So with the presidential election looming near, I suppose it’s about time I write a political entry. I know, I’m going to talk about one of the two things that are pure voodoo to discuss. Oh well. I’m not a poly-sci major, so my point-of-view is from a purely unsavvy spectator. So unsavvy, that I am in the process of re-registering to vote. Which is kind of a pain considering my circumstances. But I think I have it figured out. I just have to re-register at my Colorado address, and request an absentee ballot. Hopefully it’s the simple. I guess I’ll find out in the weeks to come.
And I’m re-registering to vote for the sole reason to not vote for either presidential candidate. I know that it doesn’t really do anything except give me the small personal pleasure that I didn’t settle for the lesser evil. Both parties are saying the same thing, playing the same game, and going back on their word. Go figure. Palin is the only one that is making any sort of sense, but she’s stuck in McCain’s shadow, which is a deal breaker for me.
I’m bad about researching and learning what I need to for elections. But I just did some quick research on Wikipedia about the positions Obama and McCain hold for some important issues. Here are some of the points I pulled from the articles:
Obama:
• Enact budget cuts in the range of tens of billions of dollars
• Stop investing in “unproven” missile defense systems, not “weaponize” space, “slow development of future combat systems,” and work towards eliminating all nuclear weapons
• Favors ending development of new nuclear weapons
• Called for a “phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq” and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with Syria and Iran
• Called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan
• Called for an outward looking post-Iraq War foreign policy and the renewal of American military, diplomatic, and moral leadership in the world
• Said he supports universal healthcare in the United States
My rant: Why do we have to start butting into other countries affairs? Isn’t the Democratic camp complaining about how Bush did that and how much of a mess that turned out to be? And universal healthcare?! Are you kidding? Why should I pay for other people’s healthcare? I pissed that I’m paying Social Security and probably won’t see a cent of it. Why would I want to extend this into healthcare too? No thank you.
McCain:
• Make the Bush tax cuts permanent instead of letting them expire
• He would eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax so as to assist the middle-class
• Eliminate pork-barrel spending, freeze nondefense discretionary spending for a year or more, and reduce Medicare growth
• Build 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030, in order to fight climate change and establish U.S. energy independence
• McCain’s goal is that by 2013 most of the servicemen and women will have returned, the Iraq War will have been won, and Iraq will be a functioning democracy
My rant: I’ve been hearing that McCain is just a continuation of Bush, which I can see that with the tax cuts. But how does McCain define middle-class? I heard (rumor?) that his middle-class is anyone making below $5 million! That might not be true, I’m trying to find out. UPDATE: Dave showed me a video that totally counters that rumor. It’s a great example of how the media twists things. You really should watch this video to see what McCain was talking about. But if you don’t have time, here’s a summary—McCain said $5 million as a joke, the way he defines rich is by having a job, owning a house, education…seems reasonable. He even states he doesn’t want to take money from the rich. Bottom line, the ad from the Dems is bogus. Climate change?! I thought we were focusing on the economy, not so much the climate right now. The climate is fine! Leave it alone, otherwise we are going to screw that up too.
Ok, so now that we’re through those two, let’s discuss Ron Paul.
I know he’s not a candidate (as of right now), but let’s just break down what Wikipedia says:
• Insistence that he will “never vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution.”
• One scoring method published in the American Journal of Political Science found Paul the most conservative of all 3,320 members of Congress from 1937 to 2002 (wherein “conservative” is defined as sticking to the constitution, rather then its common-usage definition of being restrictrive, authoritarian, and/or traditional)
• Regularly votes against almost all proposals for new government spending, initiatives, or taxes
• Has pledged never to raise taxes and states he has never voted to approve a budget deficit
• Abolish the individual income tax by scaling back the federal budget to its 2000 spending levels
• Eliminate most federal government agencies as unnecessary bureaucracies
• Sharply opposes inflation as a longterm erosion of the U.S. dollar’s purchasing power due to its lack of commodity backing
• Favors allowing workers to opt out of Social Security to “protect the system for everyone”
• Strongly supports Constitutional rights, such as the right to keep and bear arms, jury nullification, and habeas corpus for political detainees
• He opposes the Patriot Act, federal use of torture, presidential autonomy, a national ID card, domestic surveillance, and the draft
• Citing the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, Paul advocates states’ rights to decide how to regulate social matters not directly found in the Constitution
• Paul calls himself “strongly pro-life”
• Opposes federal regulation of the death penalty, of education, and of marriage
• Opposes the federal War on Drugs–He agrees that marijuana is only illegal because it can’t be taxed
• Pushes to eliminate federal involvement in and management of health care
My rant: Ron Paul pays attention to what should matter most to Americans today. Honestly. Enough pussyfooting with the environment and other countries. Bring the attention here at home, to how corrupt our way of life has become. What happened to the land of the free? Paul stands up for the individual and gives people our rights back. Instead of making up his own regulations, he backs up his opinions on the Constitution. THE CONSTITUTION! What this country was founded on. The whole purpose for this so-called election. The American government has gone on a long and dangerous power trip. Paul wants to pull the plus on the government by making it smaller and less controlling. Instead, we would get our control of our own lives back. The only damn reason he is not a candidate is because he makes the most sense, and that scares the higher ups. He didn’t get the media coverage he deserved because he is unlike everyone else, unlike the Obamas and the McCains. But is that not what we need?! Someone different, someone with a sense of what is going on. Not a monkey who plays the political game.
Goodness, I have talked a lot. I had no idea I had that in me. I encourage you to do your own research and vote wisely. I don’t have much faith in the voting system, but it is a right that we have. here are the links to the articles on Wikipedia if you’re interested:
Even though Ron Paul is not running for president (as of right now) he continues his run to free America. You obviously know how I am voting in November. If you would like to find out more about Ron Paul here’s his website http://www.campaignforliberty.com/.
