My Vote
November 4, 2008 2 Comments
For me this election has been both exciting and extremely frustrating. In 2000 I was an energetic early supporter of McCain. He was exactly the kind of conservative I wanted to be. Centrist, willing to reach across the aisle and not afraid of the party leadership. So fast forward to 2008 and I was initially over-joyed at McCain’s underdog clinching of the party nomination. Then things started turning ugly, not because McCain was a different person, but because his campaign has been horribly run at times. So many of Obama’s proposals went unanswered for too long. There were stumbles. There were mistakes. I don’t count the selection of Palin among them and for many reasons that I will likely discuss when this is all over, I still think Palin was a smart choice and hindsight is always 20/20.
Even though mcCain’s campaign has been less-than-inspiring at times, in my heart I know McCain would make a great president. In spite of the confidence I have in McCain I find myself casting a vote that is less pro-McCain and more anti-Obama. And I think it is important to say why:
- Reverand Wright. Obama spent 20 years in that church and he only left when politics forced him to. He sat in a pew and heard hateful, anti-American, race-baiting rhetoric and continued to give them his time AND his money. Call me a naive patriot but I want a President who would have had the courage to walk out the door.
- Ayers, Khalidi, etc. Obama crosses paths with radicals so often it is no longer explainable by coincidence. That scares me.
- He supports the Employee Free Choice Act which is anti-democratic and will cost this country jobs.
- He opposes school choice.
- In his time in IL he was openly hostile to gun ownership and I expect that trend to continue.
- He will do nothing to limit the number of abortions in this country.
- His tax policy does nothing to lift people up and will create a new generation of Americans dependent on the govt.
- He will work with Congress to cut defense spending by 25% in the middle of two wars.
- He has shown a willingness to use race to deflect criticism at every turn, even within his own party. I don’t want to be called a racist for the next 4-8 years because I disagree with him from time to time.
In 2004 if i made a list of concerns about John Kerry it would have been half this long. So the choice this year to vote against Obama is an easy one for me and I can honestly say I am more comfortable with this decision than any vote I have ever cast.
PC,
That’s a good, short, reasoned list. Sadly, the exception among McCain supporters, and Republicans more generally. If McCain had been the person you saw him to be 8 years ago, and told his campaign staff “No, this is how we run this or you get out” we might have a closer, more thoughtful election. And then some of the issues you cite could well be debated. They will not be, and McCain has only himself and the Republican Party to blame.
Me, it’s no secret I’ll cancel your vote with mine. That’s the beauty I suppose. Why, you ask?
1) Taxes – we’ve tried supply side/ trickle down economics since Reagan. It hasn’t worked, in that the gap in income between the rich and everyone else has grown, not shrunk. Jobs went offshore, and they are not likely to come back under McCain. And we’ve seen, in the current economic melt down, how short term profit motive overruns long term economic growth and stability. So keeping tax breaks for top tier earners won’t likely get us more jobs or a more stable economy.
2) Foreign policy & Iraq – I was not a war supporter, and I do not believe the sacrifices of our soldiers are “honored” by staying one day longer. Our presence in Iraq has made us a less secure nation, and McCain does not want to stop our actions there. He is still fighting to redeem our military from its failings in Vietnam through “Victory” in Iraq. All that aside, we live in an interconnected world, and our actions, and the reactions of other nations, do matter. Maverick diplomacy is not the way to go.
3) Individual rights – McCain, while he stood against Pres. Bush on torture, has not done one thing to protect my right to privacy, nor will he undo such things as the warrantless eavesdropping program. Frankly, I am not sure Obama will either, but I’m more hopeful.
4) The Environment – Republicans have forgotten that Conservation and Conservative are essentially the same word. If you drive your air and water to the point that they threaten your society, you are not doing a good or right thing. McCain has labored too long against the environment for me to think he will change. Ironically, Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act, Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act, which Republicans have spent so much time trying to gut.
I could go on. Perhaps, now that the campaign is over, we as Americans can get back to debating these issues, and to directing our politicians – who work for us – to do better. I’ll suggest the first topic – why disagreement about policy IS still patriotic.
Phillip,
Through the beauty of the electoral college your vote and mine will not interfere with one another. My wife may have canceled mine out (she doesn’t tell me who she votes for) but KY happily went red.