One thing I'm loving about this election is how it's bringing the country back together. You may laugh, but for the past 8 years, it's felt like Democrats stood on one side of a gulf, Republicans on another, and we've just glared at each other across the void. You say, "Mission accomplished!" I say, "Quagmire." You say, "Attack on the American family," I say, "Civil rights." You say, "Let the people keep their money!" I say, "How are you going to pay for your stupid war, then?" And so forth we merrily go. It's been like living in a funhouse.
But now, all the boundaries are being erased. Take the conversation Michael and I had yesterday with a random guy in Long's Drugs, who overheard us arguing about John McCain and informed us that there's no way he's voting for the guy, he'd take Hillary Clinton over him any day, because McCain is too liberal for him. All I could say is,"I don't think you have to worry. McCain is plenty conservative." You've got to love it.
Now about that crack everyone's smoking. I'm hearing more and more people say that they'd rather vote for McCain than Clinton. And a new poll reveals that this is a big trend these days, albeit with a big percentage of Clinton supporters threatening to vote for McCain over Obama as well. Others are threatening to just not vote this year.
I am definitely a fan of Obama, and the more I see of the Clintons this election, the more I despise them. I don't want to see bad behavior rewarded.
And yet? I can never, never bring myself to not vote, or vote for a Republican. It's not the personalities, it's what the parties stand for. Michael points out that the Democrats don't deliver what they promise, that the death penalty will stand whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House, that our nuclear weapons programs will continue under either party, that the War on Drugs shows no signs of stopping under either party. These things are true.
But I've watched the Republican party strip away civil liberties, pretend environmental degradation wasn't happening, laugh at science, gut funding for social programs, legitimize torture and chip away at Roe vs. Wade (call me a one-issue voter, I admit it, but for me, Roe v. Wade represents a universe of attitudes about individuals' rights to make their own decisions, the imposition of other people's religious beliefs, the rights and status of women, and society's attitudes towards the family.)
John McCain served our country and sacrificed a big chunk of his life in war, and I appreciate that. But that doesn't mean I want him to be my president, sorry. He's got too many negatives for me, and on top of that, he promises to continue most Bush administration policies. He's jettisoned the positions that I admired, from campaign finance reform to opposition to waterboarding.
Look, I know it sucks to feel like you're always faced with the choice between two evils. But the truth is, there are major policy differences between Clinton and McCain (though, alas, not major character differences, it would seem.) I'm not condemning myself to another MINUTE under Republican rule if I can help it. If you're not a Republican, you shouldn't want to do that to yourself, or to your children, either.
I hope Obama wins the nomination, for everybody's sake. And if he doesn't, I'd like to find some way to punish bad behavior without punishing ourselves in the process.
Leave a comment