Vote cast: no Obama, no McCain
Like many GCSU students, I am registered in the district I grew up in, which is Marietta, Ga. And also like many GCSU students, I find it impossible to be able to go home on the actual election day, Tuesday, Nov. 4. This is why early voting exists, it’s people like us who find difficulty in voting during the twelve hour window on Super Tuesday. If you haven’t considered it already, early voting is definitely something to look into.
You’re probably wondering who I voted for. If you’ve read my previous articles you might have picked up that I write from a conservative/libertarian point of view. In full disclosure, I’m a registered Republican. Sounds like a slam dunk for McCain, eh?
Except for the fact that I didn’t vote for him. Don’t think that I voted for Obama either, because I didn’t. Honestly, I despise the way that both candidates view the role of the federal government. This was most recently highlighted by a ridiculous $700 billion corporate welfare bailout. And even worse, McCain is now calling for another $300 billion in corporate welfare.
I typically am not a single issue voter, and I can’t even think of any other issue that I would vote for, or not vote for, a candidate because of. But, the economy is the big issue in this election, and I absolutely refuse to vote for a candidate that would vote for such egregious government intervention into the free market. And since past judgment is the only thing we have to go on in terms of future judgment as president, neither is someone that I want as president.
This brings me to the Senate race between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democrat challenger Jim Martin. I was a big supporter of Chambliss in 2002. He was very conservative and had great credentials. I was ecstatic when he defeated Max Cleland. Throughout most of his term, I remained a supporter of his and really appreciated his support on such issues as the Fair Tax. Up until a couple weeks ago I was sure I would vote for him, even though I thought Jim Martin seemed like a pretty good candidate.for a Democrat. The natural order of things was in effect, I was planning on casting my vote for Chambliss.until he cast his vote in support of the bailout. It makes me wonder if the power of being in the Senate has gone to Chambliss’ head?
Upon learning of Chambliss’ vote, I rushed to Jim Martin’s Web site to see what he thought about this horrendous bailout. Martin’s statement, “$700 billion for Wall Street, while Georgia families get stuck with the bill.” Amen, Jim Martin. And I hope you enjoy my vote.
Fortunately, I was able to vote for one Republican for a national office. My U.S. congressman Tom Price has a great record on economic and social issues, and he has a desire to keep the federal government small. In fact, he stood up to the national Republican establishment of George W. Bush and John McCain among others to vote against both House bailout packages. Maybe there is hope for my party after all.
But that hope doesn’t rest in the big government Republicans like McCain and Bush who have been accomplices to the Democrats’ big government ideology. When President Bush took office, the national debt stood at $5.7 trillion. Today, the debt is over 10.1 trillion dollars. I know America can survive these people as presidents, but I’m just not sure if we can afford them.
But Barack Obama, who also voted for the bailout, is even worse when it comes to government size and spending. I couldn’t seriously consider voting for him.
So, who did I stand in line for two hours to vote for? I wrote in Ron Paul.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 17 2008. Filed under Opinion.
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