I need an answer to this question: Why vote Republican?

October 23, 2008 – 10:48 am – No Comment

First, let me say this is not a question that I am asking to get an answer like, “because God likes Republicans…” or “because my dad/mom/grandparent told me to…” No. I don’t want those answers. I want to separate my religion with my government and I want an answer from someone who knows the issues.

I recently read an article about how after the third presidential debate, when polled, those making under $50,000 a year bumped up John McCain’s numbers. Hmm. Given that no other variables exist, this really doesn’t make since. Under Obama’s tax plan, those families would be seeing more cuts from Obama than McCain. Was it the whole story about “Joe the plumber”? I sure hope not, because he was posing a hypothetical situation. The real Joe isn’t even a licensed plumber, and makes around $40k a year. He is in no position to purchase this company (which only makes $100k a year anyway, so it too would benefit from Obama’s tax plan more).

I do understand that there are more variables when it comes to political views than just money. I, however, do not believe that they should be decided by government. I strongly support gay marriage/unions. I hate some of my best friends being shunned by the federal government because of who they are. They deserve the same rights everyone else has. I don’t think this is an issue that should be decided by the government because of the “separation of church and state” issue in the Constitution. If the government decided what should be practiced and what shouldn’t, religion-wise, would it “banish” all of the Muslims, Jews, and other religions and non-religions out of the country? Could it ban atheists from getting married? When does the tampering in our personal beliefs stop? This is one of those “variables” I was talking about.

What about defense? You really have to try hard to convince me why we still need to be in Iraq and why some are looking to invade Iran??? Yes, our policies and those of Iran’s and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, kind of clash, but we need to be diplomatic. We see what happens when diplomacy fails and we go to war instead. Right now, Americans aren’t viewed so well in the eyes of the world. Our military should be used to keep us safe, not put us in harm’s way by being used to start wars.

There are several more “variables” when it comes to who you cast your vote for in the next election. Whether it be taxes, the economy, change, religion, defense, health care, education, etc…