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Edited on Mon Jun-02-08 09:45 AM by iiibbb
Election cycles have always been very difficult for me. I have a weird (as evidenced by my conversations with people) combination of progressive and conservative ideals such that I know I'll never have a candidate I'll feel comfortable about.
However... the past 7 years have have altered this political landscape to the point that there is almost no question I will vote Democrat... it boils down to 2 reasons. The war and the exceedingly poor economic decisions that have accompanied it... and the courts.
With regards to the war... I'm not a pacifist. This country should be prepared for conflicts. There were some good reasons to go to Afghanistan. I said to many right along that if WMD's were ever found in Iraq that probably would have been justifiable as well. However, WMD's weren't found. In fact our justifications for being in Iraq have changed 4 times since we got there. Iraq was plainly the wrong thing to do. Diplomacy was a non-player. The conflicts in general have been very poorly managed in hindsight. On top of that, this administration has paid for this using credit from other nations trying to insulate the citizenry from feeling the economic load. Well I never liked the idea of tax cuts in conjunction with war. On top of that the Republican party blindly followed this president... and for that they should be prepared to suffer the political consequences.
With regards to the courts... I am a social libertarian... I probably match progressive Democrats on virtually all social issues with the exception of gun control. Hands down the Republicans have pushed the courts the wrong direction for too long. Whatever my beliefs on when life is life, there are social costs associated with controversial freedoms like abortion or guns. Plain and simple, Roe v. Wade must stand. McCain's presidency is a clear threat to women's right to chose.
As such I don't really have a dog in this primary fight. Yes, I like Obama. No, I am not fond of Clinton.
However, given these two issues alone. I will vote Democrat this year.
Having stepped off the line between Republicans and Democrats in favor of the Democrats... I am baffled by those Democrats who would actually cross the line and vote for McCain if their candidate doesn't get the nod. Florida and Michigan were messy indeed. Any objective analysis should conclude there is no "fair" way to reconcile those elections. Any compromise disenfranchises somebody. No one can argue any solution as "fair" with a strait face. All you can do is try to make the best of a bad situation.
All I can say is keep your eye on the prize. This election is not about the first woman president or the first minority president. This election is about two make/break issues for our country. We do not have the luxury of waiting until 2012. I honestly believe that this war is going to sink us if we don't do something about it. As much as I have liked McCain in the past, I have no confidence that he's going to make the right decisions with regards to the Middle East. I know he's not going to make the right decisions when it comes to keeping the courts balanced and centrist.
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