Wherein I Finally Get Political
Oct 1st, 2008 by Nola
Most people in my little world are voting for Obama. And those voting for McCain tend to have very different opinions about how our country should be run.
My brother has very similar ideologies as me. Neither of us are necessarily voting over abortion rights, labor rights, immigration, or health care. We both are primarily concerned about the Iraq war and the economy.
To hear him and I speak, you’d realize quickly we agree on what the problems are. We tend even to agree as to what needs to be done to fix them. Yet, he’s voting McCain and I’m voting Obama. He calls me Obama Mamma. I just call him and laugh.
He thinks Obama is a great orator and showman. He thinks, though, that Obama is all words and no action.
I think McCain is sincere and patriotic. But I think McCain will follow the path of Bush: All attention on foreign policy while things here in the country deteriorate.
My brother makes one very strong point. He tells me that our family has never been as well off as we are now. We’ve been in America for 100 years, and it is just our generation that has graduated from college and may have substantial estates of worth to pass to our children. It drives him crazy to hear people complain about how misdirected Americans are. He says we need to travel the world to realize how great America is. Strong point, indeed.
But I do disagree. Yes, overall my family is in better financial shoes than it’s ever been. But at what cost? Our unhealthy dependence on oil is now costing us billions of dollars a month in Iraq. We wouldn’t be in the Middle East if there wasn’t oil there. And there’s also the issue of the oil’s effect on the environment. I personally would like to take care of the world I live in so that my child and her children have a world to live in. And Obama’s position is more in line with my philosophies than McCain’s.
Me? I want a safe world. A safe America. One that allows you to pursue your dreams and not be persecuted because of your religious beliefs (or lack thereof), your sexual orientation, or your country of origin. My ancestors were born in Germany. And Spain. And Canada. Then Louisiana.
And my brother will tell you he wants the same thing, a safe America. And, he’d say, to have that safety, we need to press on in Iraq. I disagree. Well, I agree that we NOW need to press on. But we had no business going there in the first place. No business other than finishing Pappa Bush’s unfinished business. And now we are at risk if we leave prematurely. Again, Obama’s position is more in line with my own philosophy than McCain’s.
My brother admits he is unsure of why the economy is faultering. Partly due to government, partly due to a free market. He’d say don’t have Congress do the Bailout as it was voted on Monday.
But I say that the economy is a result of the loosening of regulations over the financial institutions. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act went a long way in hurting our economy. And now we are in a crisis of epic proportions. A crisis that is DEMANDING government action. Government action that is being rushed. Rushed like the Iraq war was rushed. Ah! But the people are balking! Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, not so much. Now we fear our government and are suspicious when Bush says, “We must act now. Trust us. It’s for your own good. We will take care of you.” And THAT is a problem McCain is inheriting from Bush, whether fair or not. Because at the end of the day, all signs indicate that McCain would do what Bush has done. One needs only look at how McCain’s voted and not by what he says now to see that.
Both McCain and Obama are for a Bailout. I am against it. I may be wrong, but so far no one has been able to fully explain to me just how the markets will fail without the Bailout. No one has been able to tell me how that will impact my job, my home, my life. And no one can explain the $700 Billion figure that was apparently pulled from a hat. McCain, I fear, just doesn’t understand the economic situation, and Obama is generally for more government involvement. I don’t want more government in my life, I just want the government that is in my life to be competent. But at least Obama is following the line I’d expect him to follow. McCain? Why isn’t he saying let the market take care of itself? That’s the GOP line. I like knowing where I can expect my President to fall on an issue; I like some level of certainty.
And that’s the difference to me about our two candidates. Obama has a Big Picture of both America’s foreign affairs but also the very real and threatening problems afoot in our country. McCain has a precise and very clear view of the foreign policy and feels that issue is second to none in his role as President (and is probably the better man for that part of the job), but his grasp of the local issues just isn’t as crisp as it needs to be. And seeing his selection of Palin makes me seriously question his judgment in selecting advisers if he were President.
What’s your opinion? Am I missing something? If you post about this, please leave a link in the comments so that we can read it. Is anyone still undecided?
Stumble it!
Over the years I have found my views pulling more and more toward Libertarianism. The government needs to be much, much smaller and stay out of our bedrooms. The government should provide for a military, interstate commerce and judicial review. It is not the government’s responsibility to provide us with jobs or ensure that everyone can own a house.
I agree with you on this Fail Out. I believe in a free market economy. From that I derive that when private business does stupid things we should not bail them out. If a company goes bankrupt, someone else will step in and snap up the good parts and prune the bad. A bailout just bloats the current problem and defers the bad medicine. Economies go up and down; you cannot artificially keep it up 100% of the time.
And, when I saw some of the “goals” that senate bill set forth, OMG, how vague can you be. Ensure financial well-being and home ownership? What does that mean and how does one do that?
Sorry, I wrote enough here.
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Someone I know is going to be very disappointed with you, because like me, you don’t understand it’s all Clinton’s fault. Everything. Hi Dad!
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I liked what you said here: “I think McCain is sincere and patriotic. But I think McCain will follow the path of Bush: All attention on foreign policy while things here in the country deteriorate.” I was for Hillary. Obama wasn’t my first choice, but I’m supporting him now. The Democratic party has stood for what I believe to be my rights for quite some time now. I believe that all human beings have inalienable rights, but I’ve watched the Republicans fight against a woman’s right to choose instead of fighting to find homes for unwanted or abused children, instead of trying to reform our prison system. We have a higher percentage of our population (disproportionately black male) in prison than any other developed country in the world. They fight for embryos but not for viable human beings. That’s my major problem with the GOP.
