Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we visited our extended family on my husband’s side. His uncle Jim heads up the Giuliani campaign in his small, southern New Hampshire town, so he asked me who I am supporting in the primary.
I really have not decided who to support, so I didn’t have much to say about it. I just talked to him about Giuliani and other issues that concern both of us.
There is not really too much to talk about when you pretty much see eye-to-eye on things.
It got me thinking that I should probably make some sort of commitment to a candidate, though. So, I am going to start posting about the candidates and make a decision.
I also started thinking about what I want in a candidate. Bob (that’s my husband, for all you newbies) and I were talking about it on the ride home from his parents’ house.
On the top of my list is… you guessed it, big government or, as I like to call it, expansion of government programs. I do not want a NCLB-supporting, Medicare Part D-creating, government-expanding, big-spending, faux conservative.
Next, immigration and border security. Bottom line, we need to know who is entering our country - especially in this age of terrorism. And no one should be rewarded for entering illegally. We have got to get a handle on this situation.
I really do care about the moral decline of our culture, but I do not think that morality of that sort can be legislated. I would like to see a president - or any politician, for that matter - who is not afraid to stand up and address the American people and encourage us to demand better of ourselves - but not try to legislate it.
I also want a president who will respect that the Constitution was set up to limit the government’s power. It is not some kind of living document that is supposed to grow as the years go by into something that encompasses greater government power.
I would like to see someone who wants to let the American people stand on their own two feet, not coddle them with more government programs.
It kind of reminds me of parenting. If you are always watching over your child’s shoulder, constantly correcting and protecting him from making mistakes, your child will never grow up and become independent.
I am not saying that we are just children, but that the government tends to treat us that way, often with our consent.
What I am saying is that I have faith in the American people that if we are let go to flourish on our own, we will rise to the occasion - and great things will happen.
Okay, back here on planet America, I know that we have no such candidate running for president. In light of that fact, I will follow this up with a post that looks at the mere mortals running for the privilege of being the next president of this great nation.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
“What I Look for in a Man (Who is Running for President)”…what about a woman who is running for President? I know your party hasn’t really seriously considered one recently (and no, I don’t count Mrs. Dole’s “plastic” candiditcy to be serious), but it seems like you left more than half of the population (of which you belong too) out of it right off the bat.
With that in mind…Hillary’s my gal. I came to the conclusion a while ago that who better to clean up the mess that Bushy Boy (since one of the main things that he wanted to do as President was wipe out everything that Bubba did in the 90s) has created than a Clinton? I am concerned about how that will look to the world at large…H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, W. Bush, H. Clinton, but times are tough & drastic times call for drastic measures IMO.
I’ll say something controversial now just for controversy’s sake.
If Hillary is the nominee of the Democratic Party and you’re a woman and don’t vote for her, then I say that you’re a traitor to your own kind. Women will never truly be taken seriously in this country by a vast majority of Americans until a woman holds the highest office in the land. And yes, I have been yelled at before for making this argument…I can take it… 
December 7th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
“what about a woman who is running for President? ”
Ah, I thought I might get a comment like that. I almost changed the title, but the fact is that for the primary I will be voting in, there is no woman on the ballot.
“If Hillary is the nominee of the Democratic Party and you’re a woman and don’t vote for her, then I say that you’re a traitor to your own kind.”
If, as a woman, I thought that I should vote for the woman candidate over the person with the best qualifications and ideas, I would be a traitor to my “own kind.”
Women know how to consider the issues and the candidates’ stances, then decide which candidate they believe will do the best job, and to imply that we must base our votes on something less than that is an insult.
Besides, I am also the Vice Chair of the Burlington Republican Committee, so wouldn’t voting for a Democrat make me a “traitor to my own kind”?
December 8th, 2007 at 12:09 am
A Poli Sci professor of mine in college once threw out the novel idea that if he didn’t know which candidate to vote for in an election (whether because they were all equally qualified or he just didn’t care too much one way or the other who won) that he should just vote for a woman or a minority candidate if possible. His thinking was that the only way that these groups would ever get proportional representation or respect would be if more and more of them held office. I’ve been using that way of thinking ever since…even in elections for professional or academic societys that I happen to be a member of.
