It’s a no-brainer. They’re both terrible, and until the people of the United States relize this, we are doomed to continue our downward spiral with regard to the national economy and governmental corruption.
Admittedly, I’ve been apathetic this election season. The media’s loathing of Dubya prompted a much earlier than usual coverage of the nomination process, and I, being upset by this, refused to look at a television or read the paper if either ever mentioned anything about the 2008 election.
But alas, the nomination process is all but over. The actual election is only a few months away. So now, I feel much better about delving into the candidates’ platforms. Upon doing so, I am completely revolted at what I am finding.
Before we get to that, I feel compelled to rant about the media and the Democratic party and their focus on race and gender this election season. This is not important. Sure, one may regale on how far the US has come in the past fifty years, nominating and then possibly electing a black man… but wouldn’t it be even more impressive if that topic wasn’t even brought up? Obviously we still look at race as an issue, and until the media stops bringing it up, there’s no way that America will be able to move past it.
Anyway, on to the nominees. Basically, my argument is about the unconstitutionality of what they have done so far as Senators and what they propose to do if they get into office. McCain supports the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, and thousands of other programs that require the Government to tax every fucking currency transaction just so they stay afloat. He has no problem with the wiretaps and incessant spying by the Government on it’s own citizens. He doesn’t think that the hundreds of prisoners at Guantanamo, taken into custody without a documented reason, should have basic human rights to a trial (this honestly blows my mind). He has also somehow come to believe that it’s OK to torture of these prisoners to elicit information that they may or may not possess which, in turn, may or may not be reliable. It’s as if the Constitution doesn’t exist, or at least that Government officials are allowed to cherry pick which parts of the Constitution apply and to whom.
Obama’s absolutely no better. He is enamored with the concept of redistribution of wealth through Government-administered programs, which in turn would balloon the deficit over the next twenty years to 50 trillion dollars or more. He thinks the Government needs to be in charge of health care, retirement, medication, education, transportation, and every other blasted industry currently covered (very efficiently) by the private sector. To slightly offset this, he believes we should jack up the taxes even more so that our economy’s trip down the crapper will be complete. This is socialism at its finest, folks; Marx defined socialism as the point between Communism and Capitalism… seems we’ve arrived.
I’ve heard from so many people that I need to “vote for the lesser of the evils.” I could not disagree more; the American two-party system is a sham. The vast majority of citizens are forced to sacrifice one or more of their beliefs when choosing who to vote, and because they believe the quote mentioned earlier, not a single third-party candidate has ever been viable. People are afraid of voting for them, and as such we are never and will never be able to attain any substantial change (which, by the way, is a nice-sounding word which Obama likes to use a lot, but doesn’t seem to know what it means). I’m fed up with this, and from today forward refuse to bend to the status-quo.
I’m going to now quote/paraphrase a passage by my cousin, outlining our collective problems with the current candidates
First, it is refreshing to actually join the ranks of people who cannot stand McCain. Second, I will be honest, Obama, to me, is no better in my eyes. I will openly admit I am an avid Ron Paul supporter. After analyzing each candidate’s policy platform, I have come to the realization that each candidate has great policies and absolutely terrible policies. However, in the end, ultimately, both candidates are proposing unconstitutional policies. Thus, I have decided to vote for neither as I refuse to be forced into another two-party sham that results in the confirmation of the useless status quo.
I do not believe either candidate is insane. Instead it is the classical situation of each candidate attempting to appeal to as many voters as possible while maintaining party interests and loyalties. Obama is a left winger, and McCain…well, he is a hybrid, which I would have envisioned as a good thing. But not the way he’s going about it. I like that Obama wishes to bring our troops home. I like that Obama wishes to do away with the Patriot Act. I like that Obama is for gay rights and woman’s rights. I like his foreign policy better as well. However his idea to combat global warming is flawed, his economic policy simply will not work, he plans to spend quite a bit, and, frankly, taxing the “rich” is not the way to fix the economy or lower the deficit. He is creating class warfare and wishes to redistribute wealth. Increasing the dividends tax? Maintaining the AMT and estate tax? Neither of these are economically beneficial in any way.
For example, when Bush lowered the dividends tax and estate tax, the government actually took in more revenue from those two taxes than when each was higher. Why did this happen? Simple: because more people were willing to invest. Not to mention that making $250,000 a year does not make you rich. Unless you have no family, no wife and no dependents, it’s not much. How would I know? I have family that makes more than that, and not a single member lives an extravagant lifestyle. Personally, I am very middle class, and even though Obama wishes to give breaks to me I do not support the redistribution of income. Ever. Remember, rich is word that can be applied very differently by different people.
A lot of people fear Ron Paul and his ideas because the mainstream media pushes that agenda. I read his works, and what attracts me to him is that he follows the Constitution. Yes, that document that our politicians have disregarded for about a century or so.
Freedom. Liberty. As little government intervention in my person life as is feasible. I want my rights back. Obama may give me some of my rights back, but he will take others. A profit windfall tax on oil companies? Yeah, that worked really well when we did it in the late 1970’s [/sarcasm]. Universal Health care? Look at Europe and Canada. Hell, 68% of France’s GDP is debt stemming from their health care department! In the UK, citizens are now told what they can and cannot eat, what they can and cannot do because the government cannot continue to cover everyone unless their citizens’ health visits are minimized.
So what’s the common denominator in all of these issues? Government. Government is the problem. Do you truly want the same government that has destroyed Social Security, ruined Medicare/Medicaid, and mismanaged so many wars to run your health care? I certainly don’t. I know our system is flawed, but more Government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem! For another example, congress mandated that HMOs be put in place; now HMOs are the problem. The system perpetuates itself as a means to maintain itself.
Here is my dilemma. Each candidate, according to his platform, will do a handful of things very well, but a lot of things terribly. We’re faced with a Catch-22. If we get Obama, we gain a very few rights back and our foreign policy will be marginally better, but his economic policies won’t work. If we get McCain, we’ll probably lose some rights, have a terrible foreign policy, but the economy might be slightly better off.
And we are left in the middle, deciding what issues are most important to us as individuals. I refuse to do it. We have a document, beautifully constructed, that answers all the questions and provides solutions, and yet for so long we have disregarded it. Now we are beginning see the end result. Therefore, I am forced to write-in Ron Paul. His voting record is impeccable. He is a self-made man. He only follows the Constitution, and that is what we need. Not more Government. Not more Religion. Not more bureaucrats. Not more special interest groups and lobbyists. Not more party loyalties.
Being a free thinker is key on this issue. I’ve attempted to mix things up in a conservative environment, but I was attacked from all sides just for trying to talk openly about the presidential race. One girl even stated she would be voting for McCain because she was anti-abortion! I could not believe that was all she cared about. But that’s what I mean when I say people are now voting for what the government will do for them. Not what is constitutional, not what is best for everyone’s rights, freedom, and liberty. It disgusts me. The more research I have done, the more I have become disillusioned over the politics-as-usual status quo that does nothing but damage our great nation. Thus I have broken all party connections and loyalties in search of the truth, liberty and freedom from the relentless tyranny of USA.
I couldn’t have said it better.
