Why I voted for John McCain

I voted absentee today, and I voted for John McCain.

Even if I don’t change any minds, even if not one person reads this, it was a worthy little project putting this all together. Many know what they believe, but how many of us know why we believe it? In order for me to know why I believe what I believe, it’s every bit as important to know what I don’t believe. Too many of us simply follow the path we’ve been told to follow. By our spouses. By our parents. By our professors. By our pastors. Ones education is ones own responsibility and every source of information should be tested. Professors have their own slant, as do pastors, parents, and spouses. Listen to them, but listen with a grain of salt. Listen to me, if you choose, but listen with the same grain of salt. Then make up your own mind. And for goodness sakes, get out and vote!

I’ve heard what Barack Obama has to say – and I don’t like it. In fact, he scares me. So in reality, I didn't really vote for John McCain. I voted against Barack Obama.

“Change we need”, he says. Change to what? In order to change something you have to keep two things in mind: what you’re changing from and what you’re changing to. We already know that Obama and his followers hate George Bush. Big surprise. So we know what they’d change from. That’s pretty straight forward. But what are they changing to? What will Barack Obama implement as President?

For starters, Barack Obama received a “liberal rating” of 95.5% from the Americans for Democratic Action. This country doesn't need another Jimmy Carter. The MOST conservative Senator received a conservative rating of 93.5%. Obama is more extreme than anyone in the Senate.

John McCain will appoint judges who will interpret the law, not make it. Barack Obama will do the opposite. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this! The Supreme Court is almost perfectly balanced right now. Four conservative, four liberals, and one moderate (Kennedy). John Paul Stevens is basically on deaths door, and Ginsberg and Kennedy are in their 70's. If all three of these end their terms one way or another, that would amount to three Obama judges, extreme liberals all, who would shift the balance of the court to the far left. Barack Obama thinks the Constitution itself is "deeply flawed". Does he want to have it amended? He stated, concerning the Constitution, “it is not a static but rather a living document and must be read in the context of an ever-changing world.” Basically, he thinks the Constitution can be adjusted to the times. Might as well just throw it out if you believe that crap.

EDIT 11/19: OK, maybe that came off a bit harsh. It is not to say that Amendments to the Constitution are unwarranted. Certainly there's been the need, but one could argue that the Bill of Rights is simply part of the original document, leaving only 17 amendments in the last 220 years. Two of those 17 were prohibition related - count those out. Now we're down to 15 meaningful amendments. The 27th was initiated along with the first 10, but wasn't ratified until 1992 (200 years later if you can believe that). This leaves us with 14 meaningful amendments in 220 years, so it's not as if amending the Constitution is taken lightly. As well it shouldn't be.

John McCain supports the 1st Amendment. Barack Obama favors the freedom of the press only when it suits him.

John McCain served in the US Armed Forces, including graduating from the US Naval Academy, a proven training ground for leaders. Barack Obama has led… what? When?

Barack Obama favors giving Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants. John McCain does not.

Barack Obama favors the reinstitution of the Fairness Doctrine, another blatant stab at the First Amendment. "Freedom of speech" includes conservative radio. Liberals are being beaten horribly on the radio airwaves, and it scares them. Reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine would simply be the Liberals way of showing us how insecure they really are. If you think you're right, Liberals, Rush Limbaugh shouldn't scare you at all. In fact, you would welcome his voice!

Barack Obama not only refused to support the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act when he was in the Illinois state senate, he worked to undermine the efforts to pass the bill. This bill prevents the killing of babies born alive from a botched abortion. Say what you will about “life” before the baby exits the womb, but when that child breaths fresh air – NO ONE can deny that it is a life, and ending that life is murder.

Barack Obama is relying on the ignorant and uninformed to get to the White House.