I had similiar political conversations with my family at Thanksgiving…although they ran along the lines of me badgering my Republican relatives (who aren’t too pleased with Bush) with the phrase: “What’s it going to be, female President or black President?” To which I only got a smile or a laugh in response. I am quite pleased that we’ll likely finally get to see whether or not our country is “ready” for either of these alternatives. I don’t know what the answer will be yet.
I had a feeling you were still involved in Burlington GOP politics Charity…so as they say in Quebec, touche.
I wouldn’t dream of voting for a Republican for similiar reasons.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
“I had a feeling you were still involved in Burlington GOP politics”
That is a recent thing. I was not involved for the past two years. I only recently got back on the city committee.
I was only joking about the “own kind” thing. My allegiance to the party is not stronger than my allegiance to my own values. If at any time there was a candidate from another party that I felt would do a better job, I would vote for that person.
December 9th, 2007 at 3:41 am
I think I got the joke. Remember, no one can see who you really vote for in the voting booth, but they can hear you scream while you vote for Hillary…so keep it down in there…
December 9th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Charity,
Take a look at Ron Paul http://www.ronpaul2008.org.
He’s known as Dr. No for a reason. He never votes for an unconstitutional bill. He doesn’t participate in the congressional pension system. He’s never voted to raise taxes.
I think you’ll also find his moral standards up to meeting yours. He’s been married to his wife for 50 or so years. Google Ron Paul and look on You Tube for videos about him.
December 10th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Hardy, I knew when I saw your name that your comment was about Ron Paul.
I will definitely be exploring Ron Paul in a future post.
December 10th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Charity,
I’m glad you are blogging again
I’m moving to NH though. Had enough of VT.
- Hardy
December 13th, 2007 at 3:03 am
Ron Paul is a nut. That should be obvious. And he’s Godnutty as well, which cancels out the few things I like about him.
Mister Guy… I couldn’t agree less with you about Hillary on so many levels, I hope you were kidding. So by your logic, if you vote for Hillary, aren’t you a traitor to your kind? I fI vote for Obama, am I being a traitor to white people?
I think Hillary would be disaster on so many levels, and not because of the usual right wing b.s reasons.
She’s only be a little better than Bush. She’s still a corporatist hack, and is in no way a “liberal’, which is what we really need right now to truly undo the Bush cancer. She panders and panders, almost principle-free. You’re one of the first people I’ve come across who supports her.
December 13th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
I don’t think Ron Paul is a nut…he’s basically a Libertarian. You’ll find plenty of those types around northern New Engalnd if you look hard enough. Some of his supporters might be nuts though. I personally don’t understand the whole “Google Ron Paul” thing at all. Going to his website isn’t enough for them?? There’s a guy that I know who props up a “Ron Paul for President” lawn sign (wires and all) on his truck every night…that’s dedication I guess.
If I remember right, I was only half kidding JD. I don’t have a problem with the Clintons in general. I agree that they are nowhere near as liberal as they are protrayed by many though. They do play the game of politics very well. The Clintons have had way, way more influence on politics in this country than people talk about…even our own Gov. Jimmy D. is quite the slick candidate.
Unfortunately, there are going to be a heck of a lot of people, IMO, that vote against Hillary or Obama because of race and gender “issues” alone. The only way that a woman will ever become President, IMO, is if a heck of a lot of women band together and vote for one to combat this sexism. I honestly don’t know how a black person will ever be elected President in this country, but I’m no expert on the matter.
When I vote for Hillary, I’ll be voting for a political entity (the Clintons) which I like just fine and that I think has the know-how to turn this country around. I’ll also be voting for a woman because I think it’s high-time for a woman to be President. I mean…I think it’s crazy that we haven’t even celebrated the 100th anniversary since women have even been allowed to vote in this country!