Election Idiocy

November 4, 2008 by David.

I’m not the political bulldog I used to be. For one, it’s a tiring endeavor with very little payoff. Also, I’ve found that the party I used to defend doggedly has abandoned almost all of the principles that made me defend it in the first place. I’ve come to the haunting realization that both of our major political parties are ripe with corruption and greed with few exceptions.

So, in some respects, I understand the need some people have in participating in the political game. What I don’t understand is how so many of them can say what they say with good conscience. Some of the statements I’ve heard from people over the last few months have convinced me that this country is full of idiots and the political system we have is the one we deserve.

Let me be clear - I’m not an Obama lover. I don’t think he’s the best candidate the Democrats had to offer, nor do I think he’s the second coming of the Messiah. That doesn’t mean, however, that he is the anti-Christ - a charge I’ve heard from more than one person. Seriously? The ANTI-CHRIST? Sadly, this is only the tip of the iceberg. I’ve heard quite a few things that bothers me to my core.

“Obama wants to kill babies.” Um, yeah. He’s one of those serial-baby-killers disguised as a loving father, husband and politician. If so-called Christians want to be taken seriously in their opposition to abortion, these lines have to stop. It shows an absolute disconnect with reality and an inability to argue with reason. I’m very much opposed to abortion, but don’t believe that it’s the government’s responsibility to enforce that stance. I guess I want to kill babies too.

“If Obama is elected, it will kill America.” That’s funny. One man is going to single-handedly destroy our country. This reminds me of the unfounded charges that Bill Clinton was going to rewrite the Constitution so that he could serve more than 2 terms. In fact, Republicans would be wise to think about where our country is RIGHT NOW, and consider that for nearly 8 years, it’s been presided over by a REPUBLICAN president and for many of those years, a REPUBLICAN congress. It was Bush who encouraged sub-prime lending - who has dumped endless billions into Iraq - and who has overseen the largest amount of growth in the size of our government EVER. If anyone has “killed America”, it was a REPUBLICAN.

“Obama is a socialist/marxist/communist/Muslim/…” I do believe that Obama believes in principles I disagree with, but I’ve not seen clear evidence that he wants the government to run and/or own every business in this country. And to be fair, the recent bailouts of failed banks was supported just as strongly by McCain and the Republicans as it was by Obama and the Democrats.

“Obama is going to invite terrorists into his Cabinet and into the White House” I love this one. It’s so stupid it doesn’t even warrant a response other than to say, REALLY?

Sadly, I’m sure there’s far more than this. Want to know what I believe? I believe Barack Obama is probably a decent man who got into politics for the same reasons as most of these guys do - he wanted to make a difference and feed his ego at the same time. I believe he loves his wife and children and I believe he wants to do well by this country. That doesn’t mean that I agree with how he wants to accomplish that, but I don’t think he’s the evil-doer that so many people are apt to paint him as. In fact, between McCain and Obama, I think I’d probably enjoy the company of the latter as opposed to the former. I believe anyone who is honest with themselves would admit the same.

The truth is, as more and more of these accusations begin to fly, I feel more apt to vote for the man just to spite the people who utter such idiotic statements.

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