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IN ENEMY TERRITORY: WATCHING THE DEBATE IN A NYC EAST VILLAGE BAR [Posted Friday, Oct. 1, 2004]

Last night I watched the debate with a group of rabid, Kerry lovers in a bar in the East Village. My local Young Republican Club very smartly organized a party with both Democrats and Republicans to gather around eight to ten large televisions in San Marcos Bar and Restaurant on Saint Marks Place.

This was, to put it bluntly, humbling and painful. Imagine listening to liberals -- already hungry for red meat -- howling and jeering at everything Bush said, catching every nuance of error, or even supposed error, in each of his remarks. Imagine having to listen to waves of cheers and joy every time Kerry spoke.

There were a few vocal Republicans, and at times our applause and cheers rose to the same level of the Democrats. But it was clear we were in the heart of liberal America -- Manhattan's sex-crazy, homo-ridden bastion of Godlessness, with four or five tattoo parlors and even more psychic readers on every block (no, really).

The crowd, however, was not the bohemian, body-pierced, unwashed rabble you might imagine. These were young, prosperous, thin, good-looking eager beavers, confident, happy and proud. Anyone of them could stand up for themselves alone in a group of Bush supporters. Together they were, quite honestly, intimidating.

The place was so packed one could not move around the room.

This experience really colored my view of the debates. These people are so media-savvy and sensitive to issues of image and performance that they could detect every whisper of vulnerability in Bush's speech and manner. And yes, I could relate to their perception of Bush's stammering, inarticulate speaking. However, I am reminded that God used another man with exactly the same problem. His name was Moses and he led God's people out of bondage.

Afterwards, listening to liberals and conservatives on WABC -- and reading today's papers -- it was heartening to realize that things were not as dire as they seemed last night. There were moments last night when I thought he might have cost himself the election.

Let me tell you: I support Bush now more than ever and would not wish anyone to go through what I did. But I am glad I had the experience and I am grateful for the suffering. It has made me stronger and it has taught me how to better speak with liberals when discussing Bush. I have no problem telling them that Kerry is a better debater. The problem with Kerry is that he is a negative, nay-saying, opportunistic liar who will speak confidently while deceiving in every word and stabbing his entire nation in the back.

This country needs to strongly renounce Kerry and all he stands for, no matter how nice his hair, no matter how eloquent his speech, no matter how forceful his assertions. He is the enemy, and now I can be Bush's surrogate and verbally excoriate Kerry's supporters the next time they smugly pass on his lies.

DEAR KOS: MY LETTER TO THE DAILY KOS [Posted Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004]

SENT TO KOS@DAILYKOS.COM TODAY:

Dear Kos,

Am I right -- did you really write the following...:

"It was the year 2000, and Democrats were running on a record of peace and prosperity stewarded by the capable, if morally imperfect, Bill Clinton. It was a race that should have been won by their candidate, Al Gore. In fact, it was won by Al Gore, but the Rightwing Noise Machine kept it close enough to be stolen by the Republicans and their allies at the supreme court."

You've gotten a lot of attention in the media lately, and I've wanted to check you out. I like reading a wide variety of opinions, even from people with whom I disagree. I hear good things and was hoping I'd enjoy some of your stuff.

But are you, like, a mental retard or something? Are you so completely out of touch with reality that you can spread this 'Gore Won' horsepuckey around as if no one knows its not an Urban Legend? If you think it's true, would you please provide some data to back it up?

Gore lost, from the beginning to the end, upside and down from every angle anyone counted. Even the NYTimes, not exactly a friend of Bush, had to concede this. Gore merely tried to steal the election with endless lawsuits and recounts, but he couldn't play the recount game or the lawsuit game because, in actuality, He Lost! He was defeated in court because the adults were paying attention and were not about to lay down and hand him a phoney victory just because he was whining. Instead, they handed him his fanny with Bush's foot up it.

Right now, after reading your quote, I am totally ashamed of anyone in the press who has actually given you any coverage. You don't deserve to be believed now on any subject.

When you can retract your comment and reenter the world of honest adults, please let me know and I'll try to give you another look. Meanwhile, I'm looking for that data...

Sincerely,

Paul Klenk

WHY NOT BLOG ON OUR FR HOMEPAGES? [Posted Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004]

Has it occurred to anyone else that our homepages here at FreeRepublic are the perfect places to blog? They are relatively easy to edit, they have unique URLs which are easy to share and remember, and they are not dependent on being pinged by others. They depend only on what other blogs depend -- the ability to post regularly and stand out from the crowd.

I would like to encourage my fellow Freepers, especially the more prolific and well-known one, to give this a try. Perhaps one day we can start a daily thread featuring commentary on the daily FR blogs.

The following thread (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1231658/posts) has some interesting exchanges on this topic.

MY ONE-MAN BUSH CAMPAIGN IN NYC [Posted Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004]

During the recount in 2000 I got activist fever big time, and stood outside in Times Square for one straight month most evenings. Snow, cold, whatever, there I was with my Sore/Loserman sign, getting a lot of attention. Sometimes I even stood within eyeshot of a live Web cam. Freepers and others watched me live on-line and chatted on a thread, "The Lone Rallyer of Times Square."

This year I also want to make a difference. Going to my Young Republicans club is fun, but I never feel I'm accomplishing anything. And when I've asked speakers at the club -- and radio hosts -- "What can one person do to make a difference day in and day out during the campaign?", I get confused looks and referrals to my local Republican committee office. Well, I don't know where that office is, and whenever I sign up to "help" on-line, all I get are e-mails.

This election I am adopting a simple plan, one that I can carry out on my own dime, on my own time, day in and day out:

I am distributing my own pro-Bush flyers to commuters on the subway while I'm traveling to and from home, and when I reach home each evening I am entering apartment buildings in my neighborhood and leaving flyers at each door.

I am developing my own flyers, improving and editing them day by day. Last night I was very exhilarated after dropping my first draft of a "Dear Neighbor" letter at every apartment in my building. When I got back to my apartment, I developed another simpler flyer suitable for subway distribution.

It is hard to know how one person can really make a difference, but I am beginning one step at a time. My next mission is to collect information for others who I meet, to help them connect with the Bush campaign and tell them where to vote and register themselves and their friends.

I will do my best to share these experiences day by day at my blog. I hope you can visit from time to time, and if you want to share ideas, just Freep-mail me.

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