4 PM can't come fast enough
Gonna be voting this evening, and I'm going to be leaving work an hour early. My company will allow up to three hours off, insisting that you go to your voting location at a time that will cause one to lose the least amount of time to the company, which means the evening.
Honestly, this means I'll end up being one of the last people to vote. Could be, by the time I cast my presidential vote (not that it'll matter since I'm in CA) he'll already have enough Electoral College Votes to be the President Elect.
It's strange... this is the first election I really really feel sure about my vote. Not that I wasn't sure about why I voted last presidential election, but that time I wasn't so much voting for Kerry but against Bush (as my father had said "A rock, a tree, a piece of wood, anything but another Bush.").
But this presidential election has made me really try to figure out where I stand, politically. From the get-go I knew I generally didn't lean toward the Republicans. Far too much of the current GOP is focused on things I strongly disagree with. Governmental control over choices is mostly wrong. Things like the government saying whether or not someone can get an abortion or whether two people of the same gender can get married is just wrong to me. While there are certain subjects I agree with the Republicans on (I generally lean more towards the Republican point of view than the Democrat as far as gun control goes), the major issues are sticklers.
But did that mean I was leaning towards the Democrats? The knee-jerk reaction was yes. It's the other major party, and I've long believed that, at least as far as the President goes, a vote for non-major party candidate was a wasted vote. But just because I would vote for one of those two (currently), doesn't mean I just automatically jump in with them for my every vote, right? Nope, I don't think it did.
So I spent the last few days poking around the internet, finding out what I could about the major political parties (including making sure I really do understand Liberalism). I kept finding my opinions were matched best by the classic Democratic party, specifically on economic subjects.
Obviously groups like the Constitution Party were right out.
I generally agree with the Green Party, but can disagree on certain points (e.g. the Nonviolence standpoint depending on how it's implemented can actually be very harmful). The biggest issue I have with the Green Party is the lack of a firm stance on how to approach the economy, beyond "Hey, do stuff that's friendly for the ecology!" I get a feeling that it would potentially lead to some pretty schizophrenic voting tendencies, especially with
Learning about Libertarianism and the Libertarian Party is probably what most firmly cemented me with the Democratic Party. I'll admit that I don't consider myself an expert on Libertarianism, and I do intend on researching more to make sure my understanding is correct. But by my understanding the major economic difference between Liberals and Libertarians is that the Libertarians believe that, if left alone, the economy will control itself and (basically) good times will be had by all, plus minimal taxes will encourage economic growth overall.
Democrats, on the other hand, believe that some or a lot of economic control is best for the economy. While I firmly do not believe a lot of economic control is good (specifically when aimed at small businesses), minimal or completely lack of governmental control over big businesses scares me. I have seen numerous times and even been the recipient once of the large business doing what it does best: Look out for itself and it's shareholders. At core a business is made to make money for the owner and, once it goes public, it's shareholders. I understand this, and it's not so bad when the company is in the hands of some people, but other times when CEOs are self-centered and greedy, it can lead to very bad places for those of us who are on the lower side of things.
The same goes for the idea that lowering taxes of those who are in positions of power and making large amounts of money from it. In theory lowering their taxes will cause them to either lower the costs of their products, or pay their employees more. When you have a good head-honcho, this works out great, but when you have a greedy bossman, they will see lower taxes as a chance to increase their own pay without having to pay more taxes at their employees or their customer's expense.
In a perfect world where greed didn't exist and everyone was kind and beneficent, I could easily see Libertarianism working and I would support it whole-heartedly, but my experiences have shown me otherwise. It's great to strive toward the utopia Libertarianism believes can exist, but I could see far too many people being stung by the greed and corruption that exists in the upper echelons of modern day society and business to readily get behind such a view.
So for the first time in my life I'm really sure where I want to vote. I'm voting for Obama, not because I believe that McCain is the wrong answer (though I do), but because I believe, truly, that Obama is the right answer.
I know I should have done this researching and deciding long ago, but it's taken me longer than most I know to really grow up. While I did mature in some ways while I was in the military (and those maturations were vital to me being a functioning human being at all), the military taking care of me in almost all regards also stunted my growth in other ways. Now that I'm in the "real world" and these things directly impact me, I consider them and I am a better man for doing so.
