http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/...eut/index.html

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A pro-Kerry letter-writing campaign by Britain's left-leaning Guardian newspaper, targeting undecided U.S. voters, has provoked outrage across the Atlantic.

The paper has encouraged its readers to express their opinions on the November 2 presidential election to voters in the key swing state of Ohio -- to the fury of Clark County, about 45 miles west of Columbus, the state capital.

"Hey England, Scotland and Wales, mind your own business. We don't need weenie-spined Limeys meddling in our presidential election," was one of the e-mail reactions to the campaign.

The Fox national cable television network tore into the newspaper and even John Kerry's own Democrats expressed horror at the campaign.

"We all feel it is not a good idea. I think it was unwise. It is so poorly thought-out," said Sharon Manitta, spokeswoman in Britain for Democrats Abroad.

But the newspaper, whose cartoons regularly portray President George W. Bush as a semi-literate ape, was unrepentant.

"We did consult a number of opinions and made our decision accordingly," assistant features editor Paul MacInnes told Reuters. "It has been an operation to give our readers an opportunity to express their opinions."

With just two weeks to go before the election, Kerry is running neck and neck with Republican incumbent Bush.

Ohio is a key swing state which Bush won by just four percentage points in 2000, and Clark County is at its heart.

The campaign is a bid to sway voters on the county's electoral register who have declared themselves undecided.

As of Monday night, more than 14,000 people had registered to write to a voter in Clark County, which has a population of just 143,000.

Individuals like film director Ken Loach, spy writer John Le Carre, historian Antonia Fraser and opposition Liberal Democratic parliamentarian Menzies Campbell have all written in their own capacity -- not that their names necessarily carry much weight in Clark.

The Guardian, which simply bought a list of registered voters and extracted the undecided, pledged that it would only give out the name of each voter once, to avoid them being swamped by unsolicited mail from complete strangers.

"We know that in many ways this is the world's election, and we understand the passion and concern in many parts of the world over it. But I wonder how people here in the UK would react to Americans telling them how to vote," Democrats Abroad's Manitta said.

"This will certainly garner more votes for George Bush. I have strongly advised other media entities who have come to me and suggested this against doing so," she added.

While some e-mails to the Guardian from Democrats in Ohio were supportive, others suggested the campaign was misguided.

But their mild admonitions paled into insignificance against the more reactionary views received by the paper.

"Real Americans aren't interested in your pansy-ass, tea-sipping opinions. If you want to save the world, begin with you own worthless corner of it," wrote one from Texas.



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Copyright 2004 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

those scone eating, warm beer drinking, wrong side of the road driving......

""Real Americans aren't interested in your pansy-ass, tea-sipping opinions. If you want to save the world, begin with you own worthless corner of it," wrote one from Texas. "

Good response jp5!!

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I was banned from godlike productions(over 400 times)... and loved it.

"I haven't made you angry, have I?" -Malcolm Reynolds

Unless of course we want your troops to help us in Iraq and want to be able to keep whining that we have a real coalition.

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The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself. George W. Bush

I doubt very much that they would like if an American website urged people to write to Brits to condemn one of their leaders in order to alter their election.

....However....it is a bloody stupid idea in the first place....

I have no idea what they thought they were going to achieve....

I would like to remind the toothless among us that if it weren't for the Poodle your second largest ally in "Operation Liberate Iraqi Oil" would be the Aussies.....with 850 soldiers...

Oh, and btw...let's go easy on the teeth jokes.....at least we HAVE teeth...

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The last time this country mixed politics with religion, people got burned at the stake.

a brit making jokes about the dental qualities of others! How brilliant. Cousin loving? Wasn't that practiced in the scottish highlands til a fairly recent date?

This can only help Bush.

double decker bus driving, Benny Hill watching, Blood sausage eating, queen watching.......

Smiles like looking into a broken mirror. Teeth going in eight directions. That alone is enough to avoid socialized medicine, who wants those dentists! But I love the Brits, just not their media. They should mind their own business.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.