The Obligatory Election
Article:
Alex endorses George W. Bush in spite of himself.
You all knew it was coming. I'm a political science
major, and it seems like it would be criminal not to write
SOMETHING about this damned election. So I'm gonna.
But first, I have to spit the requisite "Hooray for
America" stuff, mostly because I actually believe it, so
here it is, especially directed at those my age and younger
than myself: PAY ATTENTION. Even if you aren't yet old
enough to vote, it doesn't matter. For chrissakes, read a
newspaper, stop getting all your information from the
brain-dead institution that is MTV, keep up on the issues,
and form your own opinions. Don't listen to the partisan
hackery pushed by anyone without mulling it over, and that
includes your high school teachers, college professors,
uninformed peers, retarded celebrities, and especially
Michael Moore. By not thinking about the issues yourself,
you are being the idiot that both sides hope for. If you're
a knee-jerk liberal, watch some Fox News, listen to talk
radio, and read the Wall Street Journal. If you are a
knee-jerk conservative, watch anything but Fox, check out
the Guardian, and turn the dial to Air America. Yes, voting
is important, but thinking about and engaging in democracy
are MUCH more important. If the only thing you are voting
on is who is going to make you look more hip, you not only
don't deserve to vote, you probably don't deserve to live.
I'm dead serious about that.
With that, this election sucks. I'm not a fan of either
candidate, but I'm not going to do something stupid like
vote for Badnarik. As anyone who knows me is aware, I have
weird political beliefs, basically because I'm not a
Democratic hack like everyone else I know. I would say that
I'm generally fiscally conservative and socially liberal.
So guess what? I'm voting for George W. Bush. I don't like
it, but I am. Here's why:
Obviously, the big issue this election is foreign policy.
Regardless of given motivations (WMD, etc.) that didn't pan
out, I still support the war in Iraq. Whether Saddam was an
immediate threat or not, there is no way that you can't say
he wasn't a huge jerk, and, more importantly, I don't see
how you can argue that he would have become a threat to the
United States or his neighbors in the middle east sometime
in the future. However, what's done is done. Hindsight is
20/20. The issue now is, who can finish the job? Clearly,
mistakes have been made in the process of the occupation,
but John Kerry is not the one to fix them. The only plan he
has is this junior-year abroad concept of joyful
internationalism, which will somehow fix all of Iraq's
problems. Never mind the fact France and Germany have said
they will stay the hell out no matter who gets elected. All
that will happen under Kerry is early withdrawl due to
political pressure, which will destabilize the region and
be bad for the entire world. I'd rather see Bush blunder
through a long-term occupation than pull out and leave the
region in chaos. Also, Kerry didn't vote to approve the
first Gulf War, which was entirely justified. From this,
it's clear that looking like a pacifist is more important
than saving lives.
And no, there won't be a draft. The military itself doesn't
want a draft, and that is pretty much a dealbreaker.
Economically, I'm also not a huge Bush fan. He spends a
whole lot more than I'd like him to as a fiscal
conservative. However, do you think that there's any way in
hell Kerry is going to spend any less? That's about as
likely as Zell Miller having a long and successful career
in the Democratic party. Yes, many jobs have been lost
under Bush. Yes, we're in a recession. But you remember
back in the Clinton years, when Alan Greenspan warned
against "irrational exuberance"? Unfortunately, people
exubered away, not seeming to realize that the tech boom
was merely a bubble. All it took to pop it was, oh, let's
see... incredible accounting scandals and the worst
terrorist attack in the history of the United States. That
combination could bring down even the most stalwart of
economies. Tax cuts are great, especially for small
business. That tax cut money doesn't just disappear. It
gets spent, even by the wealthy. Raise taxes, even on the
highest brackets, and you're going to see less job
creation.
Here's where my real beef with Bush lies: Social issues.
I'm all for gay marriage and abortions and I think it would
be a bad thing if they were to go away. Except for the fact
that they aren't going anywhere. People seem to forget how
the supreme court works. "Oh no! There's going to be almost
a conservative majority if Bush gets elected! That means
abortions are going to become illegal!" Wrong. Even if the
supreme court were to consist of nine Scalia clones, the
worst that could happen to abortion is that it would become
regulated by the states. And let's be realistic here: I
don't think I would want to move to any of those states
that would probably make it illegal anyways, no? As for gay
marriage, you saw how badly that amendment failed. It can't
even pass the legislature, much less the 3/4 of the states
it would need to in order to become an amendment. And, lest
you forget, Kerry is only slightly more supportive of gay
marriage than Bush is. Bottom line: Is there any social
issue that has moved to the right in the last fifty years?
Nope. The president can hardly do anything about social
issues, so as much as I disagree with Bush, it's a moot
point.
Also, many of you know that I'm extremely hostile to
religion, and yes, I detest the religious right. However,
anywhere it matters I can safely rely on the ACLU to
carpet-bomb with injunctions. I'd like as much as the next
guy for the Republicans to knock off the Jesus, and, if the
up and coming conservative hotshots are any indications,
they're moving in the right direction. Basically, a little
religion may be a pain in the ass, but it ain't gonna kill
me. Politics is all about compromise, remember?
As far as stem cell research, well... we probably weren't
gonna make that much progress in four years anyways. His
position is wrong, but I think Edwards promise on the
campaign trail that if Kerry is elected parapelegics will
somehow rise from their chairs and walk is probably pushing
it. Beside, Laura likes it, and she can cut him off until
he supports research, right? Uh...yeah.
Almost all of you reading this will probably disagree with
me. But so help me god if your only reason for disagreeing
with me is because Michael Moore or some similar obese
B-list celebrity told you to, I encourage you not to go to
the polls. The same goes if you have ever listened to Toby
Keith, even once. I don't care about your position, so long
as you have a reason for having it.
In any event, the world isn't going to end in four years.
It's a crappy, lesser of two evils election, but I'd rather
go with the devil I know, especially when he's so
predictable. Who knows what unforseen damage Kerry could
cause? It concerns me, and that's why I'm voting for
someone I don't particularly like. My kingdom for a
moderate Republican. Thank you for listening to my rant,
and I hope it puts some different ideas in your head
besides those being fed to you by the media. Take that as
you will...