go Demo
Will Rogers once famously said "I'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm a Democrat ." Organized or not, that's me today. I couldn't pretend to guess at all the races in all the places, and doubtless there are some fine candidates in the GOP. But, having said that, here are the reasons to vote Democratic (and use the whole name, please) in 2006.
1. Family Values - I know what you're thinking, but shouldn't government have a hand in at least helping families stay together? If it does, than it's time to stop the ripping apart of American families now missing dead or wounded members for the purpose of occupying Iraq, hoping a rose will grow where today we have only nasty thorns. The divorce rate for such families is astronomical. Come to think of it, don't the Iraqis have families? Doesn't God love them, too?
2. Tough Judges - It's going to take some awfully tough magistrates to undo what the Bush folk have done in the name of "security". If you eavesdrop, you need a warrant, and that law needs a rescue that usually comes from the courts. Same with upcoming trials involving current and former congressmen, almost all of them Republicans. It'll take some guts to go against the guy who gave torture a good name (A.G. Gonzales), and this one may have to wait until someone else is appointing the judges, but habeus corpus itself is now on the shelf, and that alone requires some tough-as-nails black robers.
3. Christian Principles - I'm not calling on all to call on Jesus here, but some things are ALWAYS wrong. Torture, whether done in secret or on the Capital Mall, is one of them. I know what your'e thinking: "What if there's a guy who knows there's a bomb and that it's going to explode?" Fine. Torture that guy if you have to. But people we've had as prisners for years are NOT going to tell us anything new OR true. Sharing is a Christian principle, too, though one that's sadly out of favor. The Dems are going to be more likely to share through law the nation's assets in such a way as to make the nation a more fair place. Bigshots have plenty of representation, and always will. They'll be fine no matter WHO'S in office.
4. Thriftiness - Laugh if you like, but who created the last budget surplus? The Clinton administration, that's who. And who wants you to be impressed that the next budget is in red ink for only about a quarter trillion? That other party. Remember too, that the official deficit includes not a penny of Iraq expense, which comes under the heading of "special appropriations". Spending bill vetoes under Bush? Still ZERO.
5. Small Government - No, we don't have one, and there are next to no plans in place to MAKE one. But think how much BIGGER a government would have to be in order to prevent flag burnings (an item the Congress had time to discuss at length this year), or save the unborn by recriminalizing abortions, a proposal the GOP has been promoting, but not quite to completion for about 30 years. Now THAT'S big government. Just ask them in Romania, where they tried to ban ALL forms of birth control.
6. Personal Responsibility and Accountability - We shouldn't have to remind ourselves that in the real world, when people foul up consistently, they get fired. That never seems to happen in the Bush administration, where loyalty is valued above all, and screwups get promoted. We lack the muscle to fire Bush and Cheney. The closest we can come is to fire some of the ones who we elected to stand up and speak out against what was being done in our name. About 1000 indictments were sent from Congress to the Clinton White House, but NOT ONE has gone up against any of the neocons running the current mess. That's wrong, but it can't be corrected unless Democrats at least have the power to call hearings to see just what went wrong and why.
Those are the reasons I see to vote Democratic this year. Any of those reasons surprise you? I hope they did, but I stand by them. Two weeks to E-Day and counting.
1. Family Values - I know what you're thinking, but shouldn't government have a hand in at least helping families stay together? If it does, than it's time to stop the ripping apart of American families now missing dead or wounded members for the purpose of occupying Iraq, hoping a rose will grow where today we have only nasty thorns. The divorce rate for such families is astronomical. Come to think of it, don't the Iraqis have families? Doesn't God love them, too?
2. Tough Judges - It's going to take some awfully tough magistrates to undo what the Bush folk have done in the name of "security". If you eavesdrop, you need a warrant, and that law needs a rescue that usually comes from the courts. Same with upcoming trials involving current and former congressmen, almost all of them Republicans. It'll take some guts to go against the guy who gave torture a good name (A.G. Gonzales), and this one may have to wait until someone else is appointing the judges, but habeus corpus itself is now on the shelf, and that alone requires some tough-as-nails black robers.
3. Christian Principles - I'm not calling on all to call on Jesus here, but some things are ALWAYS wrong. Torture, whether done in secret or on the Capital Mall, is one of them. I know what your'e thinking: "What if there's a guy who knows there's a bomb and that it's going to explode?" Fine. Torture that guy if you have to. But people we've had as prisners for years are NOT going to tell us anything new OR true. Sharing is a Christian principle, too, though one that's sadly out of favor. The Dems are going to be more likely to share through law the nation's assets in such a way as to make the nation a more fair place. Bigshots have plenty of representation, and always will. They'll be fine no matter WHO'S in office.
4. Thriftiness - Laugh if you like, but who created the last budget surplus? The Clinton administration, that's who. And who wants you to be impressed that the next budget is in red ink for only about a quarter trillion? That other party. Remember too, that the official deficit includes not a penny of Iraq expense, which comes under the heading of "special appropriations". Spending bill vetoes under Bush? Still ZERO.
5. Small Government - No, we don't have one, and there are next to no plans in place to MAKE one. But think how much BIGGER a government would have to be in order to prevent flag burnings (an item the Congress had time to discuss at length this year), or save the unborn by recriminalizing abortions, a proposal the GOP has been promoting, but not quite to completion for about 30 years. Now THAT'S big government. Just ask them in Romania, where they tried to ban ALL forms of birth control.
6. Personal Responsibility and Accountability - We shouldn't have to remind ourselves that in the real world, when people foul up consistently, they get fired. That never seems to happen in the Bush administration, where loyalty is valued above all, and screwups get promoted. We lack the muscle to fire Bush and Cheney. The closest we can come is to fire some of the ones who we elected to stand up and speak out against what was being done in our name. About 1000 indictments were sent from Congress to the Clinton White House, but NOT ONE has gone up against any of the neocons running the current mess. That's wrong, but it can't be corrected unless Democrats at least have the power to call hearings to see just what went wrong and why.
Those are the reasons I see to vote Democratic this year. Any of those reasons surprise you? I hope they did, but I stand by them. Two weeks to E-Day and counting.
posted by Mark at 1:19 PM
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