Stupid Politics

[hesperornis]

You know, I gave up hoping for the perfect candidates a long time ago, but I was really looking forward to having a couple of really solid choices this time around.  I was cautiously enthusiastic about both candidates and their respective VP choices. 

Now I find out that Governor Palin is a friggin' creationist. 

I hate to be a one-issue voter, especially since deciding to vote pro-life was one of the main reasons I voted for Bush, and I eventually ended up disagreeing with virtually everything else he did.  I also hate to reflexively vote against the Republicans.  I'm not a fan of heavy government involvement, and my dad keeps telling me just how much "universal health care" is not going to work as promised. 

But I have very, very few buttons to be pushed that I really feel I know something about, and keeping "Intelligent Design" out of science classrooms is one of them.  Normally, I would assume that the VP doesn't really have that much say in such things, but I've been recently reading about how Dick Cheney personally managed to see to it that the Endangered species act was violated, in Oregon, back in 2001, with the blessing of the National Science Foundation.  So I guess there's some clout to be had.  And there are enough people willing to believe the line that "all views deserve to be heard" (so go take a comparative religions class!  grumblegrr...) that it would worry me a bit to have another person in the White House who thinks that ID is science.  

It's tempting to give up what research I'd been doing into the issues and just resign myself to voting Democratic, but I still feel the need to try to convince myself that Obama is all we've been hoping for... or at least a little bit of what we've been hoping for. 

Please forgive this barely informed ramble.  *puts away soapbox*  God I hate politics so much.

Comments

[dinogrrl.livejournal.com]

I am seriously this close to not voting at all this election :/. I don't like either of the candidates, and I hate voting on a 'lesser of two evils' premise.

[fellmama.livejournal.com]

If it helps, there are few true economic "conservatives" left in the national Republican party. They're no more committed to small government than the most ardent socialist. Have you considered voting Libertarian?

[perdita-dream.livejournal.com]

It is frustrating. It is like no one can get any candidates we can really get behind, for whatever reasons. They all have to say what is popular in their party in order to get the votes, not because it is what they believe (or don't believe).

So we are stuck with these puppets of people... chosen for their perceived elect-ability and not because they are worthwhile candidates. I recall I once liked McCain and his "straight talk express" but not anymore. He has become just another puppet.

Palin is awful on many levels. It is annoying how she and the conservatives are using her daughter's pregnancy to promote Palin to conservative voters. I don't understand why they keep saying the daughter is "choosing" to keep the baby. There was never any choice there. That is sort of the point of being pro-life.

It is such a messy issue. People are often confused when I say I am pro-choice but that I think it is morally wrong to abort a baby for reasons other than serious medical ones. It is that I think people have a right to ultimately decide this matter for themselves. It doesn't mean I think they should pick an abortion.

For example, if I somehow got pregnant right now, I wouldn't abort, even if it totally messed up school for me. I think it would be selfish and wrong to end a life for my own convenience. But I want to have the right to come to that conclusion. By implying Palin's daughter was allowed a choice at all... we know she wasn't. Now she is being used at a prop in this whole sham. It is sad. Everyone really needs to leave the poor girl alone. No one should even know but her and her family.

[superquail.livejournal.com]

One of the problems that comes up a lot during any campaign season is the way politicians and political parties tend to group clusters of issues, not realizing that the issues aren't necessarily all that related. For example, you can be pro-life and an environmentalist, there is no ideological contradiction there. And many people are. But if only one party supports pro-life positions and the other party supports environmentalist policies, which way are these folks going to go? Or are they just going to stay home?

I am sure there are a lot of people out there like you who are pro-life and not pro-creationism. Similarly, it is possible (though I have never met anyone like this) that a person can be pro-creationism and also an environmentalist.

Back in the day, there was this image that people who cared about the environment were hippies who smoked pot, practiced free love, and didn't believe in any particular god. It is time for us to move on from that out-dated mindset and recognize the true diversity of the political environment in our country.

[perdita-dream.livejournal.com]

OK, off topic, but I am staying with my Catholic grandparents. I have some questions about the Catholic culture and traditions. I would be curious to hear what you and cheyinka know. Should I start an entry on my LJ? Or would you be interested in doing a Catholic question and answer thing on your LJ?

[hesperornis.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, has anyone been watching the Republican Convention? I'm a bit biased now, but it seems to me that there is somewhat more mindless chanting than there was at the Democratic Convention. It reminds me unnervingly of a football game. Chris says that's because Bush has whittled down the Republican party to that kind of crazy hard-core group.

Can anyone either back me up or disagree? Maybe I just wasn't paying as much attention before.

[cheyinka]

:sigh:

I wanted to like Obama as a candidate, but he and his potential VP have too many intended policies that I disagree with too strongly.
Meanwhile, I was dubious about McCain, and I want to like Palin as a VP but keep finding reasons not to like either of them so much. (Thanks for another one! :p)

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fthagn!