For some reason, I can't get enough of this election this year! And I have never been interested in politics. I guess that's what Barack Obama does to you....gets you EXCITED about things!
That, and Sarah Palin gives me a pain I can't locate.
********************VOTE OBAMA!!!********************
9 months ago
19 comments:
oh, i can locate it... :)
Me, too. It's in my ears.
LOL, y'all are too funny!
I did not know you were an Obama Mama. :O
AGV
Yep, I'm a hockey mom for Obama! Drew is ready to break in his first pair of skates.
Well, this campaign has me more confused than ever. Having never voted Democratic in my entire voting life, thinking about voting for Obama kinda makes me nervous, however, that may be the way I go. I don't plan to reveal my vote to Bubba, one way or the other though.
Yay Bubba's Mom! Just do it, you know you want to. ;) I won't tell Bubba, either. Or Grandaddy. ;)
Yes, Obama does get you excited. Excited to vote for McCain.
Hmmm. Me thinks there is something amiss with an anonymous poster. Why won't you share your identity with us, oh bashful one?
Hey Katie,
When we visited you and Bubba in "da big city" y'all both said some things that really shed some light on NYC liberalism and the big city mentality. It made sense and helped explain the "blueness" of places like NYC. However, even given that, I can't see how you can be for B.H.O.
Forget the rhetoric, look at the facts and records of these individuals. What McCain says, his record tends to reflect. What BO says, doesn't really match the record whether it be, tax cuts, supporting the troops, etc.
I have yet to find anyone that can explain to me why they are pro-BO without using the words, hope, change or bashing Bush in the process. Maybe you can...
To paraphrase Bubba's Mom, thinking about "anyone" voting for Obama kinda makes me nervous.
K,
I have always been too reserved to discuss politics on my blog because of all my conservative friends and relatives, so I am impressed you decided to post your political opinion! I'm sure the above poster has good reasons for voting for McCain and I respect his or her right to vote how they please, but do they really feel it is appropriate to keep referring to Obama's middle name as an intelligent way of having a conversation about this election??? God forbid someone is named after their father and has a different heritage than some other people in this country.
Jennifer S
Jennifer,
I thought long and hard before my post. I have always valued K’s opinion and think she is quite an intelligent lady, which is obvious by her choice of spouse. :) It is so hard in today’s society to have a civil conversation with someone that you disagree with, especially concerning politics and religion. At risk are hurt feelings and sometimes damaged friendships, neither of which I desire from my post here.
I too respect your privilege to vote and the ability to express your own opinion. That is what makes our country awesome and the envy of many.
I know that inflection and other nuances of the English language rarely are expressed properly in a text post on a website, but you missed the point of my previous post entirely and accused me of being a racist.
If my use of the acronym “B.H.O.” was interpreted by some as an attempt to interject race, culture or heritage into the discussion, then I apologize. I assure you that was not my intent. I could accept your comment if I wrote out the name or called attention to it by making references to other historical figures that shared that name, but I did not.
If I had of referred to SLP or JSM or even HDRC would you have reacted in the same way? I assume you would not.
True, there are some in society who do make a big deal of issues as this you bring up. This truly saddens me. Such as the comments about candidates not being able raise their arms above their shoulders, or certain quirky accents of others.
Why can’t people look at the issues and records and facts that are out there and make decisions on those instead of superficial non-issues???
Historically, use of a middle initial or name has always seemed just, well, presidential.
FDR
Harry S. Truman
Richard M. Nixon
Ronald W. Reagan
George H.W. Bush – extra points for 2 middle initials
William J. Clinton – but you can call me Bill
George W. Bush - dubya
H is BO’s middle initial. Does it matter if it is Hubert, Humphrey, or Hal? It doesn’t to me, but does it to you since you brought it up?
K, sorry for hijacking the thread. Have a great weekend.