My hubby and I are the only Democrats in either of our families. As you can imagine we’re the pariahs right now. At least I can have a conversation with my siblings, but his family is frothing at the mouth. Once again the politics in this country are tearing us all apart, but you know why? Because we all feel we have something major at stake. We know that this country is at a crossroads. The best thing you can do is to consider the issues seriously and then vote your conscience.
Peace - D
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Rock on! Nice post.
I disagree with you on the bailout. I’ve learned enough during the past couple of weeks to understand that a tight credit market will benefit no one. It’s already having an effect on some companies Sun Country Airlines is an example. Their employees are being forced to take a 50% pay cut. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=525781&catid=2
My hubby and I are the outcasts in my family as well. I like to hear others opinions (even if I disagree) but you can’t even discuss politics with them. Mom and sis call it “fighting” even if no voices are raised.
I’m looking forward to the debate tomorrow night.
Maybe you could look at the fact that neither McCain or Obama are going to be governing the country alone. They need a very smart and knowledgeable group of people that they can work together with. If you consider where Obama was politically even two years ago, his ability to choose good people and actually listen to them is astonishing. That is why he is in the position he is in today. Not only out of his own merit, but principally through the letting others do what they do best. That is, in my estimation, where his strength lies and what will make him an effective president. The fact that he is an intelligent and informed person also helps. McCain, on the other hand, does not seem to heed his advisers words, nor welcome criticism of his choices, even though, as in the case of Palin, indeed need explanation.
Thomas Friedman wrote in his NYT column, Rescue the Rescue, why this bailout is necessary for the individual,
” This is a credit crisis. It’s all about confidence. What you can’t see is how bank A will no longer lend to good company B or mortgage company C. Because no one is sure the other guy’s assets and collateral are worth anything, which is why the government needs to come in and put a floor under them. Otherwise, the system will be choked of credit, like a body being choked of oxygen and turning blue.
Well, you say, “I don’t own any stocks — let those greedy monsters on Wall Street suffer.” You may not own any stocks, but your pension fund owned some Lehman Brothers commercial paper and your regional bank held subprime mortgage bonds, which is why you were able refinance your house two years ago. And your local airport was insured by A.I.G., and your local municipality sold municipal bonds on Wall Street to finance your street’s new sewer system, and your local car company depended on the credit markets to finance your auto loan — and now that the credit market has dried up, Wachovia bank went bust and your neighbor lost her secretarial job there.”
The rest of the article is also interesting.
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I’m still undecided and that worries me. I can say that while at first I was pleased with McCain’s veep choice, I’m quickly becoming disillusioned. I never was excited about Biden, especially when he seems to be already challenging his candidate’s judgment. The two candidate both have plans I could be satisfied with, but now I feel I have to choose the lesser of two evils, and not who I believe to be the absolute best man for the job.
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Forgive me, but your opinion is very illogical.
You’re not for more central government involvement and control? That is the essential point of being a democrat. Democrats call for larger government control (i.e. more government programs to benefit the people). In fact, if anything, the bailout is more Democrat in concept that Republican. That’s the whole reason you’re called liberals! Because you take a liberal view of the constitution instead of a more strict and conservative view of it in which the states must run and fend for themselves.
And frankly, the assumption that McCain is Bush’s logical successor is unfounded. First of all, Bush’s family money comes from oil to some extent. McCain isn’t old money. He comes from a military family. And the fact that the guy was a POW tells me that when people bad mouth him as far as what he would do in Iraq should really keep their mouths shut. (Not telling YOU to shut up, just saying.) If ANYONE understands the cost of war, it would be a Vietnam POW.
As far as Iraq goes, we should have finished the job the first time around. Iraq was something that needed to happen. BUT it should not have happened when it did. We should have finished the job in Afghanistan instead of jumping it into Iraq. But we are there now. And as far as Obama’s concept of foreign policy and the big picture, nothing he says makes sense. He has openly said he plans to disarm America’s nuclear arsenal and talk other nations into doing the same. That’s retarded. Period. And frankly, taxing people in higher tax brackets will have more of an immediate effect on the poor. rich people don’t give up their money. They fire their employees to save money. Thats why car manufacturers keep shutting down plants. They want that money. Not to mention the fact that the very idea is communist in nature.
And lastly, how can you say you don’t care about immigration but you care about the economy? The two are intimately intertwined. Not attacking you, just asking.
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I am supporting the McCain/Palin ticket. I agree with LilaLia “that neither McCain or Obama are going to be governing the country alone.” So I am voting for whom I want to represent our country and whom I think will work well with others in making decisions for our country as well as have some serious (excuse me here) BALLS to protect our country from more homeland terrorism.
I also don’t believe in increasing taxes on the ultra rich. “Spreading the wealth” as Obama says and “building from the bottom up” just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Part of our great country is being able to build your own wealth and pass it on to your family.
I also feel it trickles down. I know some think the weathly are too greedy, but they are also very generous too. And if we take away too much of their money then they won’t donate as much to charities, start new businesses, grow their businesses, create jobs, invest in small businesses, stimulate our economy with their purchases, etc.
What is surprising to me in this election is how my parents have jumped ship from the Dem side for the first time ever - and I played no part in that I might add - like they would listen to me anyway. So has my best friend and her husband. Her husband and my dad are union men so this is a complete surprise to me. I am fascinated by the incredible interest everyone has taken in this election.
Lastly, you say that most people in your world are voting for Obama. (Well, except your parents!) I laugh at that because I feel the same way. I feel that most of my friends and relatives locally and elsewhere are voting for McCain. I think it will be VERY CLOSE on election night and quite frankly we will be lucky if we even know for sure who is our next president on Nov. 5th. No matter who wins on Nov 4th, there might be some recounting, lawsuits,etc . . . again
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