BillT wrote:I believe there are many issues this Country is facing that are far more important than gun rights and I can't make that my priority when supporting a candidate
That is certainly your right. As long as you
OWN your mistakes and dedicate yourself to correcting them if your candidate turns out to be a gun-grabber in
fact, then we have no argument. My first vote as a Republican was for Bob Dole, not because I thought he was a spectacular candidate, but because Bill Clinton signed the AWB, and couldn't keep his pants zipped. I had always voted as a Democrat prior to that. And for what it is worth, I agree that the Republican party has relegated itself into insignificance — by trying to be Democrat Lite. As such, I am considering re-registering as an independent also. From now on, the Republican party is going to have to EARN my vote.
That said, I am self-employed and uninsured because insurance companies won't cover me due to previously existing conditions. But if your guy signs a bill into law that penalizes me to the tune of $3,800 per year, enforceable by the IRS, for not having a private insurance policy and being unwilling to accept government insurance, when I am perfectly happy to pay for my own medical care out of my pocket (for a lot less than $3,800 annually, and when I can raise the money needed for a catastrophic event), then you and I have a major problem and nothing more to talk about.
If your guy signs legislation that increase my business taxes in this economy, when I am
barely squeaking by, then you and I have a major problem and nothing more to talk about.
Finally, if your guy can't either poop or get off the pot about troop levels in Afghanistan (79 + days and counting since General Crystal's recommendations), causing more American deaths while he waffles, then you and I have a major problem and nothing more to talk about. You are against the war? Fine. Then tell him to bring our boys and girls home NOW. Otherwise, tell him to cowboy up and act like a president who is Commander in Chief and
responsible for the safety of the troops under his command while they are fighting on foreign soil.
And I'm not even going to go into him rolling over for Putin and the chicoms; or that he would likely be happier if Israel would simply cease to exist and all those pesky Jews would just roll over; or the FACT that the vast majority of Hondurans (per American friends of mine who actually
live there) know that Zelaya is an insane dictator wannabe, but your guy wants him reinstated; or that Ahwannajihad of Iran plays him like a bongo drum; or that he has alienated the Brits, our most important allies in the WOT; or that he won't even
call it a WOT anymore; or that he hires a record number of "tsars," particularly those that don't pay their taxes and are known to be affiliated with extreme radicalist causes; or that he is
owned by such paragons or morality as ACORN and the SEIU; accepting an admittedly undeserved Nobel prize; sicking his administration attack dogs on the only news outlet that doesn't have its nose far up his posterior (even the allegedly "stoopid" Bush knew better than to get into a p*****g contest with Keith Olberman; and even the noted and very liberal "dean" of the WH press corps, Helen Thomas, has advised the administration to lay off that tactic); etc., etc., etc.
You know what? I voted for George Bush twice. Bush did things that I cannot agree with. But he didn't roll over for this nation's enemies (except perhaps when he "looked into Putin's eyes"), and compared to the "new transparency" of your guy's administration, Bush was the real deal.
I am sure that you are a decent and honorable man. But you put your hope in a man with little experience and a disturbing record of voting "present" rather than getting on the record. He is a cipher, and the only "record" we have to go on are his words. He is a cipher, and a neophyte at governing and at foreign policy. He is learning on the taxpayer dime, instead of having arrived
prepared to govern. Please do not take any of this as a flame attack; it is not intended as such. You raised the issues by posting the opening post. I'm merely responding, and this is my 2¢.
Oh, and welcome to the forum.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
#TINVOWOOT
