Are you as frustrated as I am about the upcoming election?
I have never been so conflicted in a presidential election year as I am now... I see good and bad in EACH of the candidates.
Please remember: I am a moderate -- I don't vote a "party line;" I actually try to weigh the issues and the candidates and then make an educated choice.
Have I ever been wrong?
Clearly, yes.
Have I ever regretted my vote?
Absolutely not.
Exercising our freedom to vote and choose our nation's leader is a right half the world only dreams about... and I don't take this freedom lightly.
I don't just vote for "whoever" because they were funny on the Tonight Show, did a skit on Saturday Night Live, or staged an interview for MTV. Those are not the issues that I consider important.
As a Christian who is not a partisan Republican, things are getting a bit hairy for me. Allow me to vent my frustration here (comments -- if clean and respectful -- are welcome):
MIKE HUCKABEE -- By far, my favorite candidate for several reasons: I am originally from Arkansas and he was an awesome governor -- highly respected by members of BOTH parties. I also think he is the ONLY candidate to stick to his guns when it comes to his convictions and his morals. WAY more intelligent than people give him credit for and FAR more witty than I ever knew before this race began! Oh, and one more thing worth mentioning: NATIONAL SALES TAX in place of the IRS. I'd vote for him on that alone...
DRAWBACK: I fear that he is too conservative for most Americans & unfortunately, I don't know if he is truly "electable."
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON -- While the feminist in me LOVES that this strong, intelligent woman is making her play, I have to decline to vote for her. She is WAY too liberal for my taste. I also worry about her long-term plans for U. S. health care. I have some more personal reasons for why I am reluctant to vote for her, but I won't go into it here. I don't want to get crucified over my own blog!
MITT ROMNEY -- Um, No. I'm gonna pass on him, too. I don't find him credible or consistent in the least. He reminds me of a Republican Al Gore -- very stiff and disingenuous. His debates thus far have left a bad taste in my mouth.
BARACK OBAMA -- I find Mr. Obama to be intriguing and promising; I think he is brilliant and being somewhat of a Cosmopolitan, he brings new insight to the table in dealing with our current world circumstances. Where I have trouble with this candidate is in his stance on abortion. Even during my most liberal and feminist days as a college history major, I could never make peace with the arguments supporting pro-choice. I find it almost unbelievable that anyone who refers to himself as a "Born-again Christian" (a label even staunch Republicans are reticent to employ) can make peace with this. Then again, he did pointedly remark, "Nobody is pro-abortion." A statement of truth, indeed. HOWEVER, I must assert that, as an educated and informed voter, I cannot in good conscience base my entire choice for President on one, singular issue -- no matter how important that issue is to me, personally.
JOHN McCAIN -- I do like John McCain; I truly do. I think he is sincere and kind and very considerate of all the issues. I would not mind him as an advisor to the President or even as holding a cabinet position. My issue with Mr. McCain is the fact that he is a former prisoner of war. I have GREAT respect for our veterans of war and especially for those who have suffered such horrible circumstances as John McCain did during his days as captive in a North Vietnamese prison. This poor man endured 5 and a half YEARS as a prisoner of war and suffered indescribable torture. I find it hard to believe that ANY human can come through something like this without some evidence of mental impairment, primarily PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
That said, I have been told by an expert in the field of psychiatry that of all of the survivors who came out of the WWII German concentration camps, 75% suffered some degree of PTSD.
75%!!!!
Then again, that leaves an entire 25% of survivors who for whatever reason -- faith in God, resilience, whatever -- did NOT show signs of PTSD. The issue, for me, is whether or not John McCain has ever exhibited signs of PTSD. If so, and think carefully about this:
Do you want the leader of the free world -- the man with his "finger on the button" so to speak -- to be suffering from PTSD?
It's just something to think about.
I pray to God that Mr. McCain does NOT suffer from residual trauma of his days as a prisoner of war, but I have not heard this clearly addressed as yet and I do think it is a valid concern.
RON PAUL -- Interesting candidate and a bit of an enigma. He has some thought-provoking views and I respect his intelligence and educational background. That said, he is looking really old to me these days and I worry that the stress of public office may prove too much for him. I could definitely see him as an advisor or cabinet member affecting change without bearing the brunt of the responsibility. The question is: to which party would he truly be useful? Dr. Paul is definitely unique and cannot be put into any sort of "partisan box." In a way, that's what I most like about him. But do I think he's electable? Hmmm....
