Laugh when you can,
Apologize when you should,
And let go of what you can't change.

December 16, 2007

Republican Debate

I finally caught one of the Republican debates last week. I didn't see the beginning but I have many comments on the part I did see......

McCain was disappointing. He used to have real opinions and stand up against Bush but since deciding to run for President, he's become just another uber-Republican robot. The candidates were asked whether freedom or security is more important. His answer: security. This may have been the most important question asked in the debate because it speaks to the foundation of this country. The fear tactics used by this administration have allowed many American citizens to reach the point of being willing to give up their freedom for security. First, the best we're getting is an illusion of security. Products coming into this country are going through no more review than they were before 9/11. And anyone that believes that scanning your 3oz bottles of liquid before flying is keeping you safe has lost their hold on reality. But we have a big Department of Homeland Security that gives us the illusion of security.

Giving up our freedom is a slippery slope to becoming everything America has always stood against. I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security deserves neither and will lose both". Seems like an ironic position for Republican candidates, who constantly say that they are like the founders of this country, and yet would so quickly give up their freedoms. Correction- would so quickly have you give up your freedoms. The people at the top in our country are rarely affected by these changes.


I'm not sure what to think about Romney. Some of his ideas aren't bad. But he, like McCain, seemed to switch to uber-Republican over the last few years. And frankly, I don't believe him. It's a gut feeling, but I'm going with it. That's the Republican strategy right? If you've seen old videos of Romney, he is strongly pro-choice. I believe he had a family member die from one of the dirty abortions that were done before abortions were legal. Then he suddenly changed his mind. I don't have a problem with people changing their views. I have a problem because he looks uncomfortable when he discusses his new view, as if he's lying to appear to have the Republican pro-life view.

Besides this issue, he also seems to have too broad of an agenda (like many of the candidates). He comes across as someone that thinks he will get into office and fix everything- the war, education system, economy, energy problem, etc. The laundry list does not impress me- he's not going to fix everything, or even come close. I think the candidates should be asked what the primary focus of their term in office would be and what their approach would be to improve the issue they choose.

There is not enough storage space for me to comment properly on Giuliani. He literally makes my stomach churn. I believe he's one of those people that was in the right place at the right time. Just because he was there for 9/11, doesn't mean he's responsible for improvements that occurred. If you listen to him speak, he never discusses his ideas, only that he was advised to do X, or told to do Y.

I've tried not to focus on his personal history but someone presented a new way to view his history that I'd like to share. The person said that the issue with Giuliani isn't his divorces, per se. It's that Giuliani either makes poor decisions or he poorly manages the decisions he makes. It really made me think about the situation differently and made me that much more certain that he's not a good candidate. FYI- this was a Republican talking about why he wouldn't vote for Giuliani.

Highlights on stupidity from other candidates:

Keyes- Preacher man says that God being taken out of schools is where our problems lie. Yes, that's it. The problem isn't the rise of extremist Christians who can't even fathom what people with different beliefs might feel like as you continue to cram God/Jesus down their throats. So much for the melting pot idea.

Hunter- We should all just go shopping to support American jobs. If you can't see the stupidity in this, vote for Hunter.

Thompson- He would go over Congress' head if they don't agree with him. I think the country has had enough of that over the last 8 years.

And the final evidence for stupidity (drum roll please): When asked to raise their hands if they believe that global warming is a problem and is created by humans................ not one hand was raised. The evidence is everywhere that it's occurring and, based on history, it is an issue that can potentially wipe out humanity. I would call that a problem.

I do like Ron Paul. I know, he's a little odd. But if you listen to him, he actually has decent and real things to say. And he doesn't get caught up in all the BS. I can at least respect him for that.

No comments: