Posted on 11/01/2004 5:45:25 AM PST by SolutionsOnly
Some left-leaning Californians say they would rather leave the United States -- and go to Canada or elsewhere -- than stay with George W. Bush as president.
''I certainly don't love the climate of Vancouver, but I love the sanity,'' said Steve Crawford, 54, a singer and actor working as a volunteer at the Democratic Party offices in Santa Monica.
He and his wife, Karen, have been investigating selling their home in Pacific Palisades, an upmarket area close to the coast, and moving to Canada.
''For someone like me, if this happens, I can't in good conscience allow myself to support another Bush government, even benignly. And a lot of other people are saying the same.
''I have a good friend who is adamant he will leave if Bush is re-elected. He's picked two countries and will definitely go to one should this happen.''
In the heavily Democratic state, famous for its Hollywood- and San Francisco-inspired latte liberal politics, such talk has become increasingly common at Starbucks and at dinner parties.
At first, the threat was little more than a joke. Now, on the eve of one of the most polarized elections in recent history, some say they really do intend to leave should ''the worst'' occur.
There seems little doubt Californians will deliver the state's valuable 55 electoral votes to the Democratic candidate. In a poll on Friday, Mr. Kerry had a seven-point lead statewide, with a 24-point lead in Los Angeles county and a 35-point lead in the San Francisco Bay area.
But fear at what may happen in the key swing states of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania has led to an escalation in coffee-shop chatter about emigration to Canada, Britain and elsewhere.
''Do you think Great Britain would give us political asylum?'' a woman in Starbucks asked. ''It's just ... I don't think I can stay if Bush wins again.''
Mr. Crawford said it would be a difficult decision to move his nine-year-old son from his elementary school. ''But if I feel he's going to be living in an environment that's not safe for him, then I will do it. First and foremost I'm a dad.''
Gretchen Witte, 35, from Alhambra, east of Los Angeles, who runs her own Internet business, is making plans to move to London, where she previously lived for eight years, should Mr. Bush win.
''As a woman, the current climate is becoming intolerable. Bush has just appointed a man to the FDA reproductive health panel who believes that women with medical trouble should pray to Jesus for relief. If this is what America is becoming, I cannot live here. The only reason I can sleep at night is the thought that I can leave the country if he wins.''
Robert Boleyn, a 35-year-old independent consultant from Los Angeles, says he hears people ''all the time' 'saying they will emigrate if Mr. Bush wins.
''But I think it's often more a measure of frustration with the last four years than a real intention to leave,'' he added.
Voluntary exile as a political statement is nothing new. Democrat-supporting celebrities have a habit of making (usually empty) threats to leave should the election not go their way. Robert Redford, a vocal critic of Mr. Bush's policies, was reported this month to have vowed to move to Ireland, where he owns homes near Dublin, if Mr. Bush is re-elected. Before the 2000 poll, Alec Baldwin's then wife, Kim Basinger, told Germany's Focus magazine the actor ''might leave the country if Bush is elected ... and then I'd probably have to go, too.'' Mr. Baldwin did not leave.
The only public figure to carry out his promise was Pierre Salinger, the White House press secretary during the Kennedy administration, who died last month. Before the 2000 election, he said: ''If Bush wins, I'm going to leave the country and spend the rest of my life in France.'' He did.
Don't let the door hit you in the "arse" going out........and take a bunch of left wing actors and actresses with you when you go! I beg you!
Don't let the door hit you in the ass!
Please do go. I hear the Hudson Bay area of Canda is quite scenic and has a climate almost as nice as that of Hollywood.
Good riddance! I hope they take the likes of Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Bruce Springstein, Barbara Sreisand and the Ditzy Chick, Natalie Maines with them!
See Ya...don't bother to write.
I am a proud California Conservative. If Kerry is elected,,, I am going to take a four year long vacation to South Africa.......
Steve Crawford, 54 ...singer and actor. Hmmmm, let's see now. What award has he won lately. Was it the CMAs? Best male vocalist? Emmy? Best pop star? I don't know all the categories but...he must have won BIG in one of them. Mustn't he? Maybe someone can help me.
Pierre Salinger was French to start with so no big deal him moving there. Who cares anyway?
As for everyone else...Oh, I agree wholeheartedly with you all. WHEN Bush is reelected you SHOULD move to another country.. France or Germany would be good. Take your pick. Canada too. Then you could send your children to school without worry, love the leader of the country you choose and live your life happily ever after in a place where everything is so perfect.
It strikes me why one would have to "announce" they are leaving the country. Why not just go? You can leave our country any day of the week, any time you want. You can take everything with you or you could leave everything behind. It IS your choice. That's why it is OUR choice to reelect President George W. Bush. That's why WE are staying because it is OUR CHOICE TO STAY. We CHOOSE to remain in our country, the greatest country in the whole of the world because we love President Bush and know we can trust him. We know he's not gonnna take any crap from the terrorists and he is going to do alll that is humanly possible to protect me and mine.