Thank you for your explanation c-shock-n-awe, and I apologize for offending you. I'm glad you are choosing to vote FOR McCain and not against Obama which unfortunately seems to be the angle the McCain campaign has been taking lately. You have to admit that most of the people using Obama's middle name at the McCain-Palin campaign stops recently are not doing so because they think it sounds presidential.
I'll tell you why to vote for Obama vs. McCain
Taxes: McCain wants to keep the Bush tax cuts. If you look at the history of taxes on the very rich, before Reagan the rate is 37% or so, pretty high. Reagan moved the rate down. Bush has pushed it down to 30%. What Obama wants to do is move it back to Clinton levels, and a little farther, around 34% if I remember correctly. If you are below 250k annual salary, your taxes will be lower under Obama than McCain.
Economy: McCain said two weeks ago, around Sept. 15th, that the economy was sound. Well, turns out he was wrong. I believe the economic folks around Obama are much better suited than the Phil Gramms that McCain is associated with. Gramm led the deregulation crusade that some blame the current situation on. I know that Gramm is not officially part of the campaign after his whinner comments, but many still believe he is a front runner for Sec. of the Treasury.
War: McCain is obsessed with not losing in Iraq. I believe it is time to leave Iraq and I believe that Obama will get us there faster. It all changed for me when our friend's brother was killed in Iraq a month before leaving. To see how a West Point Grad, very promising young man's life taken from him for what amounts to opening up Iraq to American oil companies is disgusting, and he believed in what he was doing. It is time to leave Iraq. I used to think that oil talk was all liberal BS, but one thing that led my to leave Exxon was when my boss said that Iraq would soon open up and we would have work there. Makes you think.
Health Care: Right now TT pays my health benefit and this does not count as income on my income tax report. McCain wants to tax this money that they pay, so I will have to report as income that premium paid for by TT. I will then get a tax rebate that will cover this costs. But, as health insurance rates rise, will the rebate keep up? Most say no. This is a move against employer based health care, which I think is good. I guess their thought is if we all buy it on the open market then the rates will be cheaper. But I think companies buying in bulk can do better than individual's. Obama wants to keep the employer based insurance, and required employers to provide insurance. If they can't the government will help small businesses. If you are self employed you buy from the government, the same as Congressmen. I think this is not perfect, but a better plan than McCain.
Vet Affairs: For all his talk McCain voted against updating the GI Bill so our Iraq vets could go to college. The GI bill basically bought my grandparents first house and sent my grandfather to college. A staunch Republican, he says it was the best thing this country every did. McCain voted against it because he said it would encourage young men and women to leave the military and the military needs to keep young leaders. Obama supported this bill. I can't fathom McCain's stance on this and think it is indefensable.
Energy: Drill baby drill, that mentality is about as dumb as dirt. For the Republicans to sell the myth that we can produce enough oil for our counrty's needs is ridiculous and everyone with half a brain knows it is not true. If McCain is so pro alternative energy why could he not vote for a bill that would extend the tax credits for companies that produce alternate energy? Many projects stalled because the tax breaks are due to expire at the end of this year. While Obama voted yes once, he also no voted on this issue because he was out campaigning. But McCain sat in his office during this vote.
Judgement: McCain parachuting in to save the bail out plan and then sitting in the White House Meeting and saying nothing is ridiculous. I believe McCain jumps to decisions and wades in while Obama seems to more cautiously consider the problem and options to solve it. I prefer Obama's leadership style.
Social Issues: While a Christian that attends church every Sunday, I do not think abortion should be illegal. Nor do I think the government should get involved in marriage, gay or straight. These issues McCain supports and I disagree.
Did I miss one? How about choosing Palin who is way over her head? How about running a very dirty campaign after talking all about honor at the convention? How about the Republicans mocking Obama's community work?
How do you think the nation is doing right now? The Dow has just completed the worst week ever, we're involved in two dead end wars, our reputation aboard is at an all time low. Should we keep the same party in power or should we switch directions?
