December 24, 2005

The Republicans Have Lost My Vote

Why?

Searching without a warrant
Torture
Incarceration without a trial
Spending
Arrogance

Of course the Democrats never had my vote.
Why?

Abortion
Spending
Left wing radicalism
Arrogance

So if any one has any ideas on a good third party, let me know.

If you want the long version of why I have shifted, keep reading.


Five years ago I was a complete Bush apologist. I was so gung-ho about him that even before I knew about blogs, I would e-mail editorials to my friends, (which I doubt they read ; ) )

Why did I support Bush? I thought he was a real Christian. (I still think he is sincere) He is pro life. He talked about keeping the military home prior to 9.11. And he talked about "compassionate conservatism" and faith based initiatives.

I completely supported him after 9.11, and on Iraq, because I believed that Iraq could develop weapons of mass destruction. And I didn’t really think it mattered that Saddam wasen’t tied to 9.11. He was a terrorist of his own peple and paid the families of Palastinean suicide bombers thousands of dollers. The guy was evil and I thought he should go.

Today, I am officially saying I am no longer a Bush supporter, nor a Republican supporter. In the past I would always say I was independent, but in reality, I always voted Republican.

Why have I shifted? A couple of things. I have libertarian sympathies that Republicans have completely not lived up to. My view of morality in politics has shifted, which is to say, I have a greater concern for the environment and the poor. Though I’m not really convinced that government can solve these problems, as long as were going to run a deficit budget, I would rather spend it on the poor than the military and corporate welfare. As far as the military is concerned, I want a top-notch military, just smaller, and with less un-necessary weapons.

The thing that provoked this post though is the spying on Americans. That is the last straw. I no longer trust Bush, and if he broke the law, I say impeach him. I don’t care if every time it occured it was warranted, and didn’t really hurt anyone. It is a horrible precedent, and completely inexcusable! What is protection from terrorists if we give up what they are trying to take away? When you add this to torture and incarceration without a trial, we are looking remarkably similar to a police state.

I would love to see a third party emerge, so in the future, that is almost certainly who I will be voting for, someone other than a Republican or a Democrat.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

welcome to the dark side David. Sometimes it is choosing the lesser of the 2 evils that you are stuck with. There is no perfect candidate and never will be. trying to keep an open mind and taking a long look at what a candidate will truly be able to do and what he says he will do are often the driving forces in who you support. I have never been a Republican or a Democrat. There are things I like and dislike about both parties and if a strong 3rd party did appear there would be things that I wouldn't like about them. Congratulations on having an open mind and being big enough to admit that you changed your mind. Some people will ride a sinking ship to the bottom.

tonymyles said...

Be careful to not allow your disdain for some of Bush's choices to taint you on a whole party. It's like saying you hate Ronald McDonald because a teenager burnt your burger.

Ronald's cool.

He just dresses funny.

David Baxley said...

Sounds like someone is more driven by what others like to say about Bush then actually looking at the Real Law or facts. The issues you mentioned show you have the same ignorance as most of the media. I have to say I am pretty disappointed. Not in your choice of who you like in changing but because of why. Sadly you have bought into rhetoric of the opposing politics and media then actually understanding the law and the truth. Try doing some research that does not involve the politically driven bias media.
I definitely don’t agree with everything Bush does. I wish he would close our boarders and deport anyone here illegally but hey what do you know Humans aren’t perfect and even the best leader won’t agree with me all the time : ). I have no problem saying I still believe Bush has been one the best presidents we have ever had!

David Best said...

David, David, David, you are way harsh. Tell me specifically why I’m wrong, don’t do what the left does and throw rhetoric, in this case about the liberal media.

Besides, no one even disagrees about what the facts are. It’s whether the facts constitute evil, injustice, and breaking the law that is in question. Bush himself says he authorized the NSA to eavesdrop on American citizens on American soil without a warrant, when they are talking to suspected terrorists. Now I wouldn’t think that is such a bad thing, (though I have my doubts) if it weren’t against the law. The solution is to change the law, legally, through congress or the courts. And if they won’t, that’s life in a democracy with checks and balances. You might disagree, I might disagree. But no one, including the President, has the right to ignore the law.

Bush argues that he has not ignored the law, that instead there are conflicting orders from congress. Some about spying on Americans, and some about executive privilege, and conducting a war. I’m not sure if Bush technically broke the law. But one thing I am sure of is that I want there to be due process, I think warrants are a good thing, and not just for Americans. As a Christian, I have to value the God given rights of people everywhere, not just those of American citizens.

Bring terrorists to justice…ethically and legally. If we don’t do it the right way, we are no better than they are.

David Baxley said...

David, David, David, since we know Bush didn't break law we can put that issue to rest. However one thing I have learned thought the Clinton administration and the Bush administration is that no matter what the politicians say there are things going on that I will never know and shouldn’t know. If Bush really did something that terrible and that illegal the Democrats would have no problems starting an impeachment, you and I both know that. But in reality as the law really goes he didn’t and what he is doing is, in my mind, a good thing. The Government can listen to my phone calls all day for all I care. I am not doing anything illegal what should I worry about. You talked about changing the law. There is no need, Bush is not breaking a law by what he is doing and the way he is doing it. If someone else did it then it would be illegal. And that is really how the law is set up and the way the I have seen the powers are set up. So you may not like what Bush is doing and because of that you pass a judgment based on what you really don’t fully know about or understand (I don’t claim to understand it either) How can we and should we. The Government needs to keep stuff to themselves. I want it that way. I don’t trust politicians but I trust our government structure. I have faith that if the branches of Government do something that is as illegal as the Liberals and you are trying to make it out to be then they can do something about it. We have seen that in out past and it will happen in our future.

Still love as much I as I did last week though! Sorry didn't mean to be to harsh. Love Ya!