Friday, September 19, 2008

DECISION 2008 – HELP!

Daddy always said never to discuss politics or religion. "It's a good way to lose friends." That being said, here we go……

As our presidential election draws nearer, I am becoming more frustrated every day. I am not a political thinker. (A fact that will become more evident as you read further) As an American citizen, I appreciate the privilege and feel it my duty to cast my vote come November 4th. I have tried to do my homework but with each article I read, interview I watch, commercial I see, I am becoming more and more confused. I liken it somewhat to coming into the middle of a movie with a very complex plot. I feel like I just can't catch up. I'm missing half the story.

After careful consideration of all my options, I registered as a Democrat at the age of 18 because well….uh…..my parents were Democrats. However, I am not a loyal party member. I have always voted for the individual I felt would do the best job. (Sorry, Daddy) That decision has never been harder for me than it is in this presidential election.

Some random thoughts on the decision at hand:

  • I have no problem with an African-American president. If it's the right person, I wouldn't care if he or she had green skin with purple nose hairs. (It would be hard to take him or her seriously but wouldn't they look great in high-def?)
  • I have no problem with a woman president. I do however feel that it is an insult to the intelligence of American women to assume that we will vote for the McCain/Palin ticket simply because there is a woman on it.
  • I watched both the Democratic and Republican national conventions. Based on their speeches, I would vote for all of them. Senator McCain doesn't have the charisma of his running mate or either party on the opposition but still I heard his message and liked what I heard. The problem is that I don't believe any of it. I'm not saying they don't have good intentions. I just think that once in office, it becomes much harder to follow through on the promises made.
  • I think that when the parties spin their version of the "truth" and the media bites, we are left distracted, dazed and confused.
  • It bugs me when I hear people, friends even, say they will vote for one or the other based on one issue. I have Christian friends that will vote Republican only because of the pro-life position. Don't get me wrong, I AM a Christian and I am pro-life (personally) but we will leave that discussion for another day. My point here is how much of the president's job is centered on that stance? Does that mean I would be good presidential material? Now isn't that a scary thought!
  • I have other friends who will vote Republican because they are gun freaks enthusiasts. And here's where I'm at risk for losing friends on both sides. I believe we have a right to bear arms and MHS and I are regulars at the gun range. Never mind that in order to "bear my arms", in an emergency, I would have to find my cell, look up the safe combination, ask the "perp" (learned that on TV) to wait just a minute, open said safe, load the magazine into the gun and then …. Ready, aim……better run, Mr. Bad Guy. If you are said bad guy, this section was written for the purpose of entertainment only and in reality my "piece" is ready and with me at all times. And now I've lost half of you.
  • On the other hand, I believe that it was really too easy for us to obtain our guns. I have to assume if it was easy for us, it's easy for anyone including Mr. Bad Guy which is why you can't turn on the news without hearing about a drive-by shooting, robbery or some other sinister and devastating tragedy. So, clearly we need more restrictions. And there goes the other half.

Anyone still there? Anyone? Oh, there you are. Confused, just like me? Well, read on and maybe together, we can create world peace, conquer the world figure this out.

  • The Obama camp is all about change. Well, I'm all for that. I definitely don't want four or Heaven forbid, eight more years of the same. The question for me is; will things really change? And if so, will they be the right changes?
  • The Republicans want us to believe that John McCain is a better choice because of his military service and the fact that he was a prisoner of war. While I have great respect for his service to our country and the sacrifices he made for us; does that alone make him the best choice for president?
  • I have to say that I admire Sarah Palin for even entertaining the idea of being the VP. She is undoubtedly a better woman than me. She is just a few years younger than me, has a brand new baby and is running for office. I am quite certain that if I had a baby today, I would lay it down somewhere and forget where I put it. I am in awe. And I salute you, Sarah! (oops, make that Governor Palin!)

When D1 was 13, she told me that, "The problem with you, Mom, is that you want all the skies in your world to be blue all the time. Life just isn't like that." Well, isn't she just a little SMART MOUTH! So what if I'm a bit of a Pollyanna. I say, GOOD FOR ME! What the hell is wrong with that!

I want what I think everyone wants. Here are just a few of the blue skies I would like to see in my world:

  • Affordable healthcare
  • Outsourcing jobs to other countries stopped, incentives for industry to stay in this country thereby creating/keeping jobs here.
  • A college education available to every student that is willing to work for it.
  • Help the needy in a way that doesn't perpetuate the problem.
  • A strong military with good, strong leadership. (If this blog doesn't die today, I might just elaborate one day)
  • Economic RECOVERY (Well, duh)

I could go on but I think that I've probably said enough already to alienate most if not all of the readers of this blog. The blogosphere is full of posts with very definite opinions. So, I figure this is as good a place as any to get some much needed answers to my ever-growing list of questions. So, readers: I'm on the fence. Tell me why I should vote for your guy. Feel free to tear me down (gulp) or build me up (I can dream, can't I?) Or are you as confused as I am?

