I swear, If I see one more bumper sticker reading “1-20-09” or see another rolling to-the-second countdown clock on MySpace to 1-20-09, I’m gonna climb a bell tower with a rifle and a bag of Doritos and have me a grand old time, snacking & sniping. I guess the chips are optional.
For over a year now I’ve been seeing these countdowns, done by eager people who probably don’t even vote, waiting for the end of the Bush presidency. I guess these folks have a better source of information than me. Because according to them all of America’s problems will instantly go away on the 21st of January next year.
Wow, that’s amazing.
On the 22d, if I’m to believe the Sheeple, the economy will be on the upswing, gas will be a dollar a gallon, unemployment will cease, the mortgage crisis will evaporate and allow the housing market to auto-correct in a heartbeat, Social Security will be funded in perpetuity, and all troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will be home by the weekend.
What utter bollocks. That’s not optimism. That’s not even properly wishful thinking. That even surpasses fantasy and delves into The Moon Is Made Of Green Cheese.
Look, I get it. Americans on the whole are looking to be rid of an unpopular President Bush; I’m really not used to seeing a sitting President being so openly reviled by the nation. But no matter who wins it’s going to take a year or two to get us back on an even keel. I myself have never exactly been a staunch Bush supporter, but I’m also not so much of a starry-eyed idiot to think that all our troubles will be over on January 21, 2009. While he latest poll I saw showed Bush's approval rating at 31%, the latest poll for the Democrat-led Congress that I saw had their approval rating at a paltry and sickening 16%.
All the Bush Bashing and 1-20-09 countdown crapola has me seriously concerned about knee-jerk voting. So many people simply hate Bush that come November they’ll just blindly and ignorantly vote for whichever candidunce the Democrats foist off on the American public after they finish slitting each others’ throats at the convention this summer.
I’ve heard dozens of people say they were going to vote for Obama simply because he’s black. And still dozens more have said that they’ll vote for Hillary because Bill was such a good President…… (What coma these people were in during the 90’s is beyond me). But by far the most people I’ve heard have said that they were simply going to vote Democrat because they hated Bush. That, dear readers, makes no freakin’ sense whatsoever. Why?
Regardless of who wins, George W. Bush will no longer be President in January. Voting for a Democrat doesn’t hurt him. Not one iota. You’re not voting him out of office, people. He’s already leaving. Get that through your noggins.
So instead of voting for someone out of spite, make sure you’re voting for someone who honestly will represent your interests and beliefs. I personally will not be voting for either Democratic candidate, as I feel neither are really qualified to lead me or my country.
Senator Clinton has served but one term in the Senate, and although re-elected in 2006 to a second term, she’s spent most of that term chasing the nomination. She keeps saying that she’s qualified because her husband was President. Big whoop, lady; just because I have a CDL doesn’t make my wife qualified to drive a truck. My first wife was a teacher, so does that mean that by default I’m qualified to teach, too? I mean, we lived in the same house & all. Just because you lived in the White House, that doesn’t mean you’re qualified to sit in the Oval Office. Unless I miss my guess, you weren’t exactly aware of everything going on at Bill’s desk anyways. She wants universal health care but has no plan on how to fund it. Her campaign has been rife with scandal on illegal contributions and all the usual Clintonian baggage, and don’t even get me started on her alleged landing in Kosovo under sniper fire. I trust her about as far as I can throw her.
And then we have Barack Obama, a first-term Senator who has spent a good part of his time in the Senate trying to become President. Congressional records show that he missed about 25% of the votes in the Senate last year. Senator Obama’s issues with Jeremiah Wright and his desire to sit & have tea and crumpets with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran leave me worried about his ability to lead much more than a pack of Cub Scouts to the dumpster & back without getting lost.
I believe in lower taxes, smaller government, and a strong military that we don’t send pell-mell to every Third World crapfest conflict that crops up. I guess I’d consider myself a moderate conservative, since I don’t completely toe the party line of the Republicans. I support the death penalty but am pro-choice. I support gay marriage and advocate responsible gun ownership.
I’ll be voting for John McCain in November, it looks like, unless a legitimate third party candidate can actually get onto my state’s ballots and can accurately represent my interests. But so far, Johnny’s my man. He served two terms in the House before being elected to the Senate in 1986, bringing 26 years of experience to bear. He’s a retired naval aviator who flew over Vietnam and spent five and a half grueling years as a prisoner of war after being shot down. That builds a lot of character, character that you don’t always find when ducking Whitewater allegations or listening to Jeremiah Wright spew rhetoric for 20 years.
Granted, I do have some concerns over John McCain that trouble me. He’s a bit weak on immigration. Of course, the state he’s represented in Congress for 26 years borders Mexico, whose chief export is Mexicans. If he wants to appease the locals at home, he can’t really be seen helping Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA) building a border fence. And it seems that he’s pandering to Liberals by dabbling with the Global Warming conspiracy crowd, but over all, I think that given what we have to work with he’s my best bet. I honestly, deep down, do not feel that either Democratic candidate represents my interests.
But hey, don’t vote McCain because I said so. Vote for who you believe in. Please, do vote, and encourage everyone you know to vote. Don’t let American Idol have a better voter turnout than the Presidential elections of 2008. And for the love of all things small & fuzzy, don’t just knee-jerk Sheeple-vote Democrat thinking it’ll hurt Bush. He’s past caring who you vote for.