So, better pack up cause you only have a day now to get your things ready so you can head to Canada, France, Germany or wherever it is you plan to go. Have you made your reservations yet or are you just in the talking stage? Have you chosen your country yet...gotten the necessary "papers" or are you just in the talking stage? Have you packed for their climate yet or are you just in the talking stage? What about your shots? Have you gotten them for you and your families or are you just in the talking stage yet? What about your house? Did you sell it for a good price so you can have that extra money in your new country or is that too in the talking stages? Have you given notice on your job or is that too in the talking stages still? Oh and yes, have you written ahead and sent resumes so that you can have a job once you get there? Are there enough jobs where you are going or have you checked on any of that yet? Oh you probably don't know cause you don't know what country you want to flee to for sure. I forgot.
Seems to me you should have had all of this done so that after Nov 2nd you would be packed and ready to depart your household for points elsewhere. Peparation on your part doesn't seem to have been very organized cause you don't have any time left. If I wanted to leave my country because the opposition won...I would have had all of this prep done so I could have jumped on a plane the very day my candidate gave his concession speech. Why wait? I wouldn't.
Well, I wish you good luck in whatever country it is you choose to escape. I hope you are safe there. I hope your children are safe there. Oh, is your entire family including parents, siblings, neices, nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, etc. all going with you or are you leaving them behind? Or...did they choose to stay like the rest of us? Just wondering. I hope they will visit you cause the way you feel about our President it seems you won't be coming back to the USA anytime soon...at least not in the next four years. So, was just wondering since family/friends visits back and forth was never mentioned. Probably silly of me to even think about that cause that's probably not important to you. The most important thing is to get out of the USA...I forgot.
Anyway, best of luck. I do hope though you will come back to visit this great country and see what the rest of us are continuing to enjoy ...you know...the fruits of freedom, freedom to protest, freedom to speak out against our leaders...little freedoms like those that so many before us shed their blood for. Oh, if you go to France...you could visit Normandy to actually see the crosses of the Americans who gave their lives and to this day lie beneath the soil of the French ...you know...the ones who turned their backs on us when we asked for their help in Iraq. In the meantime, We'll be celebrating all our holidays and thanking God for the greatest country in the whole of the world. A gift from God and a joy to behold for all of us who choose to come and go freely in the good ole USA and rejoice every single day that we have a U.S. President and an administration that cares about people...all people.
So, all of you who are so desperate to depart... go in peace. Find a beautiful home, good schools and live out the rest of your days being where you truly want to be. Away from America.
In the meantime, I'll be celebrating the reelection of Bush/Cheney 04 as I'm singing and dancing my way around my house with my friends and family to the tune of Brookes and Dunn's "Only in America."
PS: and oh yes...try not to wake the rest of us, turn out the lights and....most importantly don't let the door hit you in the arse as you run from freedom and greatness. Buh, buh!!!
PLEASE keep your promises...that's all we ask...but always remember, "America is W Country!!!"
"Some left-leaning Californians say they would rather leave the United States..."
What you said.. Lefties please go, please, pretty please. Take your money from the sale of your trophy home and go live in Upper Mooseville, far, far away among the caribou and the 10-month winters or perhaps to England where you can learn true class consciousness and eat blood sausage for breakfast...Go live among the French, they'll receive your American sensibilities with the utmost respect or consider many South American countries where your child can have an armed guard escort to school every day,,, Just spin the globe and pick a spot and bon voyage!
The best story I heard was I think from Paul Harvey the other day -- the list of "Vote or Die" celebrities that had never voted and some were STILL not registered to vote.
Steve Crawford, 54 ...singer and actor. Hmmmm, let's see now. What award has he won lately. Was it the CMAs? Best male vocalist? Emmy? Best pop star? I don't know all the categories but...he must have won BIG in one of them. Mustn't he? Maybe someone can help me.
Pierre Salinger was French to start with so no big deal him moving there. Who cares anyway?
As for everyone else...Oh, I agree wholeheartedly with you all. WHEN Bush is reelected you SHOULD move to another country.. France or Germany would be good. Take your pick. Canada too. Then you could send your children to school without worry, love the leader of the country you choose and live your life happily ever after in a place where everything is so perfect.
It strikes me why one would have to "announce" they are leaving the country. Why not just go? You can leave our country any day of the week, any time you want. You can take everything with you or you could leave everything behind. It IS your choice. That's why it is OUR choice to reelect President George W. Bush. That's why WE are staying because it is OUR CHOICE TO STAY. We CHOOSE to remain in our country, the greatest country in the whole of the world because we love President Bush and know we can trust him. We know he's not gonnna take any crap from the terrorists and he is going to do alll that is humanly possible to protect me and mine.