Go ahead. Make my day!



17 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a powerful post and from the beginning where you confessed to registering Democrate, it could have been me writing. I kept having to look up to make sure I wasn't back on my own site. LOL That said, I've made up my mind but I'm not going to go into why because it's only a gut feeling that has made my decision. That being said, all the people yelling "change" sound good, but we don't know if it will be good change or worse change. We've had a democratic controlled house for nearly 4 years and we all know the President might be the President but the house has the most control so why haven't we seen some of that "change" over the last 4 years? It's politics as usual, no matter who wins. I'm disgusted with it all but I'm only one person and want to live out my years in freedom and be thankful for having the opportunity to do so. I also want my children and my grandchildren to have the same affords so I can only pray that God is in control of all this and anyone else is just a person with a title. Now, on another note, what you said obviously came from your heart. I don't think you've alienated anyone with this post and if you have, then big deal. You spoke the truth about how you felt. You are the best!

Smart Mouth Broad said...

Gee, thanks. You are right, of course. Leave it to God and pray for the best. I need to add that in my dazed and confused state, I neglected to mention that with all our problems, I still believe this is the BEST place in the world to live and I'm proud to be an American.

Anonymous said...

You and me both! Oh, and I know there's no "e" on democrat" but in my hast to write and get the word verification right after 3 tries, I forgot to proof read.

Pseudo said...

Please vote for Obama/Biden. I have to get ready for work and don't have time to go into all the details. I will tell you that I double majored in Political Science and English and have a Mater's degree in English education. I only say that because I consider myself a good critical reader and I read a lot. I read both sides. I look up voting records. I'm registered democrat, but often vote republican if I think it is the better choice. I voted republican for Hawaii's current governor and also for my district's city council.

My hope for our country:
Better health care.
Someone who looks out for the working middle class.
An exceptionally intelligent and thoughtful leader.
Better relations with the rest of the world.
I could go on. But I believe that Obama and Biden are the better choice and live in fear of the McCain/Palin ticket.
Here's some good links:
http://onediasozarks.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-am-afraid.html

http://phhhst.blogspot.com/2008/09/manic-monday.html

I think you are very brave with your post and I admire your honesty.

Anonymous said...

Okay, to throw an "outsider's" view into the mix - however, I won't try to convince you why you should vote for "my guy." I doubt if I'd be able to.

I will vote Libertarian. I always do. I do not believe it is a wasted vote - I believe the wasted votes are the votes for the status quo. There IS a third party in this country.

Libertarian's want to keep government to a minimum, which would eliminate things like the IRS, but would also cut the vast majority of social services, including Medicare and Social Security. So the Democrats don't like us. Libertarian's also believe that God and State should remain separate, no one should tell you who you can or cannot sleep with and if you want to marry a person that is the same gender as you, go right ahead - it is YOUR RIGHT. So the Republicans don't like us either.

This, of course, is an extremely simplistic explanation - the policies of the Libertarian party are, of course, far more comprehensive and you can learn more about them at www.lp.org, if you like.

I will also say that were there no other choice I would exercise my right not to vote at all. Voting for Senator McCain is definitely a vote for the status quo. I do not believe he is as incompetent as President Bush, but there is enough in his stated policy that makes me very uncomfortable going forward with him. I also would not vote for Senator Obama, if for no other reason that I believe he simply does not have the experience necessary to be President. He seems to have very grand plans for this country - some I simply don't agree with - but doesn't say just HOW he plans to go about implementing them.

There, I just saved you, because I'm sure I alienated far more people than you did. LOL

Lori said...

All I can say is AMEN to everything you said...because it's pretty much how I feel and many other people I know feel the same way. I don't think you will lose any of your readers by sharing how you feel. Even if I didn't agree with you I wouldn't stop reading your blog just because we have different opinions.

I seriously don't trust most polititions(I am sure I spelt that word wrong) because it seems that they can say one thing but do another.

Anonymous said...

