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.
bump
These people are not real Americans. They don't even know what America is all about. Please go. Canada will love you!!
I don't want to start a vanity thread, so I'll ask here:
Has anyone ever entertained the notion of moving to/living in Australia?
I did a cursory search of homes/home prices, and they're about what I'd expect to pay here in the U.S. At present, the exchange rate is very favorable.
In my heart, I don't believe I'm ready to become an expatriate, but keeping my options open is... an option.
Thanks in advance for your input. Feel free to FreepMail.
President Bush will win, making this post moot, I'm sure.
They're like 3 year old kids who threaten to run away from home if they don't get their own way. Unfortunately, these characters won't run away. They are going to cause trouble in the streets and in the courtrooms if, I mean when, Bush wins.
If I stayed during the Carter and Clinton farces, this cow can stay four more years. Or cut her wrists, for all I care.
I think came back...
No, first and foremost, you are an imbecile. Good riddance to you, but I pity your nine year old having to grow up in a family with such an angry hate-filled father.
Don't let the doot hit 'ya where the good Lord spit 'ya!
"''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."
Not only does that woman have no common sense, she just a plain idiot! Good riddance. Why do I have the feeling that she will probably be going NOWHERE?
I hope these Moronic Communist Dictatorial-like fairies do leave...ANOTHER REASON TO VOTE FOR "W" TOMORROW!
That would have been awesome! Signs saying "Elect Bush and We Get Rid of Alec Baldwin." Sure to guarantee a landslide for GWB.
Promises, promises.
Just one more thing! Please make us a promise that after you're gone, you won't ever come back, and that you'll write to all your pinko friends about how wonderful your life is and invite them to join you.
Good, leave.
A girl in my office said the exact same thing about 2 months ago. Now she's voting for Bush. Hahahaha.
Good bye and good riddance you ignorant commie pinko turd burglers!
Basil
LOL!!! I nominate your pic as PICTURE OF THE WEEK!!!
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