As a pronouncedly Republican-favoring citizen, I'm having deep remorse over what Howard Dean calls the "credit-card" presidency of Bush. It's Bush now; it was Reagan before. Whatever happened to fiscal responsibility? Maybe I'm naive but you have to give Clinton his due. Where has all the surplus gone (to the tune of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?")? I got the Time-Life 8 disc folk series for Christmas.... I'm supportive of the war effort. It's not pretty and it's not perfect but, alas, war is hell. you have to expect those things. I think the problems of terrorism can be tamed more readily than the economic issues our children and grand-children are facing and that we face in our retirement years. I've watched the blackhawk video and it sickens me. Mostly it sickens me to think that those might have been innocent men. Even if they are guilty, it still sickens me to watch people being slaughtered in that fashion. No, I'm not charging "War Crimes" either. War is hell. I wish there was a Pacifist option that wasn't so vapid. I saw a thing on The History Channel in which they showed the bodies of Kurdish children being removed from the back of pickup trucks for burial after Saddam had gassed them. That saddened me even more. I'd like to see taxes lowered, but I can live with them at this level. I have two main gripes about taxes: 1. How much money gets wasted and 2. That everyone isn't paying a "fair share." Come on, flat tax! President Forbes? We could use a balanced budget amendment, too. And Term Limits with longer terms. Turnover is what will make the US government great again. New vision... by construction. Anyway, I'm feeling dis-satisfied and feel like a protest vote or even a party migration might be rising up in me. I feel like the current party behavior is taking me away from my ideals which have been wed to Republican politicians for a long time. Since touting either party is a pretty solid compromise, maybe I should side with the Democrats for awhile. Which sounds better? Conservative Democrat or Moderate Democrat. Why is it that thinking about being a Democrat makes me feel silly but kind of prideful while thinking about remaining a Republican makes me feel disenchanted and disingenuous? Should I pull the trigger? Why or why not? Help me to understand better.... Call it a mid-life crisis! P.S.-- Sorry if this is kind of rambly. It's 4:30 AM and my crying daughter woke me at 3:30.
Ah Feeyul Yore Pain! Seriously, Giddy, I think your post is indicative of what many Americans are feeling these days. The Republican party has shifted to the hard right, the Democratic party has shifted to the hard left, and those in the middle are left with no party to represent them. I believe that eventually, hopefully in my lifetime, this will lead to enough dissatisfied American voters electing an independent to be President of the United States. I only hope to G-d that it isn't Ross Perot or Lyndon LaRouche!
He sure has come from nowhere...just like old what's-his-name playing sax in the picture above. This will be an interesting election, to say the least!
I'm thinking the same way. I have a couple of friends (mother and son) who were working for him in Iowa. He has that JFK thing going on with the American Mind. It's like it's time for a renewal. America feels mired. I had a friend who used to be into Oriental culture. He was telling me about the Yin-Yang thing. Sometimes he would do the completely unexpected thing (nothing dangerous mind you) because it upset the status quo in his life and was a force to bring him to a center rather than the extreme rail he was riding on at the time. Worth thinking about!
I like Edwards....if the Dems nominated him, I'd have to think about it. I wish Clark would drop out now - it would let Edwards collect a lot of his votes in the South, and maybe become a major contender. As it is, Edwards won't win New Hampshire, and he's probably going to split the southern vote with Clark in Arizona and South Carolina. That might let Kerry sneak through. Edwards is my favorite right now as well. I want Clark to do well, but everytime he opens his mouth (criticizing Kerry's military experience?!?), he just makes things worse. I'd be OK with Kerry, except that whole New Englander vs. Southerner thing really seems to carry some weight. I'm not sure he could win. Dean is a disaster waiting to happen.
You know giddy, you and I don't appear to agree much on anything political but ... Here we are in total agreement. My political philosophy is I really don't care what the federal government does as long as it balances its budget.
yeah..because i'm well known for my love of lawyers! most of the lawyers i know are not people i would choose to spend considerable time with. i work with a few of the exceptions to that rule.
I saw Edwards last night on ESPN fielding random questions from New Hampshire voters. I was impressed with his background knowledge as shown by his answers. Edwards would make a good President.
Clark is also taking some votes away from Kerry. Kerry and Clark both have war experience and foreign policy experience. They are also both fighting for the "best resume" of all of the Democratic candidates. It will be real interesting how long the top four candidates (Kerry, Dean, Clark, and Edwards) remain viable candidates. All but Edwards have the $$$ to have "legs" in the race. Whoever emerges as the winner should benefit from all of the closely contested primaries.
I'm voting for the major candidate who comes closest to having a fiscal policy that is not insane and a foreign policy based not on theory and hope, but our national interest. That leaves out Bush, so I guess I'm going with the Dem. (I know... big surprise.)
He must be getting traction, as Drudge and the GOP are taking today to hit Edwards because he is opposed to the President's Social Security Plan when a few years earlier, he favored investment. In fact, he advocated taking a small share of the SS funds and investing those on behalf of all beneficiaries. He did not advocate individual accounts. Another misrepresentation and smear, just like with the Clark deal last week. I certainly hope the GOP is holding stuff in reserve, because if this is the best they have, I'm going to be sorely disappointed... I expect more from Rove.
Obviously the principal issue in this debate is the market-based mechanism to the accounts, not their individual or collective status. The issue is risk and return. Edwards wanted to expose social security funds to this risk/reward tradeoff. Now he doesn't. He flip-flopped, plain and simple. The criticism of Edwards is legitimate.
You are naive...Clinton was a complete idiot and did nothing but make a joke out of the office...Remember, Bush inherited a bad economy... I think people should vote who they believe will make the best decisions for the country... I love Bush and believe he is the man to take us into prosperity...
Mrs. JB likes him and anyone willing to announce his candidacy on The Daily Show because he promised to do it is ok by me.
Obviously the principal issue in this debate is the market-based mechanism to the accounts, not their individual or collective status. The issue is risk and return. Edwards wanted to expose social security funds to this risk/reward tradeoff. Now he doesn't. He flip-flopped, plain and simple. The criticism of Edwards is legitimate. As you well know, the collective vs. individual status is a vital distinction. If people have individual control of their accounts, Social Security is no longer a social safety net (the entire reason for its existence). The people who screw up their investments are now screwed and will have to be assisted again by the government in some other way. A collective investment eliminates this problem.
don't mean to be sarcastic rim, but is there any criticism of any democratic candidate that you'd consider to be legit? if so, what would it be? even if it came from drudge/rove?
A vital distinction that is less important than the risk/reward tradeoff. Wait a second, you mean to tell me that people have control over their futures? Wait, this can't be! This is terrible! The government should not only run our investments for us, but they should also pick our wife, buy our car, and select our house!
i have to admit i like edwards. something about a positive campaign...talking about what he'd do...rather than how everyone else sucks.
