Between a Rock and a Hard Place? Not Really

My friends and I have cried in our beer long enough about the awful choices we face in the upcoming Presidential election next fall, and we have made it clear how much we regret having to vote for Senator McCain. What I decided to do was to list the 10 most important issues I have, in order of their importance to me, and see how the three present candidates would stack up with respect to these issues.

1. Islamic Terrorism – Continue to carry the fight to the enemy
2. Energy Resources – Drill everywhere; build nuclear plants; continue development of alternative sources without using foodstuffs
3. Immigration – Stop illegal immigration; then worry about guest workers and the illegals already here
4. Healthcare – Don’t let the federal government screw it up
5. Taxes – Keep the Bush tax cuts in place
6. Supreme Court – Fill any vacancies with judges who will stick by the original intent of Constitutional provisions
7. Military - Increase the size and the weaponry of all branches of the US military
8. Budget and Debt - Reduce the national debt by cutting all entitlement programs and subsidies and eliminating earmarks
9. Education – Eliminate the US Department of Education and all federal involvement in education
10. Man-made Global Warming – Continue monitoring climate data, but support no programs to reduce CO2 emissions on the basis of existing knowledge

The surprising thing is that both of the Democrat candidates, Clinton and Obama, would NOT support any of the 10 issues that are most important to me. In fact they would do just the opposite of what I want done and what I think is best for our country. On the other hand, Senator McCain supports at least four of my issues, and perhaps five. He supports me on issues 1,4,5,6 and possibly 7.

In 1992 I made a ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ decision by not supporting George H. W. Bush for a second term because of his about-face on his “no new taxes” pledge and because of some of his liberal policies. I did not send him a contribution, and I let all my friends know that I was fed up with him. In the end I voted for him, but, with Perot’s venomous help, he lost, and we got eight scum-filled years of Clinton. I think a lot of people probably made the same mistake I did, but I’m not going to make the same mistake again.

I’ve gotten my McCain bitterness out of my system as I contemplate what the alternatives are. I will be sending his campaign a contribution and supporting him fully from now on.