Honestly, this means I'll end up being one of the last people to vote. Could be, by the time I cast my presidential vote (not that it'll matter since I'm in CA) he'll already have enough Electoral College Votes to be the President Elect.
It's strange... this is the first election I really really feel sure about my vote. Not that I wasn't sure about why I voted last presidential election, but that time I wasn't so much voting for Kerry but against Bush (as my father had said "A rock, a tree, a piece of wood, anything but another Bush.").
But this presidential election has made me really try to figure out where I stand, politically. From the get-go I knew I generally didn't lean toward the Republicans. Far too much of the current GOP is focused on things I strongly disagree with. Governmental control over choices is mostly wrong. Things like the government saying whether or not someone can get an abortion or whether two people of the same gender can get married is just wrong to me. While there are certain subjects I agree with the Republicans on (I generally lean more towards the Republican point of view than the Democrat as far as gun control goes), the major issues are sticklers.
But did that mean I was leaning towards the Democrats? The knee-jerk reaction was yes. It's the other major party, and I've long believed that, at least as far as the President goes, a vote for non-major party candidate was a wasted vote. But just because I would vote for one of those two (currently), doesn't mean I just automatically jump in with them for my every vote, right? Nope, I don't think it did.
So I spent the last few days poking around the internet, finding out what I could about the major political parties (including making sure I really do understand Liberalism). I kept finding my opinions were matched best by the classic Democratic party, specifically on economic subjects.
Obviously groups like the Constitution Party were right out.
I generally agree with the Green Party, but can disagree on certain points (e.g. the Nonviolence standpoint depending on how it's implemented can actually be very harmful). The biggest issue I have with the Green Party is the lack of a firm stance on how to approach the economy, beyond "Hey, do stuff that's friendly for the ecology!" I get a feeling that it would potentially lead to some pretty schizophrenic voting tendencies, especially with
Learning about Libertarianism and the Libertarian Party is probably what most firmly cemented me with the Democratic Party. I'll admit that I don't consider myself an expert on Libertarianism, and I do intend on researching more to make sure my understanding is correct. But by my understanding the major economic difference between Liberals and Libertarians is that the Libertarians believe that, if left alone, the economy will control itself and (basically) good times will be had by all, plus minimal taxes will encourage economic growth overall.
Democrats, on the other hand, believe that some or a lot of economic control is best for the economy. While I firmly do not believe a lot of economic control is good (specifically when aimed at small businesses), minimal or completely lack of governmental control over big businesses scares me. I have seen numerous times and even been the recipient once of the large business doing what it does best: Look out for itself and it's shareholders. At core a business is made to make money for the owner and, once it goes public, it's shareholders. I understand this, and it's not so bad when the company is in the hands of some people, but other times when CEOs are self-centered and greedy, it can lead to very bad places for those of us who are on the lower side of things.
The same goes for the idea that lowering taxes of those who are in positions of power and making large amounts of money from it. In theory lowering their taxes will cause them to either lower the costs of their products, or pay their employees more. When you have a good head-honcho, this works out great, but when you have a greedy bossman, they will see lower taxes as a chance to increase their own pay without having to pay more taxes at their employees or their customer's expense.
In a perfect world where greed didn't exist and everyone was kind and beneficent, I could easily see Libertarianism working and I would support it whole-heartedly, but my experiences have shown me otherwise. It's great to strive toward the utopia Libertarianism believes can exist, but I could see far too many people being stung by the greed and corruption that exists in the upper echelons of modern day society and business to readily get behind such a view.
So for the first time in my life I'm really sure where I want to vote. I'm voting for Obama, not because I believe that McCain is the wrong answer (though I do), but because I believe, truly, that Obama is the right answer.
I know I should have done this researching and deciding long ago, but it's taken me longer than most I know to really grow up. While I did mature in some ways while I was in the military (and those maturations were vital to me being a functioning human being at all), the military taking care of me in almost all regards also stunted my growth in other ways. Now that I'm in the "real world" and these things directly impact me, I consider them and I am a better man for doing so.