Barack Obama said he didn’t know Bill Ayers. And yet… Notice not only the date, but that his wife was there as well. I’m just sayin’…

John McCain favors drilling for oil here in the US to help relieve our dependency on foreign sources. Barack Obama does not. Concerning ANWR: As an Alaskan who works in the oil industry, I have seen first hand the improvements in the minimization of land used for drilling operations. There is currently the largest horizontal drilling operation in the world taking place right up here where I work. The Liberty project will drill for oil from a land based drill rig to a reservoir that is 8 miles offshore. 8 miles of horizontal drilling means that from one drill site, companies can theoretically reach an area of over 200 square miles. (Area of a circle is PI*radius squared, for those of you mathematically disabled). This is light years ahead of where we were in the 70’s when Prudhoe Bay construction first took place. I was raised in Valdez, Alaska and worked out in Prince William Sound during the summer of 1990. I have seen the devastation of the Exxon Valdez oil spill first hand. I believe they should have been held accountable for their ineptitude of the oil spill and was disappointed with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the matter, but do you punish them for their profits when they aren’t the ones who set the global price for crude oil? Would you force Bill Gates to pay a windfall profits tax if you were tired of paying $400 for Microsoft Office? Neither would I, and you shouldn’t force the oil companies to do the same. Barack Obama would. Speaking of energy, I really like this T. Boone Pickens fella. Natural gas and wind energy, along with drilling for our own oil will ensure our independence from foreign sources. Alaska, from what I’ve heard, has huge potential for geothermal energy as well. We should be exploring EVERY viable option!!

John McCain’s father was an Admiral in the US Navy. His grandfather – yeah, he was an Admiral, too. They were the first father-son combination in US history to both reach that rank. That’s what I call an inheritance.

Barack Obama will institute socialized healthcare. I would encourage anyone who thinks the Canadian healthcare system is a model for the US to follow to read these articles: city-journal.org, wordpress.com. I know a few Canadians, and they all say that when it comes to the simple stuff - flu shots, broken bones, etc. the Canadian health care system works well. But when it comes to complicated medical issues, anyone who can comes to America. Why? Because although there are flaws in it, our healthcare system is the best in the world.

And what does Obama think of white people? Check this out. I highly suggest people educate themselves on Black Liberation Theology. It isn't good.


Obamanomics

In 1980, the top 1% of wage earners in this country paid 19% of the tax burden. In 2000, that number was up to 37%. Today, that number is 39%. Anyone who claims that George Bush has lowered taxes on the wealthy is either ignorant or a liar.

Housing crisis? Some think that once again, George Bush is to blame. It’s all too easy to blame him these days, isn’t it? Not this time. I address this in a blog earlier this week.

Barack Obama used to say that people earning under $250k a year wouldn’t see a tax increase. Well, in his infomercial he’s lowered that to $200k. His running mate has said that the number is actually $150k. Gov. Bill Richardson put it down to $120k. The proof is in the pudding, however. Barack Obama twice voted for tax increases on people who make just $42k a year.

Obama has now called those who don’t want higher taxes “selfish”. Income redistribution, or “spreading the wealth around”, as Obama puts it, is straight from the mind of Karl Marx. I’ve read The Communist Manifesto and I would encourage others to do the same. This is really the crux of why I’m voting for McCain. Simply put, Barack Obama is a Marxist.

Of course, if you’re not a Christian, what the Bible says probably doesn’t matter. But I am a Christian, so it matters to me. Christ said, “You will always have the poor among you…” (John 12:8a). He didn’t say “you’ll have them for a while and then you’ll solve poverty”. He used the word “always”. When you look through the scriptures and see how we are to treat the poor (James 2 in particular) is there any reference to Rome, the government of the day, taking your money and then giving it to the poor? The point of giving to the poor is the act of giving out of free will. When a gift is given out of free will, it provides not just for those who receive the gift, but for those who give as well. When you are forced to give, how much satisfaction comes with it? How much compassion would one put into a “gift” for the poor when it’s the taxman that’s taking it?

Barack Obama will restore the inheritance tax and dividend taxes. And he’ll tax retirement accounts. That’s right – your 401(k) will no longer be a pre-tax deferment under Barack Obama.

I would contend that Barack Obama’s policies aren’t “change” at all, but retooled tenets of past socialistic efforts that didn’t work. I could probably write tons more on this, but I’ll stop here.

I think I’ve made my point.