Edging into dangerous territory
February 15th, 2008 by amylherzog
Pregnancy still sucks, but fortunately (?) I have plenty of other things keeping me way too busy to dwell on that fact. In lieu of complaining about them, though, I want to share something I wrote today.
This is about politics. I’ve wanted to write something for awhile, about my feelings on the upcoming election, but haven’t wanted to start a flame war or spark any name-calling. I still want to avoid anything but a respectful and honest exchange of ideas, so if you feel you might have something nasty to say… look! Jacob got a haircut!!
I have donated to a campaign for the first time in my life (to Barack Obama), and have been getting the predictable slew of campaign announcements since then. Today, I got a request from the campaign to share my story. They’re collecting stories from supporters to make a stronger case to the superdelegates likely to decide who receives the Democratic Party nomination. This is mine.
I might be one of the last people you’d expect to dive into a Democratic primary battle. I was born and raised in Maine, a state that values independence and unorthodoxy for their own sake. I’ve spent most of my life on the libertarian edge of conservative politics. My family’s values, which became my own, center around the core belief that the government should generally stay out of my business. I was even registered Libertarian, for a few years.
As I’ve gotten older, and spent more and more years *in* our society (rather than critiquing it from a liberal-arts campus), I’ve come to settle in pretty solidly as an independent. But even as an independent, I tend to lean more to the economic right. If I were forced to pick a party, the democratic party would probably be my third choice.
Like most Americans, my views are centrist. Like most Americans, I despair at the lack of compromise and common sense in the current political atmosphere. I’m tired of the expansion of power in the executive branch, I’m tired of the erosion of our civil liberties, I’m tired of the effect rising healthcare costs are having on our small businesses, and I’m *really* tired of these major issues being ignored in favor of yet another fear-mongering jab from one party to the other.
Which brings me, I suppose, to my support for this campaign. I thought I was incapable of truly supporting *anyone* in this fall’s presidential race. I was convinced that the whole thing would be summed up by two positions: “Whatever you think of the current administration, know that the Democrats would hand us all over to the terrorists without any hesitation!” and “We’re the only hope for salvation from the Pure Evil
of the Republican Agenda!” I’m not sure you can imagine my disbelief, and then relief, upon discovering that the Democratic Party’s young darling was actually a candidate who made considered decisions based on reason and realism. Someone who didn’t just welcome independents like me, but who reached out to those with good ideas *regardless* of political affiliation. I don’t know how I could *not* support Barack Obama. He’s everything that has been missing in American politics for an entire generation. And I, for one, am really looking forward to being welcomed back into the national debate.
I hope that, whatever your political affiliations, you’ll take the time this year to figure out who you support, and why, and then vote for them.
(Me too. I have never donated to a political campaign before. I hope I never do again. I am revolted by the idea that mere advertising can do so much to determine the outcome of an election.
And yet, I donated money – not much, but any is a huge shift in my outlook – to Barack Obama’s campaign.)
Ooh! Haircut!
Much more eloquent than I could put it, but yes me too. I attended the Obama rally in Seattle last week and felt more excitement and possibility regarding politics than I have ever expected to. I too put a few pennies where my mouth is and my body (and my family’s bodies) at our state primary.
Until this post, I hadn’t looked at Obama’s positions at all. I’d just bought what my right-wing friends said (that he mouths empty platitudes and doesn’t have much substance). It turns out that they are wrong – his website is full of specific proposals on issues. (Perhaps it’s just his speeches they are referring too?)
However, now that I have looked, I’m not too impressed. His proposals seem to involve lots of spending money and lots of expansions of federal programs. I like all the tax breaks for the lower class (I may be a libertarian, but I support progressive taxation), and I like his positions on fiscal policy, but I am skeptical that he will save enough money to fund all his proposals. Perhaps drastic cuts in war funding would do it? He wants to pull most troops from Iraq, but also increase the size of the army at home and replace all their equipment, which sounds expensive.
Anyway, while I’m sure all the other candidates are just as bad, there’s no way I’m supporting anyone who is so economically ignorant as to claim: “Intellectual property is to the digital age what physical goods were to the industrial age”. Err, no, IP is to the digital age what cool ideas were to the industrial age.
I’ve been strongly considering sending $20 to Obama’s campaign. Being a fiscal conservative, I’d still rather have McCain than Obama in the White House. However, I’d *much* rather have Obama than Hillary Clinton as president. Certainly at least $20 worth. And even if that $20 makes it more likely that a democrat will win than a republican, I’d rather Obama get it.
My fear with donating thus far has been 1) I’m afraid to google for the “official” donation site, just in case I get misdirected to a scam (so if you know the official one, let me know the link) and 2) What kind of mailing lists will I be put on? Is there an opt-out? Given that the primaries are already over in CA, and I’m more likely to vote for McCain in the general, I don’t want to receive any mailings from political orginazations.
This won’t be the first time I’ve ever given to a campaign (I supported Tom Campbell’s run for Senate and his state races) but it would be the first time I’d ever donated to a democrat. I didn’t get any extra mail from Campbell other than a nice thank-you card after the race was over.
–Beth
I forgot to mention in the last note that it will be the first time in the last 8 years that I’ve voted /for/ a presidential candidate, as opposed to against one. (I voted libertarian/write-in the previous two cycles.)
–Beth
Dude, off topic, but did you make that sweater for little man? He sure looks like a big boy, a preschool-ready and whatnot!
Very well said. I will hand write Barack Obama in if he does not win the nomination. He is a man whose time has come. He’s not perfect, and that’s a good quality. I believe he is sincere and a strong leader.I am ready to put the country, my country, in his hand.
Thank you for stating it so clearly. He is what American Politics needs. And, the more I learn, the more convinced I am.
–Bev
Happy you are doing well in your pregnancy. Sorry about your grandad, what a beautiful obit>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I’ll vote for Obama………
Bobbie