Will Sunshine State Sway Red Or Blue?
source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/17/eveningnews/main4530305.shtml
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- starr111
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Lifelong republican Jim Piccillo always thought he'd vote for John McCain. But as the Florida housing market crashed, so did the mortgage company he worked for. Two months ago, he lost his job.
"And then I watched the Republican National Convention, and it really hit a nerve," he said. "I was unemployed and watching the entire Republican delegation basically sit up and laugh at someone who helps the unemployed really affected me."
So much so that he's voting for Barack Obama. Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco is switching sides too. He's a democrat who thinks John McCain has the experience to fix the economy.
"He is one hell of a man," Greco said. "There is no question. He sold me and what he is saying makes sense to me."
Both campaigns are trying to use the poor state of the Florida economy to their advantage, and there's no shortage of angry voters in the Sunshine State - with more than 600,000 people out of work, and nearly as many who've lost their homes to foreclosure in the past year.
What makes Florida a battleground is that Obama has the southeast - and its large number of African American, Jewish and liberal white voters. McCain is the favorite among military and socially conservative voters in the southwest and north. Both are fighting for the middle - the I-4 corridor - home to a diverse group of blacks, whites, hispanics, retirees and young workers - and nearly 40 percent of the state's independents.
"In the 2000 and 2004 elections, the Independent voters split right down the middle. This time out both parties are going after them heavy-duty" said political scientist Susan MacManus of the University of South Florida.
Both sides plan to spend the next crucial weeks trying to convert their neighbors - in a region that could decide whether Florida stays red or turns blue.
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scoreJ6
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well...there's always Ohio.. o wait and Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, .... Nevada.... and on and on
- 3 years ago
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scoreJ6
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SamuraiDave
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it's about time the good ole boys woke up and stopped voting against their own interests.
- 3 years ago
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SamuraiDave
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wierdobeardo
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I live in North Florida. A lot of republicans here. There's McCain signs everywhere, it's depressing because there's so much unemployment in my city and the majority don't even pay property taxes because their properties aren't worth 40,000 dollars. My town it seems like gets hit really hard because of economic failures.
The bible thumpers here are really pulling for McCain though. I guess i'm "going to hell for voting for a baby killer". It's absurd that this kind of thinking prevades over rational thinking in some areas and how credible candidates will lose votes due to many people's limited views.
- 3 years ago
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wierdobeardo