How about this:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6051862.html
Quoting:
In two events this week, warm-up speakers at GOP rallies have used Obama's middle name, Hussein, to seed doubts about the Democrat, a tactic meant to draw attention to the false rumors that Obama is a Muslim, as well as to belittle him. ``On Nov. 4, let's leave Barack Hussein Obama wondering what happened,'' a sheriff told Palin's Florida rally.
McCain once stepped forward directly to denounce that tactic. This week, his campaign merely issued a lukewarm criticism that tried to score a political point in the same breath: ``We do not condone this inappropriate rhetoric which distracts from the real questions of judgment, character and experience that voters will base their decisions on this November.''
That's tame compared to this:
A sense of grievance spilling into rage has gripped some GOP events this week as McCain supporters see his presidential campaign lag against Obama. Some in the audience are making it personal, against the Democrat. Shouts of "traitor," "terrorist," "treason," "liar," and even "off with his head" have rung from the crowd at McCain and Sarah Palin rallies, and gone unchallenged by them.
And YOU WANT THESE PEOPLE TO BECOME PRESIDENT? WHAT HAPPENED TO HONOR JOHN?
Mommy ferfer,
Thanks for the nice reply. I should have made myself clearer in the first post. It’s funny you bring that up, because I can’t count the number of times someone has told me that that are voting for O because they dislike dubya. I guess it goes both ways. And yes, there are those out there that lack pure intentions and are going for that gut reaction. It is unfortunate but true. Kind of like those that say M is Bush 3. Such is presidential politics…
EIC,
Good to hear from you again. I wish the topic of conversation were something a little more pleasant. I really enjoy the SWC blog by the way.
You lay out a very detailed, logical response, albeit a little harsh and condescending, but that probably wasn’t the intent. I have no desire to try exhaustively impress more words upon you to change your mind. I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one. I congratulate you on being the most logical O supporter I have come across to date, and there have been quite a few.
This is the frustrating part. You provide a lot of good facts, but not all tell the whole story. I can’t resist just throwing back a few things for your consideration.
Taxes: Taxes were higher for all under Clinton than Bush. If O repeals the Bush tax cuts, unless he passes new tax cuts then I will be paying more taxes. Maybe he will, but the problem I have is his record doesn’t reflect this campaign promise. Maybe it was all partisan voting and that is why his record is the way it is. Bottom line, I don’t believe the promises. My research indicates rates in the 40’s, but that may be with the capital gains increase as well. http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/22958.html
Economy: I don’t get that excited about O’s advisor’s either. If O knew it wasn’t sound why wasn’t more done to prevent this mess. Because it wasn’t politically expedient for him.
I am truly sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. I disagree with some of your comments but choose not to get into this one. I too have friends that I may never see again that are fighting this war, and don’t feel it right to go toe to toe with you on this one.
Health care: I wish they would both leave my health care alone. If I haven’t said it yet, McCain is not my first choice for this job and there are many things I dislike about his policies, there are just a few more I dislike about O’s.
VA: I hear ya. But do you know why he voted down the new GI bill? Here piggie piggie piggie. Should he have allowed the pork to support the vets? I don’t know. We owe untold gratitude to our vets, and they deserve so much. Saying he doesn’t support VA because of this vote is untrue.
Social Issues: I don’t see how those views are copasetic, but who I am to questions a man’s faith.
Again, every answer I can offer, you can counter and we can go back and forth. A “very dirty campaign” really? This is presidential politics, not the Wellington student body president race :). Have you been to Daily Kos or Democrat underground and seen the vitriol there and seen how much of that we see on the news and print. Both sides are guilty.
The status of the nation…scares me. We are at a huge turning point and I agree new direction is needed. But it is so much more than a party. Congress’ approval rating is worse than Bush, and aren’t both houses controlled by Democrats. Bush has hardly used his veto pen at all. The democrats are already running a large portion of the country and look where that has gotten us. I really think the answer is so much larger than who takes the oath on Jan. 20th. Wouldn’t you agree?
