First, let me say that I am glad it is over. I am glad that we can finally move on. My brain literally hurts from this election. It has challenged my politics and personal beliefs like no other. I also wish to thank all of those of opposing views, within the Democratic Party of which there are many, as well as Republicans and Independants. I have learned a great deal from you; and I hope that you have challenged and came away with the same feelings for the most part.
The breakdown of this election was amazing. In 2004, of the age demographic 18-29, 56% supported John Kerry’s candidacy for president. Unfortunately, only 17% of that age group actually voted. The apathy of the young people has been a tragedy in this nation for some time now. However, it has also been an opportunity if the right occasion presented itself. Obama’s Campaign is absolutely genius for tapping into this rich reserve of people who had become complacent and indifferent to the American political world. They knew that young people were frustrated, not just with college and loans but with losing friends, peers their own age and younger, overseas in Iraq. Young people felt that their voices were not heard, or simply drowned out with claims that they did not count because they simply had not “been on this earth long enough.” Finally, somebody was listening to them. Finally somebody was actually giving them a voice. That turned into a 66% turnout for Barack Obama (including a 68% turnout among first-time voters of all ages). To think that many McCain supporters, some on this very website, could discount them may truly be one of the biggest blunders of their campaign.
As for John McCain, what can I say! The man has endured a lifetime of service to this country, in some ways that I could not even imagine. At 72 years of age, he still felt he had more to give and wanted to serve her as President. I truly believe the Republicans selected the wrong man in 2000. Perhaps had the Republicans seen through the smear tactics of one Karl Rove way back when, they could have saved us from the ideological trainwreck that is W. Although I admit the bar was not set that high, I truly believe that the last 8 years would have been significantly better under a John McCain administration. To know the possibilities that 9/11 presented to this nation; and what might have come of them had McCain, the pre-2008 version, been president at that terrible time in our history; we will never know.
That being said, we can not focus on “what ifs.” I do believe all good things happen for a reason. John Kennedy once used the Chinese brush strokes of the word “crisis” to illustrate that one stroke represented danger, while the other represented opportunity. While there certainly exists danger in the extremism of allowing a government to shift the course of an entire nation based on ideological grounds; there exists also an opportunity. This current administration was so over-confident in its pious rhetoric of a “permanent conservative majority”, that it forgot about America’s history of turning on those who put their own politics ahead of this country. All that we needed was a leader, someone to rally around, to show us our own reflections, to remind us of our own history. Indeed, when the people of this nation have been down; they have always found a way to rise to the occasion. We have always known it; but sometimes it takes somebody dragging us in front of a mirror and saying “Yes We Can” to get us to realize the sleeping potential that we have as a people, and as a nation to overcome anything if we just believe.
Now, we can move forward. Our nation is still very divided. There are those on the other side that have a hard time believing that we can live together on different sides of the political spectrum without yelling at each other across the street with protest signs. While I still believe that has a place in our society, I know it is not the only way. Why? Because of what those of us within the Democratic Party have been able to do for the last 8 years. We lost Congress in 1994, and the White House in 2000. Many counted us out. What many did not realize is that the Democratic Party is a big umbrella. There were no attacks from Hillary and Barack of who was “more Democratic” than the other like the Republicans did. We accept our differences as the defining fabric of what being an American means. We embrace individuality and the plurality of beliefs that each of us hold all across the political spectrum; and we also believe that each of us wants what is best for this country. (This is ironic in that we are accused of being socialists and communists; which teaches to prioritize the whole as greater than the parts.) Instead of fighting one another, we knew that we could rise from the ashes. As John Mayer sang, we were simply waiting on the world to change. Barack Obama is not that change. The change started bubbling to the surface in the 2006 elections. Obama simply gave it a face, and one heck of a voice. He energized us and articulated what we have always stood for; and on this election day, with defiance in our votes, we stood up to those who would tell us that we can not take our nation back from the “Fat Cat” corporations and lobbyists who have strangled power away from us, especially with an African-American candidate, and we said with a loud voice.......
YES WE CAN!!!
Just a couple of my thoughts on where I stand politically, and then perhaps you can understand me a little better......or not. Anyways, here is a good try!
This is great. We now count three House Republicans who have continued to peddle the myth that China is working with Cuba to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, even though Dick Cheney had already admitted it was bunk.The latest: Virgil Goode, the Virginia Republican best known for denouncing the election of Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, on the grounds that Ellison is a Muslim.Goode faces a potentially tough challenge from Tom Periello, an international human rights worker who has been aggressively advertising on Christian radio and has also been able to raise a decent amount of money. So Goode's message to his base is clear: Vote for the Dems, and you're voting for China.Read more »
An analysis by LightMAP.org reveals that the 94 Democrats who changed their position on FISA since March are being flooded with donations from the companies who they now want to give a free pass. Shouldn’t this be illegal or something?
Politico:
Dems who flipped on FISA immunity see more telecom cashHouse Democrats who flipped their votes to support retroactive immunity for telecom companies in last week’s FISA bill took thousands of dollars more from phone companies than Democrats who consistently voted against legislation with an immunity provision, according to an analysis by MAPLight.org.The 94 Democrats who changed their positions received on average $8,359 in contributions from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint from January, 2005, to March, 2008, according to the analysis by MAPLight, a nonpartisan organization that tracks the connection between campaign contributions and legislative outcomes.
Dems who flipped on FISA immunity see more telecom cash
House Democrats who flipped their votes to support retroactive immunity for telecom companies in last week’s FISA bill took thousands of dollars more from phone companies than Democrats who consistently voted against legislation with an immunity provision, according to an analysis by MAPLight.org.
The 94 Democrats who changed their positions received on average $8,359 in contributions from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint from January, 2005, to March, 2008, according to the analysis by MAPLight, a nonpartisan organization that tracks the connection between campaign contributions and legislative outcomes.
I do not want to use my vote in fear of one candidate over another. I will use my vote for the person who wants Americans to hope for the future, not fear it. The Republicans keep saying that if we elect Obama then this will happen, and that will happen. The Democrats are reminding us of what HAS happened the last 8 years. They are not saying that if we vote for John McCain that this or that will happen, because we have already experienced it. The only fear factor is a continuation of the status quo. That is not acceptable to me.I am willing to give a fresh voice a chance to change Washington. I vote out of hope, not out of fear.Arch.
My Politics in a Nutshell
I am just left of center on the political spectrum. I agree with the Republicans on some issues; but I am mostly a Democrat. While I am a professed Christian, I also hold strong convictions about the separation of church and state. I do not believe that the government has a right to legislate morality; but some common sense needs to be used. If an individual's actions harm the life, physically and developmentally, of other human beings; then it needs to be dealt with. That is why I have a hard stance on drugs; because of the effects, physical and psychologically, on children. I also will not support any legislation, policy, or agenda that punishes children for the ignorance of their parents.
