Realizing my inner political self
Posted by Moonage on 18 Aug 2004 | Tagged as: 2004 Presidential Election
I try to keep an even opinion when it comes to politics. I really do. I’ve been in, involved in, supported people, and done just about everything in politics one could imagine.
One of the very first things I learned being involved in politics was that losing a race wasn’t the end of the world. Sometimes, it’s actually the best thing that could happen ( establishing a grass roots organization, regardless of the outcome of the race, can set a person up to run for a higher office ).
The second thing I learned was that if you deal honestly with the people you are working against, they usually don’t hold it against you. I have been forced into positions where I have had to support one friend against another. Even if I didn’t support one or the other, I generally got trashed by one or both. So, support one, make it clear, and shoot straight with the one your “not necessarily opposing”. Supporting someone is not the same thing as opposing someone else. It doesn’t always work, but it helps mend fences later on.
I also have learned that no matter how hard I try to look at things from a disinterested bystander who truly understands how it all works, I wind up picking sides once I’ve tore into their history. I don’t rely on poltical dogma, I rely on what they’ve actually done.
I post a lot on politics on The Motley Fool. I have let everyone I know know that I support Bush. However, I’ve tried to give perspectives of the political process in a pragmatic way. Basically, showing how things really work as opposed to the rhetoric being thrown at us. What that has done over the last couple of months, is turn a lukewarm Republican into a rabid-anti-Kerry Republican. Sure, I’ve posted a lot of contradictions, lies, and deceptions Kerry has done over his career, that’s no biggie and you’ll see it in any race. What has pushed me over the edge is the reaction of Kerry supporters on the discussion groups. They honestly will not explore their candidate. They are willing to buy into the blatant falsehoods ( Cambodia ). They are too willing to take the rhetoric and dismiss his actions for 12 years ( stem cell research ). Even if there are facts to support Kerry’s position in a debatable topic ( Swift Boat Vets ), more often than not they won’t research the issue, but will just spew the Kerry response over and over and over. Bush ain’t perfect, but I can defend most of his actions very simply by delving into the facts. Any supporter of Kerry that does that is OK in my book. But, what I have come to figure out in this race is a LOT of Kerry’s support is not supporting Kerry or his ideas and beliefs, they are voting for “Anyone But Bush”. Me fear is that in the zeal to elect Anyone But Bush, they’re getting something a lot worse than what they were voting against in the first place. Secondly, if Kerry were to get elected on an “Anyone But Bush” wave of support, he has no support once he’s in office. A lot of Bush’s problems have been due to the lack of a public mandate, Kerry will have even less. And given the challenges this country faces right now, and the hard decisions that have to be made because of them, a President with no mandate and no real public support will be useless for four years and probably out. And that’s the very last thing this country needs right now.
Support your candidate, don’t vote against someone else.
And, in following my own recommendation, I’ve joined the Bush/Cheney04 webring.
I will still try to look at this race from a mechanical angle, examining what the candidates do and why. But, I don’t want it to be any secret who I’m supporting either.
No Comments »
