Thursday, September 04, 2008

A Former Ron Paul Supporter On Palin

No matter how much McCain sidles up to Palin, this is McCain. It's also Palin, who's ideologically to the right of McCain. Don't be fooled by the Pit Bull in Lipstick.  

When I hear this talk about republicans saying democrats believe in big government, I have to shake my head.

Under Bush there is a record federal budget deficit.
Their favorite pet project seems to be spending money warring around in other countries and making sure they're the party of oil. It costs $341 million a day to be in Iraq. Who doesn't think McCain is going to instigate tensions with Russia? You heard Ms. Mooseburger, there is an oil pipeline at stake.  

Who are these folks trying to kid? This is why they're running on Ms. Mooseburger. She moves eyes toward her, averting focus on what they lack. The republicans don't have a plan for things like education, healthcare or the economy because they think there is only one answer: tax breaks to the rich, so they can create jobs. In theory that's well and good. But it seems as though the country is being divided into the very rich and the very poor, with the middle sucked out. 

They don't have any regard for diplomacy and bettering world affairs. You heard Rudy. They hate Europeans. They're quick to point out that all of our enemies can't wait to launch a nuke. I think the world can't wait for Obama to become president. 

They're always averting eyes, drawing attention elsewhere in hopes that Americans are stupid enough.

Obama has said he'd go through the budget line by line and cut waste. I believe he'd be fiscally prudent. He believes in responsible and transparent government that actually serves a purpose.

As far as I can tell, republicans, with little respect for government, have been busy trashing government.
From a believer in small government:
Very rarely did I hear a word about policy, and when I did, it was usually just deriding a specific plank of Obama's plan.

After a month of listening to a large daily dose of talk radio, I learned virtually nothing about what John McCain actually planned to do for this country.

What I did hear, though, is a lot of supposedly negative things about Barack Obama, most of which seemed nonsensical and completely frivolous compared to the problems of this nation. The worst, for me, was repeated harpings on the idea that Barack Obama was somehow "bad" because he was a community organizer.

I know what community organizers do. I have friends and family who are involved with social work and community organization. They register people to vote. They get people involved with the political process. They know the real, day-to-day problems of the people in their community like the back of their hand. They help people with their life problems, helping elderly folks keep the lights on and helping groups with a significant problem get organized enough to get the attention of an alderman or city hall. The people on the ground, the "community organizers" and very local politicians, do a ton of good work for the people of this country. And through that process, they gain a deep understanding of the real problems and thoughts of everyday people.

That brings us to last night. Until last night, I was slightly leaning towards Obama, but I hadn't firmly decided who I was voting for. I held out hope that during the Convention, I could get a real grasp on where the Republican Party was.

Last night, Sarah Palin gave a speech that was in theory meant to get people like me excited about the Republican ticket. This was one that should have gotten me back on board and excited about the McCain/Palin platform. Read the rest!