Change I Can Believe In
November 3rd, 2008Change I Can Believe In
End Of Rhetoric
In one of my several recent posts asking Obama supporters to clearly identify some of the “changes” that Barack Obama promises, I was asked “exactly WHAT are the changes that McCain is going to make for the greater good of our country?”.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t answer my question. And for the past 6 months or so, this is exactly the type of response I’ve seen when any Obama supporter is asked to explain which “changes” Obama will bring to our country. Similar answers are given when people are asked to name one single accomplishment Senator Obama has achieved during his career.
John McCain isn’t the one running on the campaign of “change”.
Change for the sake of change isn’t a good thing. Higher taxes? Bigger government? Being “tested” by foreign countries?
Sure, these are changes. But not positive ones.
In recent days, sensing victory, Obama has already begun backing off from many of his campaign promises. So I hope his supporters aren’t holding their breath for any immediate “change”.
What I don’t understand is why so many Obama supporters become so defensive when asked to expound the reasons for supporting their candidate.
In a recent interview, Governor Sarah Palin said something that really struck me when asked about the political division in our country. She said: “Well, you start by not discrediting or invalidating someone because of a position that maybe they take that you are in disagreement with. You learn from them, and you do — you’re able to find middle ground on so many of these issues, like global warming, the causes of it, but more importantly, what do we do about it to clean up our planet? There is always a way to work with another person.”
Think about it. I did, and having been guilty of this myself in the past, I learned something from my favorite governor.
So, I’m not trying to discredit anyone when I ask why they support Obama. But I do expect an answer beyond “Because he’s not George Bush”, or “Because he’s for change”.
It’s impossible to learn from people, and to work with them, if you don’t even understand what their position is. Or worse, when they don’t even understand what their position is, and might just happen to be supporting a candidate because he’s a very charismatic public speaker, or because he’s young, or old, or because of of his race or wealth.
I have absolutely no problem sharing exactly why I’m voting for McCain…
- His Senate record. Contrary to what the Obama campaign would have you believe, Senator McCain has broken ranks with the Republicans more than any other Senator. This same quality is evident in Governor Palin. While I generally support the Republican platform, there most certainly are times that I completely disagree with it. McCain has been a thorn in the side of Senate Republicans on many occasions, and has the voting record to prove it. Has Obama ever voted against party lines? No.
- His Service. Watch John McCain’s biography on A&E sometime. This is a pretty good summary of what a true hero is about. McCain’s military record speaks for itself. What has Obama every risked for his country?
- Taxes. This one is easy. Do you want to pay more taxes, or less? If you really believe Obama will lower your taxes, you either haven’t actually read his tax plan, or you don’t invest any money, or have a retirement plan.
- Economy. The current economic problems are GLOBAL, not national. Take a look at Europe and Asia. Neither candidate can bring an immediate change to this economy. However, lower taxes have proven time and time again to lead to a more robust economy. I believe John McCain will set the economic sails in a better direction than Barack Obama will.
- Experience. John McCain has far more experience than the 1-term Senator Obama has. Obama supporters like to challenge the experience of Sarah Palin, but they fail to realize that Obama is running against McCain, not Palin. And there is no comparison when it comes to experience between these two candidates.
- Integrity. I don’t trust Barack Obama. This is one that can’t be qualified since its just opinion.
Compare the campaigns:
Taxes
McCain : John McCain believes we must keep taxes low to reward hard work and create jobs for all Americans.
Obama : Barack Obama wants to “spread the wealth around” and is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of the pie than he is in growing the pie.
Economic Plan
McCain : John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation’s energy security, get the government’s budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers.
Obama : The Obama tax increase would come at the worst possible time for America, and especially for small businesses like the one Joe the Plumber dreams of owning. The small businesses Senator Obama would tax provide 16 million jobs in America. And a sudden tax hike for those businesses will kill jobs at a time when we need to be creating more jobs.
Energy
McCain : John McCain will break from the past to lead a great national campaign to put us on a course for energy independence. No problem is more urgent today than our dependence on foreign oil.
Obama : Barack Obama voted for the same policies that created the problem. He voted for the energy bill promoted by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, which gave even more breaks to the oil industry.
Health Care
McCain : John McCain will make health care more available, affordable and responsive to patients and he will give families more choices over their care.
Obama : Barack Obama’s plan will harm employer coverage, continues the push toward government-run health care and will damage private coverage.
Reforming Washington
McCain : John McCain has a record of working to end Washington’s stagnant, unproductive partisanship. He will end wasteful government spending and put the government back on the side of the American people.
Obama : The American people have not seen Barack Obama forsake partisanship for progress. In his short time in the Senate, Congressional Quarterly shows he voted with the Democrat Party 97 percent of the time.
Government Spending
McCain : John McCain is committed to and has long fought for restoring fiscal discipline by eliminating wasteful government spending. Out of control spending has resulted in a weaker dollar, raising the cost of groceries and gas and killing jobs. John McCain will rein in federal spending to help our families in tough economic times.
Obama : Barack Obama plans to increase spending by nearly a trillion dollars. Already in three short years in the Senate, he has requested nearly a billion dollars in pork projects for his state and has been an eager participant in this corrupt system.
Education
McCain : John McCain will shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers.
Obama : Barack Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies.
Iraq
McCain : John McCain had the judgment to understand that America’s strategy in Iraq was failing and the courage to call for a dramatic change. That strategy is now working, and America is succeeding in Iraq
Obama : Barack Obama opposed the new strategy and predicted wrongly that it would fail. He voted to deny critical funds to our men and women fighting in Iraq.
While I’m certainly hoping for an upset, I fully expect Obama to win this election. Like I’ve said before, the world will keep turning and I don’t think the United States will cease to exist under our new president.
And when he is elected, I won’t be rioting in the streets, nor claiming he stole the election, nor that the election was fixed – as we would likely see from the other side.
In fact, I will support our new president, whether he’s the one I voted for or not.
This post is my sharing of facts as I know them, as well as opinion. I have no intention of debating anyone about it since I have already selected my candidate, and you – the reader – have probably already selected yours. I thought about turning off comments on this post, but have decided otherwise. I’m just answering some questions that I’ve been asked. If anyone has a burning desire to post a comment, go ahead. I will not be replying to any of them however.