Ok..i'm not sure it is appropriate for me to comment on U.S. politics as i am not American...but i will tell you...we are all watching with bated breath because what happens down there does affect us up here...we're neighbours, and if one guy in the neighbourhood buys a big noisy muscle car it affects us all, as does the guy who plants flowers and complains about our kids playing in front of his house...a crazy ass metaphor i know...but i think you know what i mean...

as for your list...those are honourable concerns...my only suggestion would be to find out the bottom line on each candidates stand on those exact issues...not the media's spin cos they are usually grossly inaccurate versions...

and just to add a little lightness to the discussion...are you aware that Canada is also in the middle of an election?...yup yup...called about 2 weeks ago...and we'll be finished, votes counted and government established by October 16th i think...that's 6 weeks to accomplish the same thing as you guys have been working on for how long?...don't know whether to laugh or cry...oh and we play a quick game of road hockey to decide hanging chads...:)

Smart Mouth Broad said...

PHST & Jan - I'm taking it all in and appreciate the homework you are giving me. Just what I wanted, seriously.

Smiles - Hugs to you. We're in the same boat.

Thistle - Of course you get to comment too. Thank you for the wise advise, I will do just that. Oh and aren't you Canadians just "SPECIAL"! Don't you know it takes a good year or even two to really screw things up royally! And that hanging chad remark. Ouch. I live in Palm Beach County, you know. LOL

Anonymous said...

well there...now you can suggest what?...maybe touch football, if you have a problem again this year...go gators...

I'm not trying to make too light of all this, i like that you have gone so far as to identify what you consider the important issues and just now need to find out more about them...we should all be putting that much into our decision...THAT is our real civic duty...on both sides of the border

Smart Mouth Broad said...

Thistle - I appreciate you opinion on civic duty but tell me you didn't just say, "Go Gators" on my site! *wink*

Anonymous said...

MLS is right. This is a powerful post. You have posed some awesome questions. I know who will receive my vote in November. I also know that it is not my place to TELL anyone who to vote for. Do I hope you'll vote for my guy? Yes. But only you know how you feel and only you can answer the question. Sounds like you are on the right track though.

Anonymous said...

oops...was that bad?...good thing i didn't suggest gator wrasslin' to decide that chad thingy then...LOL

Smart Mouth Broad said...

Fancy - I sure hope you are right.

Thistle - I thought you were referring to the University of Florida Gators who are the biggest rival of D1 and D2's school. Sorry about that. LOL

Anonymous said...

hmmm...actually i guess i was refering to 'those' gators...being Canadian, eh...really don't know who's rivals and who isn't down there...our University and collegiate sport system is as different from yours as our political system is...deepest apologies LOL

Bookworm said...

Nothing wrong at all about posting how you feel. Posting a political post feels scary -- believe me; I've done it, and stirred the sh*t while I did it. Never apologize for your point of view, or for expressing it. Remember the 1st Amendment! :-)

That being said, I feel like today's ticket will be decided because one side has a black guy and one side has a woman. Not because of more important issues. And that isn't good at all.

And the generic "change" isn't useful, at all. I think we need specifics. In my personal opinion, I think Obama is an "empty suit." And that is a phrase that means, "an ineffective executive." Due to Obama's lack of experience, I feel like he is the puppet of a much larger and darker politcal machine that will actually be the ones running the country, should he be elected. I know that sounds all conspiracy theory-ish and all, but it comes down to this: Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they AREN'T after you. Right?

So is McCain better? Marginally. I think it comes down to the lesser of the two evils. I personally think that we haven't had a good hero-president since Reagan, and perhaps after what Clinton did, we never will.

And until we develop the technology to do a "vulcan mind meld" we will never truly be able to know what is going on inside the minds of political candidates -- what their motivations are, what their morals are, etc.

Anyway, great post! No worries; we're still all here! :-)

Bookworm said...

Oh, and just in case:

Disclaimer: Before the feathers start to fly because I used the word "dark" in conjunction with Obama, I did NOT mean that in any context with "darkie" or any other derogatory term. Just because he's Black or African American or whatever the PC term is, and I used the word DARK in the same sentence, that does not in any way have any meaning other than "arising from or showing evil traits or desires." And I don't mean that I think HE's evil because he's Black; not at all. I think that he is either the willing or unwilling puppet of a larger machine that is using him to get into power. That's all I meant by dark. The word "dark" and the fact that Obama is "of color" have nothing to do with one another.

Please don't send me hate mail!

(geez I hate political correctness!)
LOL

Smart Mouth Broad said...

This is great! You guys are awesome and believe me, I'm taking it all in.

ML Mama - I know what you mean, it's hard to tiptoe around all this pc nonsense. When did we become such a sensitive bunch of weenies.

Thistle - So forgive my ignorance but what or who exactly is a Canadian gator? And sorry again about the mix-up.