their party’s nominee. The choice is simple to voters like Mitch Dworkin, who explains in an article on the Republicans for Kerry 2004 site that, “Bush and most of his Administration represent an extreme faction of the Republican Party and are out of touch with the American people.”
There are numerous groups and organizations to check out to get a sense of the unusual number of Republican and conservative groups opposing President Bush in the upcoming election:
There are also several less formal, web-based groups comprised of Republicans opposing the Bush re-election effort, including the “Republicans Against Bush” Meetup and an AOL journal called “Republicans for the ouster of King George II.” And even the Log Cabin Republicans, which notes on its website that “every victory for a fair-minded Republican is a victory for the future of [the Republican] Party,” have pointedly chosen not to endorse Bush’s re-election bid.
It’s unclear what effect these typically GOP voters will have on the race’s electoral math but it’s clear that Bush is the most unpopular Republican nominee in memory among members of his own party.
