Elections are only two weeks away. Regardless of which party wins, history will be made. Racial and gender boundaries have been broken, dare I say shattered by Senators Clinton and Obama and Governor Palin.
The landscape of America is covered in fear, anger and mistrust of the government. The past 16 years have seen more political corruption at least in terms dollars than all of American history prior. Republicans in power lost their foundational values and grabbed for power. Democrats filibustered Republican efforts to accomplish what little they actually set out to do. Democrats gained power in both houses two years ago running on platforms of lower taxes, family values, and ethics reform yet, Nancy Pelosi's leadership has not met those promises: Homosexual marriage has now been forced upon three states by their activist judicial system, Democrat scandals equal Republican scandals in type and dollars spent i.e. Florida Representative Tim Mahoney(D) had the same kind of sex scandall as his predecessor Mark Foley (R) except (in a bizarre twist of fate) Foley had the homosexual scandal. Speaking of homosexual scandall, Senator Barney Frank installed his lover in Fannie Mae a few years ago then lobbies for less regulation on the quasi-government entity while receiving $40,000.00 in campaign donations from Fannie (clearly, Barney was into Fannie). What about New York Democrat Charlie Rangel's tax evasion? He wrote the tax code and he didn't know he was supposed to pay taxes?!? Preposterous!!! I don't even want to start on Louisiana Representative William Jefferson (D). Although I lay a lot of blame at President Bush's feet for the enormous budgets he approved through his "compassionate conservatism" platform, Democrats neglect to mention that they have been in charge of both houses by a comfortable margin for the past two years and the houses make the laws.
Now, I know, this is supposed to be the funny blog. The serious stuff goes on the serious blog; but this blog gets more traffic. To appease your sense of humor, I suggest visiting this link and allowing Hall & Oates "I Can't Go for That" to play in the background while you read.
I have decided that I simply can not vote for Senator Barack Obama. My reasons are more practical than his associations with Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, ACORN, and William Ayers. My reasons are issues based. Left wing kooks will stop reading here and begin calling me a racist. Does that mean they are sexist if they don't vote for Palin? For those of you who are not kooks, let me lay out my case:
1. Economics: Senator Obama's economic plan will give a greater tax refund to most middle income Americans. I believe the average is 3x that of McCain's plan. In return for your $1,000 per year tax reduction, you get increased government programs, increased dependence on government, and stifled job growth. Obama and Biden both have said that Obama's plan, Obama Hood, will rob from the rich and give to the poor; Obama when he told "Joe the Plumber" that he wants to share the wealth, and Biden when he said that it is America's patriotic duty to pay more taxes. America is in it's worst economic state since Jimmy Carter ran the country in the 70's and these two want us to go the direction of France. In order to stimulate the economy, we need to create jobs. Small business, many of which bring in more than $250,000.00 per year, need lower taxes to be able to afford to hire more employees. With Nancy Pelosi's increased minimum wage (the one thing she has accomplished in congress), small businesses are already suffering and many are unable to give raises to employees of any level this year. We aren't talking about AIG here, we are talking about mom and pop shops.
Let me digress a moment. When we talk about patriotism, we should be talking about duty, honor, and country. A sense of duty is reflected in unflinching selfless service to our country and defense of our constitution. Honor parallels integrity, truthfulness, character, and choosing to do what is right regardless of cost. The concept of country embodies our American spirit--the American way: A land of opportunity, a government of the people for the people by the people, and (unlike most of the world) free trade, personal discipline, and independence. Mr. Biden, paying taxes is an inevitability (like death) but it is not patriotic. Rather, I would say, fighting an unjust tax with a tea party is more patriotic than paying the unjust tax.
2. A Culture of Life or Death? I will take a lot of heat for this statement, but it is the truth as I see it: America has sacrificed the lives of thousands of innocents on the alter of licentiousness. We have traded our weakest and most vulnerable for the "right to sexual freedom." Abortion has become a mainstream phenomenon. Even atrocious practices like partial-birth abortion are defended by the culture of promiscuity. Do I believe in choice? Yes I do--and that choice comes before the legs are opened. What about rape or incest? As horrible as these acts are, they are rare exceptions and should not be the basis of a nationwide law. Barack Obama opposes restrictions on abortion, opposed the "Born Alive Infants Protection Act", and even said he would not want his daughters "punished with a baby." Regardless of the circumstances surrounding conception, these babies did not choose their parents and should not be punished with manslaughter. Partial birth abortion, for instance, brutally takes the life of an infant who can survive outside the womb. Partial birth abortion is infanticide. The procedure allows for most of the child to exit the birth canal before destroying it. One more push and the baby is born. Put it up for adoption or leave it at a sanctuary location such as a hospital, fire station, or police station. By the way, I applaud the efforts of organizations like STOPP International for getting Planned Parenthood out of their communities.
Three decades ago, we were told by liberals that we could not legislate morality and that we should let the individual make his or her own decisions about sexual liberty. The result is increased abortion, sexually transmitted disease, and the introduction of perversion into our public school curriculum. Now liberals tell us we must legislate their new morality by restricting companies that might injure "mother earth", allow tax payer funding of abortion on demand, etc. Make up your mind.
3. A Man of (Dis)Honor: Horrible attacks and accusations have been made throughout the campaign by supporters of all candidates. When the Republican party implied that Senator Obama was Muslim, when Bill Cunningham harped on the middle name "Hussein", and when rally attendees yelled racial slurs, Senator McCain rebuked them and defended Senator Obama's honor. When Hollywood radicals assault Sarah Palin, when Democratic supporters attack everyman-Joe, and Democratic Representative John Lewis made unsubstantiated racist attacks against McCain, Obama said, " ": that's right, nothing. Oh, Democratic surrogates, for the record, an attack on "Joe the Plumber" feels like an attack on me, Joe Citizen. Refusal to defend Joe is equivalent to refusal to look out for me.
4. Checks Without Balances: Perhaps the most compelling reason I can not vote for Senator Obama is that the radical left has already overtaken both houses of congress. With a congress so skewed, we must have an executive branch that will bring balance to Washington. An Obama presidency will issue a blank check to the Democratic controlled House and Senate to fulfill the Democratic platform of stronger labor unions, tax-payer funded abortion, weakened defense, and open boarders. Washington has already issued two tremendous checks in the form of an economic stimulus package and a Wall Street bailout. Pelosi already plans another stimulus check. More government spending will not help our country. A president from the minority party will give balance to Washington and limit the George Soros agenda.
5. Second Amendment Rights: Early this year, I was attacked in my home. I did not have a gun at that time. I thought my house would be safer without a gun since I had a small child. My perspective has radically changed and my son is learning about gun safety. Senator Obama supports banning handguns and believes citizens should be able to sue gun manufacturers. His statements on 2nd amendment rights have been confusing, to say it charitably. I have a gun. I will defend my self and my household with it. Washington politicians must not revoke my constitutional right to bear arms. If our first amendment freedoms are applied individually, why wouldn't our second amendment freedoms apply individually? We should not fear law abiding citizens with guns, it is the criminals with guns who scare me.
6. Health Insurance: I also disagree on his mandatory health insurance and tax payer funded health insurance for illegal aliens. I can not believe we would add this burden to our already strained economy.
These six major areas, as well as other smaller disagreements leave me certain that I simply can not vote Senator Obama into the office of the president of the United States.
Update: I found Iowahawk leading the charge in support of "Joe the Plumber". If you see attacks on Joe as attacks on you, spread the word:
Update: 10/27/08 After additional research, I am surprised to say that I may not have any worries about an Obama presidency. Perhaps I should not be afraid of what he will change. After all, what has he actually accomplished?
