You know - it seems lately that all I get is CRAP because I am choosing to vote Republican. This really pisses me off. I mean seriously - a carfull of Obama supporters yelled at me repeatedly and called me ugly name while I was parked at a stoplight, all because I have a McCain Paulin sticker on my car. I had 2 other people make snide comments to me as well about my political choices.
I don't harass ANY of you about how you are voting. If you ask me why (which only 1 person has done), then I will answer the question. But I don't give any of you Obama lovers crap. This is AMERICA - and you have the right to vote however you choose, regardless of how stupid that choice may be.
That being said, a few people reading this may choose to stop reading right now. (Which - in my experience - many Obama supporters tend to do. Many of them are not interested in any sort of constructive dialog - they just want to yell at you about how much you hate the environment, and how you hate "CHANGE".)
So - my friends, total strangers - whoever may end of reading this: I would like to set the record straight about WHY I am voting the way I am voting.
For beginners, I am not a huge fan of either ticket. I didn't even vote for McCain in the Primary. I am technically registered a Republican, but that doesn't really tell you the whole truth about where I stand. (In parentheses in the party traditionally aligned with that position.)
I am pro-environment (Democrat). I may drive an SUV, but I do all that I can to offset that carbon footprint. I recycle diligently. I shop yard sales. I use compact fluorescent bulbs and unplug things. I am pro-choice (Democrat.) I believe it is a women's choice to make about her own body, although I do support parental notification. (If you had a child, you would too.) I am pro-gun control (Democrat.) I am a fan of the Fair Tax Plan (Libertarian.) I am in favor of doing all that we can and/or need to do in the name of National Defense (Republican.) I am against programs that enable people instead of assisting them (Republican.)
I think it's unfair to claim that two people will be "just like the old President" and "more of the same", just because they happen to belong to the same party. If you or I were judged like that, we would be greatly offended. It's like saying that if you took over a job that another person left, and you both went to the same college, everyone is expecting you to make all the same mistakes that the person before you did. This is completely irrational. Everyone is different, and it's discriminatory to made blanket judgments like that.
I am a VERY informed voter. As a matter of fact, I spent a whole afternoon looking at the voting records for each candidate in the 110th Congress. I do NOT get my information from SNL. I listen to Bill O'Reilly AND Nancy Grace. I watch Fox News and MSN. I am offended when people say Sarah Palin cannot do the job because she's just a "hockey mom" or because she's "from a small town." I think Moms may be better qualified than ANYONE to make huge decisions, and to act in the best interest of a larger group of people. It's what we do everyday. And the small town thing? Once upon a time, our Country was founded with the premise that ANYONE could run for office and help our Country. What difference does it make if she's from a small town or not?
Do I want "more of the same?" Interesting question. In the past 8 years, we have made more money. Our investments have grown (even with the economic crisis). We pay the higher tax bracket, alongside the millionaires, because someone somewhere determined that we are "rich." No one has attacked any of our civilian citizens on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001. Overall, our family is better off now than we were 8 years ago.
Today, I heard a clip from an Obama speech. He actually said that he wants to restructure the American tax system so that it will benefit the "middle class." I HAVE A HUGE FREAKIN PROBLEM WITH THAT. I am more than willing to give charitable donations to organizations who help people in need. However, I am NOT in favor of anyone forcing me to give up any(more) of my family's income so that they can give it to people someone has determined as being "in need" based on how much money they do or do not possess. This leaves SO MANY factors out there not being accounted for. Is the "needy" person in a tight spot? Or did they just make stupid decisions? Maybe they're just lazy. Who knows. The point is, we are not rich (even though we pay tax percentages as if we were...) We are comfortable because we : a)are careful, b) work hard, and c) make good financial choices. In America, it is now considered to be a crime to be a success. If you work hard and do well for yourself and your family, you will be penalized because a certain Presidential candidate and his party thinks it's "not fair." My mom always told me "Life isn't fair." This phrase is usually in response to a child whining about some perceived inequity that exists only to the complainer.
And it doesn't take a Nobel Prize winning economist to figure out what will happen if the larger businesses and successful people in this country are penalized MORE than they already are. If these organizations & people are taxed more, then they cannot afford to hire as many employees. They cannot afford to pay as high wages. They will have to skimp on benefits, including health care in some cases. Many people will say "screw this - I'm moving my money to the Bahamas, where I'll only have to pay 11%." This takes income and currency out of circulation in America. This is all bad for the economy.
Basically it all boils down to this for me. Neither ticket matches my perspective 100%. I match some on the Republican side, and some on the Democrat side. Some on the Libertarian side. Obama and Paulin have less experience than I would like. Biden and McCain are older than I would like. So I tick off the issues here and there, and at the end of it all, there's only 2 things left. TAXES (as detailed above) and NATIONAL DEFENSE. McCain has experience in Military Affairs and National defense, and Obama doesn't. Period.
Go back and think about where you were and what you were doing at around 10:00 am on Sept. 11, 2001. I know where I was. I was on my couch, holding my 3 month old baby, crying and wondering if my husband's plane had been hijacked. Would I be a widow? Was I already? Would my baby girl have to grow up without her daddy? Bart was on the very last plane that departed Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta (big city), heading to New Orleans (big city.) For about 2 hours, I called his cell phone every 5 minutes, and flipped back and forth on the TV channels waiting for more news on the plane hijackings. For the next several weeks - months - I cried every time I saw an interview with a wife who lost her husband - kids who lost their moms or dads. My heart broke for every parent that lost a child. Babies who would never be held by their father. Even today - I am still very emotional about it. I cry during the moments of silence we observe every year.
People have forgotten how they felt back then. We have relaxed, and we have let our guard down. It is a common fact that there is a faction out there - primarily religious, partially political - that wants to see the downfall of America. The great country that my grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought for. THEY WANT TO KILL US ALL. They want to kill MY BABIES. They want to kill MY NEPHEW, and MY FRIENDS. They are still out there, and they are not interested in military personnel. They want to take out innocent people - people going to work, people running errands. We have forgotten that they are still out there, waiting for us to relax.
So it comes down to National Defense - who will protect my children the best - and Taxes - who will allow me to provide for my children the best.
And that's it - the whole of it. You may call me selfish, and so be it. But my children are more important to me than anything else on this earth, and I make my decisions based on what I believe will be the best for them.
I have seen two interesting quotes in the past 2 days that I will close with. The first was "McCain spent more time as a Prisoner of War than Obama has spent in the Senate." The second was "I'd like to keep my money. You can keep the 'change'."
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