Wow, Steve gets political. That doesn't happen very often.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I agree with most of what you're saying (as I normally do, sick minds think alike) I think you owe it to yourself to look at ALL of the declared candidates and make a more informed decision. Instead of voting for John McCain simply because he's not Billary and he's not Osama (which is what it sounds like you plan to do), why not expand your choices to include EVERYBODY who's declared themselves a candidate, and vote for somebody who you REALLY think will do the best job?
Just because the state of South Carolina doesn't pre-print somebody's name on the ballots, doesn't mean you can't vote for them.
Your own post shows that you have your doubts about McCain. If you compare his stated positions to his actual voting record, you'll have further doubts. He's publicly stated that he expects to keep troops in Iraq for a hundred years, which is a big red flag for me (since my brother is one of the soldiers whose lives he wants a chance to use like a GI Joe figure.) And now his own campaign staff seems to be abandoning him left and right because a lot of his campaign funds are suddenly coming from places like France and Saudi Arabia.
As much as I respect McCain for being a veteran and a former POW, and for representing the best interests of his constituents (at least the ones who are rich land developers) I don't trust him. I believe he's done like 99% of all politicians, and sold himself out to the highest bidder. Which is sad, because I think at one point his heart was in the right place.
As for me, I've done quite a bit of research and have found only one candidate whose stated positions are close enough to my own that I can vote for him with a clear conscience... somebody whose voting record has not wavered over the twenty years he's been a congressman... somebody who voted against the 28,000-page Patriot Act which nobody had a chance to even try to read before being forced to vote it into law... somebody who understands what I feel to be the biggest issue facing the country, the continuing (and accelerating) economic rape of the country by the privately owned Federal Reserve, in their centuries-long quest to destroy the US Dollar and put the entire world under a single currency whose value they control.
I'll be voting for Ron Paul, no matter whether his name is pre-printed on the ballot or not. And while I'm not convinced he'll win (in fact I'm pretty sure he won't) the truth is that I'm just one person, and my vote by itself may not count for very much- but he has a better chance of winning WITH my vote than without it... that, and I care more about voting for the person who I feel will do best job, than I do about voting for who I think is going to win. And even if he doesn't win, the more people who do vote for him, the more attention the winner will have to pay to his message.
My brother is supposed to be home for his mid-tour leave sometime in June. His plans include at least one trip through Walterboro- if we can arrange to have lunch or something, I'll bring you my copy of Ron Paul's book "The Revolution: A Manifesto", if you haven't already read it. And while it does sorta work as campaign propaganda, it has more to do with shining lights into some dark corners and reminding people what the Constitution, that document which both you and I swore an oath to support and defend, actually says.
You know Steve, my long lost brother, I couldn't agree with you more. Being a gay American everyone assumes I'm going to vote for whatever Democratic candidate that is shoved down my throat. Which brings a spotlight to another kind of knee jerk voting. People of different microcosms have it ingrained in their genetic make up to always vote for a certain party. Fortunately for me, I have a brain and I consider my vote to be one of the most valuable things I have to give away. To be honest, to say I am less than impressed by the three candidates out there right now would be an understatement. I hate when the election rolls around and I walk to the polls with my oh-so valuable vote only to be stuck voting for the candidate I hate the least. I wrote a blog not too long about my feelings and I got an email from a gay relative admonishing me for not being a staunch Obama supporter. She told me I was doing the gay community and our country a disservice by supporting Hillary when she surely cannot win. Mind you, this email came from a woman with a PhD. Hillary may not be perfect, but one thing that impresses me about her is that she will not quit. So far, Obama has done nothing to impress me. He comes of as arrogant, condescending and out of touch. That's my opinion. If he gets the nomination, he has a long way to go to earn my precious vote. I'm really torn right now as it goes. If we had to vote today, I don't think I'd vote. I have a lot of reading and research to do before November. The biggest problem is that our election process is very elitist and only allows very rich people who can be bought and sold by corporations to get on the ticket. We've gotten way to far away from "We the people....." It seems we the people have lost our collective voice.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Bush countdown stickers are ridiculous. It's also ridiculous to think that Bush alone is responsible for the state of our country. Yes, he does come off as an idiot sometimes and he obviously pays no attention to what his speech writers write for him, unless his speech writer is Larry the Cable Guy, then he's right on the money. One person does not run this country, MANY people have a hand in that. MANY people are responsible for the state of our nation right now....including you and me. It will take a long time to undo what this administration has done and I'm not sure I believe that any of the three major candidates are up to the task.
Anyway, keep up the good work man. Peace.
You know...your friend John brings up a good point. I don't have to vote for the lesser of two evils. If I'm not impressed with the people printed on the ballot, then I can write someone in. i know, my gay relative will admonish me for "stealing a vote" from Obama, but if he doesn't try to earn it from me, he doesn't get it. I can vote for whomever I choose. It is MY vote to do with as I please. If more people realized that you don't have to vote for either a democrat or a republican, maybe we could take the power away from those two parties and give it back to the people. Truth is, "We the people" still have the power, we just don't use it.
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