Sunday, January 13, 2008
Back to being an independent Democrat....
The candidate I was supporting and working for dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination to be President. That means that I'm back to being a free agent when it comes to that race. I've been trying to decide where my vote goes now.
In order to do this, I think I'll use my blog to help me sort out the field.
All Republican candidates except John McCain: I grew up Mormon, much of my family is still Mormon. I liked the way Mitt Romney handled the Salt Lake Olympics. But his positions switch quicker than me working the remote. No way!!! Mike Huckabee is a Christain leader and a man surely to continue to devastate the separation of church and state. NO NO NO WAY!!!! Fred Thompson and Rudy Guliani....lost souls who are trying to fill their days leading us backwards. Plus they are both bald-faced (and bald-headed) liars. I don't think so. Ron Paul....well, I have a soft spot for libertarians, but his supporters are mostly white-supremacist nuts. David Dukes in the cabinet.....no.
John McCain: Not the smartest dude on the planet. I used to love him, but then he decided to smooch up to Jerry Falwell and his crowd of theocratic jerks. If he can prove to me that he will be a MODERATE then I would at least consider him. If not, I shall have to pass. But for now, I shall keep listening for signs of common sense.
On to the Democrats:
Dennis Kucinich: Found out a week or so ago that he has a hot wife. Saw a picture of her for the first time yesterday. Yup, she's a cutie. But, does that make him a viable presidential candidate....nope. Plus, his positions are even more liberal than mine on most issues. That's a couple of steps over the line, since I think I'm probably on the left edge of the left edge. Sorry, but no thanks.
John Edwards: As my wife said last night, he comes straight from central casting of how a president should look. But this time around, I feel much more uncomfortable about him. He's really pushing the class warfare thing. Now, I am in complete agreement that the lower and middle classes are suffering horribly under this administration. But beating the crap out of companies for taking advantage of loopholes given to them by Republicans is just short-sighted. After all, if I were a stock-holder I'd be wondering why a company wasn't taking full advantage of the tax laws.
If it were Elisabeth Edwards running, I'd vote for her in seconds. But she's not.
As much as I have liked Edwards before (and I voted for him in the 2004 primaries), I'm probably going to pass this time.
Hillary Clinton: Sorry, but she is the Democratic equivalent of W. Willing to twist what she says to either avoid the honest truth of a situation or saying something to demean an opponent instead of presenting a better argument on an issue. Everytime I look at her, I see her husband on his bad days.
Again, I loved Bill Clinton as President. He was superb and I didn't give a hoot about his affair(s). But I'm also tired of thinking that the leader of my country is a out and out liar. Bill was (and is), and Hillary is no better. If she is the nominee, I'm going to have to consider going libertarian or third-party (if McCain is not on the ballot). I'm afraid the revulsion factor would be too high here.
Barack Obama: He has about the same amount of governing experience as a cup of water. His positions are rather off-beat and sometimes not logically consistent with each other, but at least he sticks to his guns.
I LOVED his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He is the best public speaker I have heard in a generation. And one thing I am surely looking for from the next President is the ability to speak our mother-tongue. We have gone too long without that ability in our current dummy-in-chief.
Obama is a risky pick, just because of his inexperience. But it was funny, I was listening to a person being interviewed in New Hampshire and he said something which I feel may be true. When you listen to Obama, you start to feel as if we NEED to take a chance on him. That he may actually be someone who can bring this country together. He is promising an ability to bring everyone into the tent. Wouldn't that be nice?
So, right now, I guess I'm leaning toward Obama. I just can't jump there yet. I don't have to vote until February 5th (like damn near everyone else on the planet). I'll give myself time to see if I'm right or wrong.
Now for a couple of random thoughts.
Random thought #1 - I wore a t-shirt today which said "I love my country, it's the government I'm afraid of" I don't think I've ever had the kind of reaction to a piece of clothing I was wearing (except maybe my wife's revulsion for the mini-briefs I used to wear). People were continuously saying how much they loved the shirt. Isn't it sad that people truly are afraid of their own government. You'd think we were living in Russia.
Random thought #2 - The primary system sucksssssssssss. It is as close to a worthless way of picking a nominee as I can think of. We have so many races bunched up so early that it is next to impossible for a off the regular track candidate to get any momentum toward the nomination. It's just horrible.
Random thought #3 - My son was accepted (after being nominated and invited) for the Junior National Youth Leadership Conference. He will have an amazing experience, I'm sure. But I pray for Tracey during that week while he is gone and basically on his own. Chumba will have to stretch that week.
