My Fellow Americans

A friend of mine pointed out this from BSAlert: The John Kerry Concession Speech That Should Have Been:

I concede that I misjudged the power of hate...

I concede that I put too much faith in America's youth...

We in blue states produce the vast majority of the wealth in this country and pay the most taxes, and you in the red states receive the majority of the money from those taxes while complaining about 'em. We in the blue states are the only ones who've been attacked by foreign terrorists, yet you in the red states are gung ho to fight a war in our name. We in the blue states produce the entertainment that you consume so greedily each day, while you in the red states show open disdain for us and our values. Blue state civilians are the actual victims and targets of the war on terror, while red state civilians are the ones standing behind us and yelling "Oh, yeah!? Bring it on!"

We, the people at risk from terrorists, the people who subsidize you, the people who speak in glowing and respectful terms about the heartland of America while that heartland insults and excoriates us...

Check out the rest by clicking on the link above.

One note: I've seen several arguments about "blue states" subsidizing "red states" via fund shifts. I haven't looked up any data, but I don't doubt it's true--the "blue states" are where you see the greatest concentration of monetary wealth. I see the point being made, but worry about the effect. A lot of red states have significant numbers of progressives, who would likely be the ones hurt if there really WAS a committment to "small government" (which will never happen anyway).

Al Giordano also has some interesting things to say.

I'll be honest. For the next few days I'll be laying off broadcast media, and not looking at a lot of election related stuff. I've seen enough: Bush supporters like his homophobia and viciousness, whether or not they call it that. They also seem to like his religious stance, although there's one question I'd like to ask these folks: would you wish the plagues and pestilences of the Biblical apocalypse upon your children? How about your grand-children? Or their kids? In other words, how many generations before you don't give a shit what happens. Just curious. I've always wondered about the mind set of folks who wish such horrible things on their own.