Thursday, January 31, 2008

AN EMPTY FIELD, BUT CAN'T SIT OUT

Anonymous said...
Hey JD:

Have not posted in awhile...glad to see you're still at it.

Ann can sum things up pretty well...though she can be a tad "mean." I agree with Ann (and you) who do you like in this race and why?

Signed,

Your conscience :-)

January 27, 2008 10:15 PM



JD said...

Glad to hear from you, C. On Ann, though, if telling it like it is, is “mean”, I guess I have room in my heart for mean people. At least I don’t have to second guess where she’s coming from.

On whom I support: Sadly, I do not have a horse in this race. It’s an empty feeling to a lot of us; that we can’t get behind a candidate with any conviction.

What a pitiful field of contestants, don’t you think? On the Republican side conservatives can’t find a conservative.

Many will argue that Ron Paul is the most conservative, but is he a real conservative. He’s a Constitutionalist, no doubt, but with an alarmingly uncomfortable lack of foreign policy to offer. His pretense that we shouldn’t have sent our military abroad in the first place is empty rhetoric because the reality is we have two theatres engaged in the hot war on terror and fundamentalist Islam. He also wants to go back to the gold standard. It’s a bit late to put that genie back in the bottle. Not to mention his isolationist and protectionist bents.

Issues like these keep Paul at the bottom of the pack and absolutely unelectable. The balance of the Republican field is moderate to liberal. This will ultimately cause a Republican loss in November.

On the Democrat side, we have an African-American and a woman. That’s it! Not two qualified, upright and honest, well-intended citizens, just an African-American and a woman; a combination that makes the left feel all warm, fuzzy and righteous; but blinds them.

So what to do. Sit it out? I’m not capable. I will follow John McCain’s lovely mother’s advice, hold my nose and tender a vote against Hillary.

JD.

If anyone out there would like to comment on what's left of the candidate field, I would love to hear your opinions and post them as well. Just respond in the usual way and I'll post your comments prominently. JD.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

JD,

Well...you know me...the big C (that's conscience, not conservative...though I consider myself a conservative). I am all about the truth (read "telling it like it is") too. But, are we not to tell speak the truth in Love? Ann, as right on as she is (much of the time) on issues, can paint Republicans and Conservatives in a negative (read "uncaring" and "elitist") light vis a vis her column. Truth without love tends to fall on deaf ears...even (if I may side-bar) the Good Book and absolute truth. It makes for entertaining reading and a "fist in the air"..."right on" at times...but...not to the folks we need to educate and court to our side of the aisle, especially in November!

I am sure you would agree that Ann's column on her late father was very "human" and very moving. It struck a chord, I would wager, with any reader. What Ann described were solid morals and values. If Republicans are to have any hope in taking back Congress and keeping the White House, they need to strike a chord with the American people too. Now bear with me, JD. I don't mean being "relative." We must stand on principle here. No moral relativism. No wishy-washy middle of the road pandering platform. No back peddling on Republican or Conservative values (e.g. God, life, fiscal responsibility, lowering taxes, spending our own money, strict constructionism, etc. ...you know...Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness and those inalienable rights our good Creator endowed us with). Very few folks want or want to believe in their need for big government and big hand outs.. We have truth and history on our side.

I recently read a column where the author was, I believe, right on regarding Ronald Reagan and his success. In brief, my spin, Reagan was great not because of his conservative ideals, but because of how and when he applied them. Folks can't simply take Reagan's actions and apply them to every situation. We need to step back and apply the best conservative ideals and answers to our current problems....and stop trying to apply the same old answers.

Though with simple truth (and no love)....we lose when faced with voting against, for example, the health of our children (a la S-CHIP). We lose when we campaign again "universal health care." Who doesn't want health care for all??? No one! But NO ONE wants to move a large chunk of children who are already covered privately to the government dole at your and my expense (a la S-CHIP). No one wants the reality of a much higher marginal tax rates required to pay for universal health care (a la HillaryCare). More importantly....would you accept the long waiting lines at hospitals or second-rate health care delivered by an IRS style health system (a la Canada and England and HillaryCare). Though this may fall on deaf ears (not yours, the voting public)....moving billions from the private sector to the public sector does not bode well for jobs or the economy. Though the later should hit home well enough. You can go on and on. Sadly, most folks don't seem to "see" this.

I am sure I am preaching to the choir, but we need to make Conservative values hit home and hit hard. We need to have a solid platform that is a better fix for healthcare, for social security, etc. Good sound business/fiscal/economic (read "Republican") fixes, but fixes that show folks why our policies are better for them and our great country. Anyway...off the ole soap box.

As for my thoughts on the leftovers....At this point, with only one real horse left in the race, I too will likely be left "holding my nose" and voting. Let's hope McCain fairs better in November than my first choices have faired in this race.