So, better pack up cause you only have a day now to get your things ready so you can head to Canada, France, Germany or wherever it is you plan to go. Have you made your reservations yet or are you just in the talking stage? Have you chosen your country yet...gotten the necessary "papers" or are you just in the talking stage? Have you packed for their climate yet or are you just in the talking stage? What about your shots? Have you gotten them for you and your families or are you just in the talking stage yet? What about your house? Did you sell it for a good price so you can have that extra money in your new country or is that too in the talking stages? Have you given notice on your job or is that too in the talking stages still? Oh and yes, have you written ahead and sent resumes so that you can have a job once you get there? Are there enough jobs where you are going or have you checked on any of that yet? Oh you probably don't know cause you don't know what country you want to flee to for sure. I forgot.
Seems to me you should have had all of this done so that after Nov 2nd you would be packed and ready to depart your household for points elsewhere. Peparation on your part doesn't seem to have been very organized cause you don't have any time left. If I wanted to leave my country because the opposition won...I would have had all of this prep done so I could have jumped on a plane the very day my candidate gave his concession speech. Why wait? I wouldn't.
Well, I wish you good luck in whatever country it is you choose to escape. I hope you are safe there. I hope your children are safe there. Oh, is your entire family including parents, siblings, neices, nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, etc. all going with you or are you leaving them behind? Or...did they choose to stay like the rest of us? Just wondering. I hope they will visit you cause the way you feel about our President it seems you won't be coming back to the USA anytime soon...at least not in the next four years. So, was just wondering since family/friends visits back and forth was never mentioned. Probably silly of me to even think about that cause that's probably not important to you. The most important thing is to get out of the USA...I forgot.
Anyway, best of luck. I do hope though you will come back to visit this great country and see what the rest of us are continuing to enjoy ...you know...the fruits of freedom, freedom to protest, freedom to speak out against our leaders...little freedoms like those that so many before us shed their blood for. Oh, if you go to France...you could visit Normandy to actually see the crosses of the Americans who gave their lives and to this day lie beneath the soil of the French ...you know...the ones who turned their backs on us when we asked for their help in Iraq. In the meantime, We'll be celebrating all our holidays and thanking God for the greatest country in the whole of the world. A gift from God and a joy to behold for all of us who choose to come and go freely in the good ole USA and rejoice every single day that we have a U.S. President and an administration that cares about people...all people.
So, all of you who are so desperate to depart... go in peace. Find a beautiful home, good schools and live out the rest of your days being where you truly want to be. Away from America.
In the meantime, I'll be celebrating the reelection of Bush/Cheney 04 as I'm singing and dancing my way around my house with my friends and family to the tune of Brookes and Dunn's "Only in America."
PS: and oh yes...try not to wake the rest of us, turn out the lights and....most importantly don't let the door hit you in the arse as you run from freedom and greatness. Buh, buh!!!
im tempted to start a charity that raises the needed funds for a one way ticket for any liberal who resounces his/her US citizenship and leaves for their socialist utopias.
THAT'S why these other countries don't want Bush re-elected. They don't want those nutcases coming to their country. I think they should take them. The foreign aid we gave them shouldn't come without a cost.
NOTICE TO LIBERAL AMERICANS!
We have enough of your kind in Canada, already!
Move somewhere else, please.
If the Kerry supporters want to leave the country if Bush wins, I say let 'em! Good riddance! Of course, this will happen only after they riot, and turn their local communities upside down. No sir, it will not be a pretty sight if Bush wins. The whacked out liberals will certainly take part in mass-histeria. If Bush wins, the country will be torn apart by the cry-baby liberals, and if he loses, we're doomed for a lousy economy and 4 years of Cry-babies having control. Either way, it's not going to be pretty. Oh, and let's not forget Michael Moron doing his best to tear our country apart. Has any read his book "stupid white men"? I have, and I have never read anything more worthless than this waste of binded paper.
I'll drive the bus.
lol
So if these celebs leave, and make a movie will it be an 'arthouse' film? You know, foreign?
''As a woman, the current climate is becoming intolerable. Bush has just appointed a man to the FDA reproductive health panel who believes that women with medical trouble should pray to Jesus for relief. If this is what America is becoming, I cannot live here. The only reason I can sleep at night is the thought that I can leave the country if he wins.''
What planet is this woman from and/or what is she smoking? I can NOT believe I share a nation with people this dense. Obviously the product of a public school education.
It's all baloney. They are all hyped out on over caffeinated
Starbucks coffee. The folk won't leave. Where else in the
world does one make enough money to buy $1.35 to $3.00 cups
of flavored caffeine? They have enough money to be stupid
with their money......they wouldn't last a second in a
country where you actually have to be prudent, and think to survive.
Some places I know these folks won't go is Iran, Saudi Arabia,
, North Korea, China, and France (in 20 years)
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