That Time of Year -

I just don't get it.

I guess I should preface this by saying that, while I don't wish to step on any toes, I'm also unapologetic about my views and the principals that I hold to. I've been dying to talk about politics here for a long, long time. Politics are important to me, and, especially living in our vastly liberal nation's capitol, I feel it's important to stay current on the issues. That's not only for my own knowledge, but also for the inevitable times when I come under criticism simply for being a conservative Republican.

What I don't get, specifically, is the appeal of Obama to Christians. It's a thought that I've struggled with recently, and am absolutely dumbfounded by. I just can't figure it out. If you believe that faith and politics cannot be divided, if you believe that redistribution of wealth is, in fact, wrong, if you believe in preserving the sanctity of marriage, if you believe in actually winning the war that we're in, and protecting our country in the future, if you believe in protecting the lives of those without a voice, if you believe a candidate's record, not his promises, are most important, if you believe in correcting the economy, if you believe that honesty and integrity are important characteristics in your candidate, I'm not sure how you could then vote for anyone but McCain.

That's not to say that McCain was my first choice. While Obama and Biden are trying to say that McCain is just another Bush, he's sadly less conservative than our current President. One area where I'm particularly thankful that he differs in, however, is that he is fiscally conservative! Yeah! While Bush has been pounded for his lack of fiscal restraint, (interestingly, a likely attempt at bridging the gap between parties, because no one spends like a Democrat) McCain and Palin both have worked to reform spending. Watching the debate last night, I looked at Ryan and said, "I will be so grateful if they win." It would be a totally different country. Real change. Good change.

One thing I've been hearing a lot of lately is that our values have no place in government, because we can't allow our own personal beliefs to affect our government. I have to say, I'm absolutely appalled by that, and I'm surprised that more people aren't. Quite frankly, if our values as Christians are not made known, those with opposing values DO make their own values known in the realm of government--values such as "tolerance", the right to choose, (the decision to take a life that has already been created) the destruction of the sanctity of marriage, a complete disdain for all things Christian, (though, other religions are fine) and the absurdly unfair notion that simply because you make a lot of money, the government should have the right to take more from you. I believe that our country has been blessed because in the past we have been, and hopefully mostly still are, a people of faith, specifically Christian faith. Now we want to get rid of God, and expect to thrive as a nation.

I mentioned my opposition to the notion of "tolerance" within our society, and, interestingly, these very proponents of tolerance are, in my experience, the LEAST tolerant of those with opposing viewpoints. If you oppose gay marriage, you're labeled as homophobic, and told that your views are "hate speech." Churches are even coming under attack over this, and the future of "free speech" actually looks pretty dim if you're a Christian. If you're against abortion, you're slammed for wanting to limit the rights of women. I'm more concerned about the lives that these women are taking, the lives of innocent little ones who have no voice. And in turn, I'm concerned about the lives of women who do choose an abortion, because it's something they will struggle with for many years to come. Even the men involved, who often do not get a choice, or even a voice in these matters, struggle with the "choices" women are making.

Even for a Democrat, Obama is shockingly extreme in his approach to abortion. "He opposed the ban on partial-birth abortion -- a practice a fellow Democrat, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once called "too close to infanticide." Obama strongly criticized the Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth ban. In the Illinois state Senate, he opposed a bill similar to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which prevents the killing of infants mistakenly left alive by abortion." (Read the whole Washington Post article here) Forget the debate over when a child is actually deemed a child, Obama won't even protect them once they're out of the womb! Partial-birth abortions, in addition, are absolutely horrendous--occurring in the THIRD trimester. Brooke could make my entire belly move by the time we hit the 3rd tri. Especially as a parent to a perfect little girl, even if there were no other issues I disagreed with the man about, THIS would be enough for me to not vote for him. That he could have such a disregard for life should bother more people than it apparently does.

I'm absolutely opposed to redistribution of wealth, because it's as Anti-American a notion as any. We're in the land of opportunity, but if you happen to make too much, you're going to be punished for it. (Businesses also happen to fall into this category, which would be an absolute nightmare for our economy, in a time of spreading unemployment.) Last night, during the debate, Senator Biden said "back where I'm from, that's called "fairness."" No, that's the exact opposite of fairness. Like most Americans, we're struggling financially, but I don't want a handout from the government, especially at the expense of other Americans. Not to mention the fact that those making over 250k will NOT be the only ones with tax hikes. I don't believe for one second that a Democrat President will not raise taxes on practically everyone. It's what they do. Obama outlined his plan for tax increases, and while it sounded all well and good, (for those not bothered by redistribution of wealth) it did NOT account for all of the money he would need to fuel his proposed 1 trillion of additional spending. In fact, it accounted for very little of it. While those in the 250k+ bracket would likely be the first to experience the tax hikes, they would not be the only ones.

Democrats are now trying to blame the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac crisis on Republicans. Because I worry many people don't actually look into it, I'm afraid a lot of people are going to buy into that, but it's a completely false claim. Take, for instance, this 1999 New York Times article, which says, "Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits." Or this article, which states, "Over the past ten years, Fannie and Freddie spent over $200 million on lobbying and campaign contributions. Democrats Chris Dodd, John Kerry, and Barack Obama — the top recipients of Fannie and Freddie largesse — have all broken the $100,000 mark. It should come as no surprise that Senate Democrats were the key obstacle to reforming Fannie and Freddie when Congress had a chance in 2005, before the mortgage crisis spiraled out of control."

Ultimately, whichever candidate you choose, you're also choosing their party. There just isn't a single issue that I side with the Democrat party on.

No matter who you support, I think we'd all agree that this will be a pivotal election, and I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I want the best for our country, and the best for my family, and while I know we have survived some pretty horrible presidencies, and God is in complete control, I've been in prayer a lot for the future of our country. I'm optimistic about this coming election, though, and hopeful that there are many, many others who feel along the same lines as I do.

I'm not sure if anyone actually has gotten down this far, but if you have, I'm impressed. :) I know politics and the current campaign, for different reasons, are a sore spot for a lot of people. In any event, I hope you all have had a great week, and I hope that you'll have a wonderful weekend! :)

¶ 7:39 AM