I would LOVE to hear your thoughts and views (RESPECTFULLY, PLEASE) if you would like to share them... I'm really interested in hearing different viewpoints because I feel that it is only by LISTENING to BOTH sides and trying to see things from another's perspective can you truly make an informed decision.
So...(gulp) fire away!
If you are new to my blog, please read:
GOD IS NOT A REPUBLICAN
9 comments:
Hi Summer!
I found your blog a while back from Carole's blog, plus I've seen you at church often! Love your blog! Would you mind if I put your link on my blog?
Anyway, you're not alone at all!!! This election has me really, really confused and frustrated. Every single election is always important...but something in my "gut" tells me that this election is extra important. Maybe because this world is such a crazy place these days, it is so so so very important to have the right person with the right kind of values, knowledge, and leadership abilities as President of the U.S. I'm a registered republican and am pretty moderate as well. But,like you... I never, ever vote strictly on party lines. I always try to vote based on the person and their position on the issues.
So far, the only things I know for sure about this Presidental election is who I am NOT NOT NOT voting for... Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.
Hillary scares the daylights out of me, she's is wayyyy too liberal. And Mitt Romney, well... he reminds me of a used car salesman. (No offense to used car salesmen of course, it's an honest living!) But, he is WAY to "slick & polished" and he flip/flops on the issues, depending on who his audience is at the time. I will definately pass on these two candidates.
I really, really like Mike Huckabee and would love to see him in office! He is so strong in his beliefs and like you said ... he sticks to his guns no matter what. I love that he is a Christian and doesn't make a secret about it. Unfortunately, the way things are shaping up, it doesn't look like he really has a shot at winning the nomination... which puts me back to square one.
Yesterday, I posted about my confusion on my blog. Sorry I wasn't much help to ya ... looks like much much more research is necessary before I make a decision. Sorry too for rambling on, its a fault of mine! Thanks for sharing the information you have on each candidate ... it was great to have a summary on each one in the same place!
Keep posting - it's so interesting!
Be blessed,
Lesley
Thank you for your comments, Lesley & feel free to add me. I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling with this election...
I found out today that the Republican Party of Louisiana is backing John McCain. That makes me kind of nervous. I am still Ron Paul all the way however at this point I am pretty sure he is not going to get much from the Party as a whole.
I like his message and I think I will run on that ticket in the future......oh.....I think I said to much.....talk to you later.
I would like to make a comment re: PTSD and how it relates to McCain.
When a child suffers severe trauma during key developmental stages the results can be devastating! It can take years to heal- if they ever do. When an adult who has had a strong and healthy childhood suffers trauma as an adult they tend to be able to deal with the trauma much better. When an adult who has had a healthy childhood and a strong relationship with God, endures trauma, they often heal marvelously! The apostles rejoiced over their beatings!! They were not traumatized by them.
McCain had the option of leaving/ being freed. He CHOSE to stay with his men. He had to have incredible faith and be of sound mind to make that decision. If he were in a compromised mental state he would have left. The character it took to stay amazes me!
Stephanie
Stephanie, I LOVE this argument. What a great analogy! This perspective makes me feel SO much better about John McCain... Of course, I still wish Huckabee was the front-runner for the GOP. =)
if you look at consistency of record and integrity, it's ron paul.
most of these folks scare me. i respect that huckabee is likable, but he wants to ammend the constitution to make this a christian country...christian or no, this country was founded on freedom of religion. legislating morality gets us islam type governments.
"electable" or not, i have to go with my values, and vote ron paul. (who is also in favor of eliminating income tax). :)
You make a good point; I absolutely support the separation of church and state... it was that principle that this country was founded on. But I was not aware that Huckabee was wanting to actually alter the Constitution?!? Is that really true?
I need to research that...
There are a lot of things I like about Ron Paul & eliminating the income tax is a biggie for me!
Thank you for your thought-provoking comments.
Obamah vs Mc Cain= me voting for Obamah.
Frankly, this whole election scares me. I really hope Perry Stone was right! I really like Huckabee, too. But I think you are right, he is very far right and I agree with 90% of what he says. Much of the country doesn't. I get the "fake and floppy" thing for McCain that most people get for Romney. Abortion is a big one for me. I like canidates who are pro-life. Problem is, abortion is never going to be outlawed in this country. So, perching my vote on whether someone is pro-life or not could be a problem. I am absentee voting and I am very excited to exercise my right, but I am not looking forward to making a choice.
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