Thursday, August 28, 2008

Election Year










So, guess what. It's an election year. If you don't know that I'd like to know what sand your head has been in. I love this time. Every four years, there is a chance for change, for devotion to a candidate. For opinions. I look forward to it.

I am a registered Republican. I probably always will be. I am, however, not the typical Republican. I like to say that I would prefer to vote for the candidate than the party. I did, in fact, vote for Democrat in the last gubernatorial election in my home state.


I *love* John McCain. I love his politics. I love what he stands for. I love his history. I love him. I've been waiting (impatiently) for eight years for this man to run for president again and I finally have my chance. We agree on almost everything. I actually refer to myself as a "McCain Republican" and not a "Bush Republican." My lovely Democrat friends often fail to see the difference, but a liberal Republican will always see the difference. I believe in saving money and using it in the proper way. I work in the public service field and I recognize the need for a helping hand but not a hand out. I am anti-abortion as well as anti-capital punishment. I don't believe in stem cell research (at least the stem cells harvested from unborn fetuses, those found in other ways I'm completely behind). I believe in civil unions for all couples who are, of course, adults. I believe in education vouchers and protecting our environment. I believe in a strong military but not in being blind to a global world. I believe in gun control but I do not think guns kill people, rather the people behind them. I believe in tax breaks in some capacity for everyone. The jury is still out on my opinion on off shore drilling. I believe we have untapped resources for fuel and energy. I believe in national health care or just easier access to health care in general.


Okay. I'm stopping. I could go on for a very, very, very...long time.


My point in all of this is, I love to hear the opinions of others. I have a very dear friend who lives on the WEST Coast (sorry E) and she and I are on opposing sides of the fence politically. However, we compliment each other on having opinions and real understandings of what we believe in. I love talking politics with her. She's awesome.


My coworker, drives me crazy. She does not give background on her opinions about Barack Obama and I have no idea why she supports him so fervently. She refuses to discuss our differing opinions but would rather just tell me I'm wrong. This afternoon, I mentioned I was listening to the news about Bill Clinton's speech from last night in support of Obama. This was mainly in reference to B. Clinton's opposition to Barack Obama when he won the primaries. I thought the speech (or what I know of it) was nice. All she said was, "where do you get your news, Fox News?" (in a more than rather snide tone). My response? "No, NPR." Why is it impossible to see that someone who has differing opinions can still watch/listen to the news and have respect for what is being said. Am I not allowed to be informed on the whole campaign? Both sides? She went on to make a point to invite other coworkers to her Barack Party but stated, "I don't want to invite Ms. McCain" (meaning me). Annoying. Juvenile.

Don't refuse to give me the information because you don't want to hear what I have to say. I want to know about it.


Too often, I've had Democrats ruin it for me. They insist on just force feeding me their opinion. I just end up feeling sick.


We need more healthy debates. Too many people either sit quietly and are apathetic to the democratic process or are so loud about their opinions no one else can be heard. We need to talk. Get it out. Explain our points of view. Our country and world would be in a much better place.


(ps. I think I'm going to buy Wiggly a McCain onesie. hehe.)

1 comment:

Eva said...

I feel like your co-worker is ruining democrats for you! I promise we aren't all like that. I completely agree with you that blindly following a candidate--whether it be Bush, McCain, Obama, or Clinton--is irresponsible. I've met people on both sides of the fence who are guilty of this and the "force-feeding" you refer to.

I love that you look at both sides of the fence before deciding where you sit. I think we are fortunate enough in this election year to have really strong candidates on both sides of the fence, and I only hope it challenges voters to take a good look at who they are voting for and (most importantly) why they are voting for that person.

I hope you had time to watch Obama's speech last night. It was amazing. :) And yes, I do plan to watch McCain's as well...