In order to do this, I think I'll use my blog to help me sort out the field.
All Republican candidates except John McCain: I grew up Mormon, much of my family is still Mormon. I liked the way Mitt Romney handled the Salt Lake Olympics. But his positions switch quicker than me working the remote. No way!!! Mike Huckabee is a Christain leader and a man surely to continue to devastate the separation of church and state. NO NO NO WAY!!!! Fred Thompson and Rudy Guliani....lost souls who are trying to fill their days leading us backwards. Plus they are both bald-faced (and bald-headed) liars. I don't think so. Ron Paul....well, I have a soft spot for libertarians, but his supporters are mostly white-supremacist nuts. David Dukes in the cabinet.....no.
John McCain: Not the smartest dude on the planet. I used to love him, but then he decided to smooch up to Jerry Falwell and his crowd of theocratic jerks. If he can prove to me that he will be a MODERATE then I would at least consider him. If not, I shall have to pass. But for now, I shall keep listening for signs of common sense.
On to the Democrats:
Dennis Kucinich: Found out a week or so ago that he has a hot wife. Saw a picture of her for the first time yesterday. Yup, she's a cutie. But, does that make him a viable presidential candidate....nope. Plus, his positions are even more liberal than mine on most issues. That's a couple of steps over the line, since I think I'm probably on the left edge of the left edge. Sorry, but no thanks.
John Edwards: As my wife said last night, he comes straight from central casting of how a president should look. But this time around, I feel much more uncomfortable about him. He's really pushing the class warfare thing. Now, I am in complete agreement that the lower and middle classes are suffering horribly under this administration. But beating the crap out of companies for taking advantage of loopholes given to them by Republicans is just short-sighted. After all, if I were a stock-holder I'd be wondering why a company wasn't taking full advantage of the tax laws.
If it were Elisabeth Edwards running, I'd vote for her in seconds. But she's not.
As much as I have liked Edwards before (and I voted for him in the 2004 primaries), I'm probably going to pass this time.
Hillary Clinton: Sorry, but she is the Democratic equivalent of W. Willing to twist what she says to either avoid the honest truth of a situation or saying something to demean an opponent instead of presenting a better argument on an issue. Everytime I look at her, I see her husband on his bad days.
Again, I loved Bill Clinton as President. He was superb and I didn't give a hoot about his affair(s). But I'm also tired of thinking that the leader of my country is a out and out liar. Bill was (and is), and Hillary is no better. If she is the nominee, I'm going to have to consider going libertarian or third-party (if McCain is not on the ballot). I'm afraid the revulsion factor would be too high here.
Barack Obama: He has about the same amount of governing experience as a cup of water. His positions are rather off-beat and sometimes not logically consistent with each other, but at least he sticks to his guns.
I LOVED his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He is the best public speaker I have heard in a generation. And one thing I am surely looking for from the next President is the ability to speak our mother-tongue. We have gone too long without that ability in our current dummy-in-chief.
Obama is a risky pick, just because of his inexperience. But it was funny, I was listening to a person being interviewed in New Hampshire and he said something which I feel may be true. When you listen to Obama, you start to feel as if we NEED to take a chance on him. That he may actually be someone who can bring this country together. He is promising an ability to bring everyone into the tent. Wouldn't that be nice?
So, right now, I guess I'm leaning toward Obama. I just can't jump there yet. I don't have to vote until February 5th (like damn near everyone else on the planet). I'll give myself time to see if I'm right or wrong.
Now for a couple of random thoughts.
Random thought #1 - I wore a t-shirt today which said "I love my country, it's the government I'm afraid of" I don't think I've ever had the kind of reaction to a piece of clothing I was wearing (except maybe my wife's revulsion for the mini-briefs I used to wear). People were continuously saying how much they loved the shirt. Isn't it sad that people truly are afraid of their own government. You'd think we were living in Russia.
Random thought #2 - The primary system sucksssssssssss. It is as close to a worthless way of picking a nominee as I can think of. We have so many races bunched up so early that it is next to impossible for a off the regular track candidate to get any momentum toward the nomination. It's just horrible.
Random thought #3 - My son was accepted (after being nominated and invited) for the Junior National Youth Leadership Conference. He will have an amazing experience, I'm sure. But I pray for Tracey during that week while he is gone and basically on his own. Chumba will have to stretch that week.
# posted by Kevin @ 6:50 PM 