Ugh, enough of this. There is college football to watch and steaks to grill. I enjoyed the discourse. Hope we run into you guys in Dallas sometime.
I can't believe texas beat OU.
Take care.
I like paying taxes. If someone were truly a conservative, they would want a balance budget. We need to pay higher taxes to support the programs. I make under 250k so won't pay the big rates, but I think we are of means to pay more taxes than we do and I'm willing to do it because I don't want Drew's generation to be stuck with huge deficits. 40% on the super rich is fine by me. I've seen some of the wealth in this country in NYC, believe, higher taxes is not going to slow them down.
Not sure how Obama could stop the financial mess considering it is very complex and the executive branch controls the oversight role of regulations. All a Congressman could do is pass laws and there has been a Republican Congress under much of Bush's terms.
We could leave your health care alone, the problem is millions don't have health care. I think that if we can have a space program as a goal of our society, providing all our citzens with health care should be one too. Like I said, I'm willing to help pay for it too.
Another thing I'm sick of is people saying you can't be a Christian unless you think abortion should be illegal and oppose gay marriage. That is ridiculous. I think abortion is wrong, but making it illegal would make matters worse for everyone. You can't legislate your faith into the rest of us. And you know what those gay marriage laws that went to the voters in 2004 are doing? They are being overturned in the courts and bringing gay marriage into the mainstream. I don't think that telling people they are on the fringe of society and should not have the same benefits as the rest of us is a good evangelical strategy.
And these issues are more important than football.
Most people our age that I know are going Obama. I think, no offense, but because of how you were raised, and where you live, Texas, you are going to vote Republican no matter who was running. Just like folks in NY vote Democrat no matter who is running.
You asked why to support Obama, and I answered.
For the record, I think both candidates are really flawed. Personally think our country operates better with a republican congress and dem president. The next two years of dem congress and white house are going to be rough. But, it will only last for 2 years just like it did for Bill Clinton. America didn't like Rep congress and white house either. Our government operates better divided. It is a better mirror image of our evenly divided country too.
Nonetheless, I have to comment on the taxes. CURRENTLY, we pay almost 50% of our income in taxes (state, local and federal). It is fighting words for someone to say I should pay more.
Taxes are why we are leaving. When I had to wipe out our liquid savings (i.e., my daughter's preschool account and our "cushion") to pay a SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLAR tax bill AFTER insane amounts had already been taken out, I wept.
That tax bill is why we are leaving NYC. That is why I stepped up the job search. Both Mike and I said, "Enough is enough, we are done." I don't work like a dog to have HALF of it taken away.
We are taking jobs in TX making LOTS LESS. It is our personal goal to not make in aggregate more than $250K for fear of onerous taxes. I will go part time before paying obscene taxes again. Done working my ass off to give it away. Work less, less money earned, less taxes, better life.
I am a case study as to why more taxes on the "rich" don't work. The truly rich will find a way to hide their money. Dual working, decently paid dual professionals in high cost metro areas will eventually say #$%^ it.
Yeah, I earn a decent living. But I had the opportunity costs of three years of school. Don't forget the $100K of debt I incurred going to law school and still paying off. 5 years of my life was taken a way working 15-20 hours a day at a wall street law firm. Now, I work at ground zero for stress, working 10 hours in the office at 100 miles and hour and countless hours logged in at home chained to a blackberry. Spending Sunday's in our building's fire stairwell on conference calls during our open houses. It's not an easy living, and definitely not one I should be punished for earning by being forced to pay more taxes than the obscene amount I already pay.
Raising taxes is not the answer. We need real economic growth and cutting of the budget. Not income redistribution and more government programs. That is a recipe for disaster. Recall our country was born from a tax revolt, and I'm about ready to dump tea in the Hudson River.
Don't ask me which candidate can give us that, because I think neither of them will. They both suck and promise the moon to anyone willing to vote for them.
How did the American psyche change so much in the last 100 years? We all have our hands out. Guess the blames resides with us all and not just our spineless, egomaniac politicians.
AGV!
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