do you know anyone who voted for the Chimp because "he own's a ranch"

[pstokely]

?

[fiddlestix]

1. I belong to another forum, non-political

and you'd be surprised on why they voted for him...I have a file of it all somewhere...

[pstokely]

3. what forum is this? nt

[seabeyond]

2. i live in texas and i havent heard that

maybe because these texans know what a texan is and know he is not one. not a cowboy and if anything a little offended by his presentation as a cowboy. as a matter of fact talking about cowboys in reference to bush, a friend says quite offended, cowboys are NOT like bush...............

her family are all cowboys and they dont want to be painted with that brush. though they all voted for bush

[bryant69]

4. I don't think you should discount that symbology

It's not so much that he owns a ranch, it's that he has successfully positioned himself as decent god-fearing country folk against pointy-headed urban elitist liberals. I don't know how he pulled that off, but the Ranch probably has something to do with it.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[CottonBear]

14. We need to appeal to the rural voter.

I agree with your analysis of how he positioned himself as "country folk." I think that this is an angle that we are simply not paying enough attention to. The newly upper middle class McMansion folks have always voted republican. But, the older, rural farm folks used to be Democrats. In fact, many still are, but local development and new Republican residents are lessening the impact of their vote.

[SmokingJacket]

21. Slightly OT but... what do you think they mean by "pointy-headed"?

My RW father keeps calling me and my ilk "pointy-headed." I tried calling him on it -- why pointy? as opposed to spherical headed? why is it an insult? He had no answers. I hope he thinks twice before using the term again, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Bronco69]

5. That kind of goes along with the thinking that bush* is the kind of

guy they'd like to have a beer with. That makes absolutely no sense at all. Hell, I'd like to smoke a bowl with Madonna, but that doesn't mean she can act!

[CottonBear]

6. Have you seen the "Bush-Cheney Ranch Team" stickers?

I see them mostly on big trucks and SUVs from rural areas. How can Democrats appeal to this group? We really need to brainstorm this one or else Bush-Cheny may co-opt ownership of every possible demographic group. How about emphasizing rural land and farm conservation, anti-sprawl measures, zoning for livestock and farming operations, tax breaks for farm equipment, etc. Just a thought. I keep a horse at a farm in a rural area being impacted by white-flight, upscale mini-mansion, just moved from the Atlanta area (to escape sprawl) B-C voters. The horse farm/stable crowd (that already lives in the area) may be a good group to target. Also hay growers: you've got to have hay to feed those hay burners!

[cattleman22]

8. Zoning agaisnt sprawl already hurts Dems in rural areas

Some Dem county commisioners have passed zoning requiring farmers to sell a minimum of 50 acres if they have a bad year and need money to pay operating loans. This is completely rediculous.

[CottonBear]

13. Where is this county of which you speak?

I am involved in land planning and zoning issues in my work and community. I've never heard of having to sell land to pay off loans. The problem in my area is that the local county tax assesor is appraising larger properties (more than 20 acres) like horse farms (with no home or septic system located on the property and no available public sewer) at the higher rates for subdivision type property. My friends do not want to develop their land EVER. They are leaving it to a rural land trust when they die. In the meantime, they are having their property taxes doubled this year.

[cattleman22]

22. Loudon VA requires a minimum of 50 acres in the rural areas

Many farmers and rural people view their land as urban people view their emergency fund or their 401k. If a farmer has a bad year, one way to pay off loans that are due is to sell a small piece of land for development. When the smallest piece of land you can sell is 50 acres, that does not help very much.

[LWolf]

10. How about focusing on

support for independent small farms and ranches? Family, rather than corporate, enterprises?

[CottonBear]

16. Good idea.

Local cattlemans groups, horse farms, stable and equestrian center owners, chicken farmers and exotic animal farms as well as rural land owners (house and land for a pony type) are all groups that we could target. We could work with land trusts, rural conservation groups, local historic preservation organizations and others to reach out to these folks. They need to understand that Republicans are NOT interested in preserving their rural way of life. The increased taxes and sprawl will ruin their investment in farm/ranch land.

[LWolf]

19. I'm the "house and land for a pony" type myself.

I started out as a kid in the San Fernando Valley. We had our "ponies," but were never homeowners; too pricey for single parent blue-collar workers. We kept moving with the sprawl, because it kept crowding the ranches and riding trails out.

I had my own very modest place on the outskirts for 12 years, until divorce forced me out; I found that, on a single income, I could no longer afford any place to keep my horses and have had to board them out.

I'm getting ready to move out of state this summer, with the determination to find house and land for my ponies, that won't be overrun by sprawl again. When the wealthy move in, the modest are pushed out. I'm tired of moving again and again; I want some place to call "home" that I can stay in.

I currently keep my horses on an old ranch next door to about 12,000 acres of old cattle ranch and nature conservancy land; plenty of room to ride and roam. Except that, when the ranch family patriarch died, they sold off to a developer who is going to pave the whole damned place over with tract housing. This is the 2nd time I've watched large old ranches go under the pavement for upscale tracts. :grr:

This particular stretch of land includes natural springs, diverse plant and animal habitats, incredible rock outcroppings, and, if you know where to look, some native artifacts. Development has been held up in court for a decade or so, fighting to preserve it, but the last legal roadblock has been removed, and building has started at the edges like a cancer.

Not all of my fellow "house, land, and pony" types are democrats, but we all oppose the suburban encroachment on open space and rural communities. This is an opportunity for the Democratic Party to gain some support among rural voters.

[CottonBear]

20. Good luck. Your area of CA sounds beautiful!

There are sevveral horse/equine conservation groups that work to save and entrust land for trail riding, farming and ranching. I know that there have been quite a few zoning issues in CA discussed in Practical Horseman magazine.

I too hope for land with room for a pony (my Oldenburg filly, Cotton). I'm going to have to move about 45 minutes away from my work to find something. I can't afford to buy in the county where I currently live (Democratic, very urban and expensive) or the county where I work (Republican, expensive, white flight, newly upper middle class sprawl). I'll have to go to a Republican, rural area but QUICK before subdivision takes over everything.

[ucmike]

7. the last of the connecticut cowboys.

[Ravenseye]

9. It's a Farm

For it to be a ranch they'd need cattle. They don't have cattle. Therefore it's a farm.

Also he bought his farm in 1999. It's beyond apparent that it was a political move so he could say he owns a 'ranch'. He's a 'regular guy'.

It's such bullshit. Sorry. Horseshit. They don't have any bulls there either.

[wicket]

15. They don't have horses either- Bush is afraid of them!

:evilgrin:

[theHandpuppet]

11. Yes -- my own Mother

She said all those pics of Bush working down on the pig farm made him just one of the real folks to her. Logic and reality have nothing to do with it. Trust me.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

12. hell, son, ah voted fer him cuz he clears brush

and hates gays

[Ilsa]

17. I know people who think he's a cowboy because they saw a

picture of him in jeans, boots, a hat and driving a pickup. When I challenged them to find a pic of him on a horse, they couldn't.

[leftchick]

18. not personally, but I did see one on TV!

a fellow interviewed at a rodeo in Oklahoma during the campaign. He said he was voting for bush* because he owned a farm and was a rancher just like him!
:crazy: