Politics, In My Opinion (Part 1)

I know this blog is really supposed to be about me and my twins, but the main purpose of my blog has always been more about me (mostly how I relate to the rearing of my children) and who I am - somewhat of a public journal. If you’re going to leave hate comments then don’t read. Or if you’re just not interested, that’s fine too. Hopefully you will respect where I'm coming from, even if you disagree.

I wrote a post a few months ago on politics and primarily about speaking out/not/etc. But this election was big. The stakes were high. It didn’t go my way.

So I want to publicly state my views here.  You can agree or disagree, but it’s what I think, and my life experience, education, and values have shaped my political views as I’m sure your own has shaped yours.

Republican vs. Democrat:

I guess I’m a Republican. I really like the idea of being neither, but I’m pretty Republican, so I guess except in rare cases, that I’m a Republican. Does that mean I agree with 100% of the Republican party? No. But I agree with most of it.

My first election I had just turned 18. I didn’t register. It was 1992. Bush Sr. vs. Clinton vs. Ross Perot. I really liked Ross Perot! I wasn’t enthused about Bush because of the economy. (I realize now that I didn’t understand economics at all – like many I tied the economy directly to the President in office at the time. I thought I was wisely not re-electing George HW Bush.) I didn’t really look at Clinton at all. Perot sounded good and he seemed to have the answers. If I had registered I would have absolutely casted my vote for Ross Perot. A throw away vote that ultimately a lot of people cast and put Clinton in the White House. I would reconsider that now. But I was so idealist back then, as many young people are. Many Democrats are idealists. I like aspiring to a higher ideal, but in politics I think it can be very short-sighted.

So back to my thought process. 1996 came. I was a college graduate, from a super conservative school – Texas A&M University. I still wasn’t really into politics, but when it came to big elections I felt it was important to do my civic duty and learn about the candidates and vote. I was in graduate school getting my MBA. I ignored all the Clinton scandals and voted for Clinton. I thought the scandals were concocted by all the haters. And if you put those aside, I liked the fact that he balanced the budget and I liked the Family Leave Act. I didn’t have any big complaints and wasn’t enthused about Dole. So I voted for him. I was an assistant for a professor at the time who made the point to me “but do you not think that leadership from the President of the United States is important?” I stood firm that I was happy with him overall, except in reducing the military, and that I was going to go ahead and vote for him.

Then Monica Lewinsky happened. I also entered the workforce. I was disgusted about Monica Lewinsky. The scandals from the first term were true. I understood my professor’s point. Yes, setting an example DOES matter. I knew Gore was not Clinton, but I didn’t really care for him, and wanted no tie to Clinton whatsoever. Add on top of that the governor from my great state of Texas, George W Bush, who I was very happy with at home, getting put on the ticket. I loved W! He truly had done a lot in Texas and people on both sides liked him. It was easy to get behind him. And then I saw something I’d never noticed before – how much the other side tried to paint a different picture of the man who was the head of my state. How I agreed with his platform and how it was twisted into something entirely different by the Democratic party. Then the election. Then Florida. Then recalls and hanging chads (called for by Gore). Then Bush winning fair and square and the left yelling for four years how he stole the election. Then 9/11 happened. Forced him into some really difficult decisions for our country, along with many other challenges that were thrown his way. And I agree with most of his actions. The left calling him a liar. Saying outlandish things about how he made up things about WMD’s when intelligence showed they were there. I saw him called a murderer, by people who held office in the Democratic party. Not just the crazies who vote for Democrats, but the politicians themselves. Bush was not given a chance from day 1 because he “stole” the election. Filibusters. So much divisiveness and disrespect that I had never seen before. I don’t know if it was there before and I just hadn’t noticed, but I sure noticed during his 8 years in office. Then there was the media. They did it too. They jumped on board.

And what did it do? Pushed me completely into the Republican party. It would take a lot for me to vote for a Democrat, especially on a federal level, at this point. But if it was a right-wing nut vs a sound moderate Democrat, it’s possible. But both sides have moved further right and further left, that it’s very hard to stay in the middle. So I’ve moved to the right.

Then there was Obama. I thought John McCain was okay. I certainly greatly respected him, and one thing that I particularly liked about John McCain, was that he was a moderate. Our system is really messed up. It’s so hard to win the primary if you’re a moderate, and yet I believe we need moderates running the country. Everyone would be so much happier with a moderate! Look at Clinton! Despite his despicable escapades in the bedroom, most people were generally happy. He was in the middle. I remember thinking I wouldn’t be able to stand it if Hilary Clinton were our president, but give me her over Obama any day. I think the Clinton’s at least are pretty sound on a lot of things. I just didn't care for her personality. But in my maturity I no longer care much about personality, so long as someone's not a jerk. I care about ideas, principles, policy, and leadership.

So McCain was okay, in the middle, great patriot. Obama was as far left and extreme as you can go. Never would vote for him in a million years. But he won. And now twice. This time against another man who is a moderate, that has a life of service AND success, with great ideas, and another great patriot. I think America really passed up a great president. At times he was a little out of touch, but I think he’s been in the service of enough people of all walks of life to be compassionate to their plights. And he sure didn’t have things handed to him. He built his business on his own. But again, he was made out to be someone evil, and people bought into it. And it worked. I guess if that election strategy proves to be successful people will continue to use it.

While I get tired of the two parties being to the extreme, because I think again we need people in the middle, I actually believe that it’s good to have the two parties. Republicans in my opinion are good on the economy and foreign policy, but Democrats do a lot of things for domestic policy (though those things are getting more extreme now too and not sitting as well with me anymore). So I think the two sides keep us in balance, even though they slow down our progress on getting things done because they don’t work together very well.

I also find it interesting that the older I got and the more I experienced, the more to the right I went, and the more I understood so MANY of the issues at hand. I fully admit that what I based my early decisions on and what I thought I knew were very limited. My understanding was very shallow. And I was someone going to school and getting educated. I honestly think the voting age is too young. There are not many college-aged kids (yes, kids) who have a clear understanding of most of these things. The great majority are mostly concerned with dating and parties and having fun. I know I was. But as my husband says "you can't tell someone they're old enough to die for our country but they're not old enough to vote." He's completely right. I wish for those serving in the military you could make an exception. But none of that will ever happen so it's part of the framework we have to work within.

So, I’m not trying to be a political analyst here, but giving some background on how I’ve come to where I am and what I’ve done in the past. I have a lot more to say. Part 2 coming soon.