Oh. My. God.
I really don't know what to say about these.
They are sure to grab the attention of others.
Newspapers, magazines, and a number of blogs all finally seem to be officially endorsing either Kerry or Bush for the office of President. Therefore, I have decided that it is about time for me to explain my position and thoughts concerning this election to the best of my ability.
I voted early two days ago. I voted for Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate. As my vote has already been cast, feel free to disagree with me, but understand that my vote can not be changed.
Many people view voting for a third party candidate a waste of a vote. I could not disagree more. It may be true that third parties rarely win offices, but the point of voting is not to try to vote for the candidate who will win. By voting, a person expresses his or her views on a subject. If that person disagrees with both major parties, he or she should still vote. Since many people do not (and never will) vote, choosing not to vote is a weak way to show disapproval. If one instead examines the views of third parties, one may find groups of people who also disagree with the two major parties.
Voting third party is a much stronger way to protest the current direction of our country. The third party voter still is passionate enough about politics, but the voter disapproves of both paths the country has to choose between. Each side lost a potential vote. When enough voters realize this form of protest, both the Democratic and Republican parties will modify their stances in an attempt to bring the third party voters into their respective ranks.
I suppose another position to explain is why I am against both Bush and Kerry. I suppose this could get interesting as I have never attempted to fully explain why I want neither man in office.
Why I Did Not Vote for Bush:
George W. Bush was definitely the right man to have in office for 9/11. When he decided to invade Iraq, I quietly supported his actions. I was not happy about the decision, but I felt that the man knew what he was doing.
However, I then learned that Iraq did not have what Bush claimed it had. I understand that this was an intelligence failure. If the Bush administration had just come right out and said that they made a mistake, I would have continued to back Bush.
They did not do that, though. In fact, Cheney even flat out said that the adminstration "already knew" that Saddam did not have WMDs. Bush has been attempting to justify the war by showing the atrocities that Saddam had been performing and the corruption in the UN. All of that is true, but that is not why Congress voted to go to war. Don't get me wrong. I am glad that Saddam is no longer in power. However, I am disgusted that our President is trying to justify going to war after the main reason he wanted to go to war has been proven to be untrue.
I also believe that Bush has mishandled the war in Iraq. There should have been more troops there from the very beginning. He should not have declared a victory as early as he did. He should be attempting to get world support now that we are already there.
As far as economic policy and government spending, I do not think Bush did a good job at all. I believe that the tax cuts he made were the right choice at the right time, but when a President cuts taxes he should also cut government spending. Bush is apparently unable to do that. The fact that his campaign has attempted to show Kerry in a bad light for planning to spend large amounts of money is laughable. At least Kerry has said that he will have to cut back on his plans in order to deal with the gigantic deficit Bush has created.
I am also disgusted with Bush's attempts at domestic policy. I was appalled that he would attempt to increase government regulation of marriage. I am horrified that he has often structured his policies to appease the religious right. I am a full supporter of individual rights. Attempting to create laws based off of religious beliefs will restrict individual rights and liberties. Bush (and many lesser Republicans) seem to forget that the United States is a democracy and not a theocracy.
Why I Did Not Vote for Kerry:
John Kerry is an interesting candidate for the Presidential election. It is less than a week until Election Day and I still do not know where he stands on many issues. While I believe that no area of politics is as simple as black and white, Kerry seems to refuse to take a solid stance on any single issue. This fact is something the Bush campaign has fervently used when smearing Kerry.
My reason for not voting for Kerry is much simpler than my reasons for not voting Bush. I just don't trust him. I can not vote for a candidate who may change his mind about almost anything at any time.
Kerry also seems to think that the government can and should solve any problem. I heartily disagree with this line of thinking. I believe that the federal government is already bigger than it should be, and I believe that Kerry will increase its size.
I am not anti-Bush. I promise.
With that said, go look at this photo.
I laughed.
Before anyone starts, I realize Bush's heart was in the right place with the No Child Left Behind Act. It is a shame, however, that teachers all over the country are against it and say it is underfunded.
Update:
And just to prove I'm not anti-Bush, here is a picture of Clinton campaigning for Kerry.
Would anyone have predicted that under a staunchly pro-life conservative President the number of abortions would increase?
According to this article, the average number of abortions has risen by over ten percent in states that have abortion statistics. The article shows the intriguing connection between economics and abortions.
Intersting.
[Link found through Andrew Sullivan]
Even if you have decided on who you will be voting for, I would like you to go to President Match and take their quiz to see how well each candidate matches your opinions.
My results surprised me.
Kerry: 59% match
Bush: 29% match
Apparently, I agree more with Kerry. I find it amazing that I agree with neither of the two real candidates on more than three-fifths of the issues.
I wish the quiz included third part candidates, though. That would have made the results a bit more interesting.
I must begin this with a confession. I have not been totally honest with the people at LU in regards to my social life. For the past three years I have had a girlfriend from home. Her name is Tanya, and she has been studying history at Texas A&M. I kept this a secret because I did not want to bother anyone with it. Why should I force my relationship with Tanya on others? I'm not naive. I know that no one would really care.
Tanya called me this afternoon at about 3:00. The conversation started out as it usually does, but I noticed a different tone in her voice. Shortly into the conversation she decided she couldn't "keep up the facade any longer." She told me that she was tired of having a long distance relationship. She said she did not love me anymore and wanted to break up with me.
I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it. I tried telling her how much I still loved her, but she wouldn't listen.
Once our relationship was finished, I had to talk to someone. I spent some time cleaning myself up and tried to look as normal as I could. Since nobody was here I walked over to the Ice Cave. Gallagher, surprisingly enough, walked outside his apartment as I was approaching it. He stopped me and surprised me with what he said.
Apparently, his girlfriend, Jamie, had also broken up with him! She had been going to Texas Woman's University and had felt the same way. Not only that, but Wilson and Wheeler's secret girlfriends, Cecily and Juanita respectively, also broke up with them!
I couldn't speak. Gallagher told me they were just on their way to Marble Slab to talk about it and that I should join them. I agreed. We left shortly after trying to be discrete about our campus exit.
I really needed this evening at Marble Slab. We shared our respective stories with each other and bonded like I have never experienced at LU. I never would have imagined that ice cream and heartbreak could forge such strong bonds.
I recommend reading Gallagher's, Wheeler's, and Wilson's account of tonight as well. It is all very moving.
The lovely people over at Wonkette have provided a way to make the VP debate a little more interesting.
A funny thing happened in British Literature I yesterday. I was having a conversation with a friend about politics that went something like this:
ME: I think I'm going to vote for a third party since I'm in Texas and my vote is pointless anyway [since Bush is going to win Texas no matter how I vote].
FRIEND: You would seriously waste your vote on a third party that you know won't win?
ME: The point of an election is not to vote for the winner. I'm going to vote for who I think is the best candidate.
FRIEND: You don't think Bush is the best candidate?
ME: I don't think any of the choices are the best candidate.
At this point, two other students sitting in front of us turned around:
RANDOM STUDENT 1: Amen!
RANDOM STUDENT 2: Yeah, I agree with you.
I simply looked at my friend and smiled. He later told me to stop laughing about my victory.
My opinion of the general LeTourneau student body was improved by those two students yesterday.