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Republicans: Not dead yet

• Claire Bolderson
• 30 Oct 06, 09:16 PM

Reading some of the warnings of impending Republican meltdown next week - coming from both sides I hasten to add - you鈥檇 think the party鈥檚 core supporters had vanished off the face of the earth.

Well, if rural Tennessee is anything to go by, they haven鈥檛 - and contrary to Karl Rove鈥檚 greatest fears, many of them will be turning out to vote. People like Janice Bowling, who has stood as a Republican candidate in the past and was busy persuading people to support the Republican candidate for the Senate at a big barbeque competition in .

As far as she, and many others I met there are concerned, the still stands for what they believe in: low taxes, no gay marriage, no abortion and above all belief in God.

As for the war in Iraq, they鈥檙e certainly not happy about it, but they don鈥檛 blame the Republicans. As one woman told me, it might not be going well, 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 to be expected.鈥�

And the scandals amongst Republicans in Congress? It just doesn鈥檛 seem to be an issue. In the smaller towns and the countryside, Republicans are more concerned with the character and experience of the local candidates.

Democrats, undecideds and some moderate Republicans may see this election as a verdict on the national leadership of the past five-and-a-half years, but the committed Republicans I met in rural Tennessee do not.

Claire Bolderson presents 91热爆 radio's World Tonight and Newshour

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Changing times

• Lourdes Heredia
• 30 Oct 06, 04:55 PM

How things have changed since 2004! Iraq was used to win the elections that year. Has it become a liability today?

I feel the new mood everywhere. Last weekend, for example, I saw Heather Raffo's amazing, exquisite one-woman play .

It is the story of different women in Iraq during the first Gulf War, during Saddam's regime and of course, during the actual conflict. It shows the human suffering caused by the war and it has some criticism of the .

I was sitting next to a Mr and Mrs Smith - season ticket holders who said they knew nothing about the play.

When the play ended, half of the audience or more stood up to give a long ovation to the actress. Mr and Mrs Smith stayed in their seats.

Mrs Smith praised the actress's "incredible energy", but added that she did not like the criticism of her president. Her husband found it a little "over the top" to compare the suffering of the women during the Saddam Hussein regime with the suffering of women during this war.

But, even if they didn't like the "message", Mr and Mrs Smith did not walk out on the performance.

Does that mean that they changed their mind? Will the play affect their vote?

I don't know, but what I do know is that the Smiths, like other Americans I know, are discussing Iraq much more now than before. Two years ago, debating the war was considered unpatriotic.

Today, they are at least willing to ask questions about the situation in Iraq.

Lourdes Heredia is Washington correspondent for the 91热爆's Latin American service.

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