I've been a Republican since I first started voting. I still remember going to see Ronald Reagan like it was yesterday. I remember my days dabbling with poitics as an appointee. I remember seeing compromise up close and personal.... and than having to deal with the fallout on returning back home.
The Republican party had solutions back then.... and every year it seemed to become more and more aligned with the special interests, and less so with the ideals of the past or a vision of the future. Government has grown and grown, and it appears no end is in sight, excluding of course economic limitations on a world scale.
And with growth, comes a different set of priorities and conflicts of interests. Thus, we find ourselves in the mess we are in today. We do truely lack vision.... and this is where I see Obama making a difference.
I don't agree a whole lot with the issues he is taking a stand on, much less so Hilaries, and even more much much more so the democratic party as a whole. However... Obama has a vision, a vision that transcends party lines, a vision that just might come to pass, a vision with potential for greatness. If some of the issues come along as part of doing so, thats ok. The big picture is what we need, and I firmly believe Obama will bring that to the table.
That being said... a couple issues I do agree with.
Global warming, and green in general: The current path we are on will end in disaster, the Green path likely will not. The difference, one set of investment bankers looses to another set of investment bankers. Economically, either path is viable, although green is likely less expensive in the long term... (and quite possibly in the short term) there is a ton of money to be made and saved in the green world. However, it will cause an economic shift from one group to another, and that is going to cause no small amount of headaches.
Education: The no child left behind deal was good in concept, very bad in implementation. No one wants to spend money on an inefficient, or an educational system which strives for mediocrity. (well, mediocre folks probably do) Yet, teaching to standardize tests does has the unintended consequence of fostering the exact situation it was created to prevent.
Poverty: Obama's plan is on the money. Its a short term heavy duty investment to reap huge long term rewards. It really is a no brainer.... but alas, my Republican cohorts won't see it that way.
Ultimately, I have to ask myself... what if Senator McCain ends up the contender with Obama, who would I side with. I have the utmost respect for Senator McCain, and I agree with many of his views on the issues. What I don't see however, is the vision for the future. It won't be an easy call, but I am likely to side with Obama this time around. It indeed is a huge change!
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