The rant that started it all...

The Rant that Started It All...
Friday, October 3, 2008
I have said on more than one occasion (as my boyfriend can attest) that I wish I had the time to dedicate to write political blogs on a regular basis, especially with regards to the upcoming election. Unfortunately, between work, a household and other activities, the time to do the necessary research and writing for such an endeavor is simply not there.
I occasionally make a politics related bulletin post, but choose to keep most of the articles, etc. for my blog... This is for several reasons, mainly because it has been made abundantly clear at this point that the majority of my MySpace friends are very left leaning, are just completely snowed by the media's interpretation of politics, are very uneducated on political issues or just don't care. Another reason, is that the majority of people are convinced that their decision is the correct one and will not be swayed, just argue. I am completely open to debate and discussion, but hurling insults and arguing are no fun. Quite frankly, some of the responses and posts I have seen online lately make me angry. I don't mean just huffy-angry, I mean furious, blood-boiling, sick-to-my-stomach angry. Thus, it is probably best for me to avoid such arguments.
I am very conservative in my politics (particularly on fiscal and defense issues) and in some areas tend toward liberal ideals. I am also a very, very proud American. I was not always this way. I was convinced until I was about 22 that I was liberal, specifically, a Democrat (I didn't vote for Bush the first time around). Through conversations with a wide demographic (outside of the subcultural world I had been imersed in for so long) I began to realized a lot of things. Many times we latch onto a specific issue without looking at the bigger picture or the reality of that issue even coming up for a decision. It is important to prioritize issues/stances to make a strong decision that makes the most sense for our nation as a whole. One of the groups that I had regular conversations with, who opened my eyes a great deal, was the staff and "regulars" at a cigar shop I worked at for many years in Fort Worth. The regular participants of conversations included: early-30s black man from Newark, NJ who had been raised Catholic, converted to Islam and spent a year or two in Senegal, a middle aged Jewish man from New York, who was married to a Catholic woman and had a family, early 40s blue-collar Texan from White Settlement, raised Southern Baptist with a love for history, an early 30s ceramics artist and teacher who also was a youth minister in a Methodist church, a wealthy, successful business man who came into the family business after recovering from drug addiction, and other various people, from students to sales staff to CEOs (and little ol' me, tattooed, in-college, and partying alot). Don't get me wrong, not all of these people agreed on issues, and not all were conservative, but as you can imagine, the conversations were very interesting.
I make it a point to stay as informed as possible. This requires me to look at a variety of sources. I like my local news station in the mornings, I listen to talk radio (usually 570 KLIF and sometimes 1080 KRLD) throughout the day, I check various stories from the AP and other sources, and I watch some commentary in the evening. I'd like to think I stay on top of things.
This is probably not the best writing I have ever done (I promise, I am capable of better), but its what I've got right now.
I think it is sad and unfortunate that a man, who by all accounts is a great public speaker, has swayed the public with flowerly language and ideas of the government doing everything for them. The media for some reason has latched onto him and in most cases refuses to see or report any of the many flaws in him.

Obama has spent his career not having a track record, choosing to not vote at all or only vote within party lines. McCain is far from being my favorite possibility, but I truly, deeply fear for the future of America in an Obama presidency. First, he (and many Dems) support the "Fairness Doctrine" which is a blatant infringement of the 1st amendment. Obama and Biden received some of the largest campaign donations in the congress from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (yes, the same folks partially responsible for the current economic mess). How can anyone trust a man who:
-says one thing on the campaign trail to the people, and something different to his high society fundraisers?
-has shown repetitive poor choices in who he associates with: Wright (outrageous racist "minister"), Ayers (terrorist, who wishes he had done more bombings) and Raines (made a ton of money and partially responisible for the current economic crisis) and plenty of others?
-refuses to admit any mistake, even simply saying that the surge worked? (like the war or not, it is simply a fact that the surge was successful)
-has no true understanding of how the economy works or the principles of the US? (when you tax the RICH, those who have expendible income, it HURTS the economy... these are the people who buy goods and services, invest and more. And why on earth are the rich more liable to pay taxes than everyone else? So is it now the American dream to be penalized for being successful? The rich pay the VAST majority of taxes already... don't have the statistics in front of me)
So many Obama supporters claim to be tired of the same old politics, tired of Washington insiders, etc. Obama has repeatedly proven to be an opportunistic politician, and Biden is certainly not a Washington outsider. McCain is an American war hero (and actually much more liberal than I would prefer), and Palin is actually a Washington outsider. She is more like the "average" American than the media dares admit.
I will not be bullied into voting for a man that I dislike the policies of because someone will think I'm "racist." I will not fall into line with many of the "subculture" (do I have to tear up my membership card?).
I will stand up for what I believe in: capitalism, the right of a nation to defend itself, the right of a nation to utilize its own natural resources, the plans of our nation's forefathers, the Constitution and AMERICA.