Party of Two, Hold the Platform

My friend the other day asked me if I consider any negative criticisms of Barack Obama. It’s an interesting question, one that reminds me how polarized our politics have become. For many people, voting for one candidate or another means you unquestioningly support everything that candidate does or represents. It means you ignore the humanity of the candidate and pretend they can do no wrong. My in-laws are excellent examples of this, as they still defend Bush to this day. Granted, they’ve mollified their support with statements like, “George Bush sure has had a rough presidency,” as if he didn’t have anything to do with events that went down under his watch. At least they stopped saying things like, “George Bush has done so much good for our country.”

Cue the nausea.

Back to my friend because he poses a worthy question (and one I could deflect right back to him regarding McCain). Do I unanimously support Obama? Not even close. In the midst of the Democratic primary, I thought him among the weakest prospects. I calculated Edwards and Biden better candidates, mostly because of their gift for public speaking and experience. I also liked other Republican candidates better than Romney, Huckabee, or even McCain. My biggest concern with Obama was his lack of experience. Now that he’s the presidential front-runner, that concern remains.

So neither of these current candidates are my first picks. Which brings up the conundrum: if you’re a Republican, do you vote for the Republican candidate no matter what? If you’re a Democratic, is it Obama or nothing? This is basically the question my friend posed to me. My answer is a resounding “no.”

Since 1992, I have ping-ponged between Democratic and Republican candidates. In ’92, I voted for Clinton. In ’96, I voted for Dole. In ‘00, I voted for Bush. In ’04, Kerry. And this year, unless something dramatic occurs between now and Nov. 4th, I’ll vote for Obama.

The bottom line is, I feel no strong party affiliation. I think both parties equally altruistic, equally corrupt, equally partisan. I chuckle to myself when a citizen or a pundit tears into an opposing political party. I’ve grown so immune to their rhetoric, I barely register what they’re saying. If I had my way, I’d disband both parties. I’d make candidates run on their own unique platform, rather than the sludge put forth by both the Democratic and Republican platforms.

Why would I do something so drastic? Because people vote according to these party platforms, but the elected candidates rarely follow them. Republicans are supposed to be, according to their own platform, fiscal conservatives. But these last eight years, Bush and the Republican Congress joined the Democrats in running up a massive tab of pork, programs, and tax cuts. The Republicans helped spend money we don’t have and they did it talking out of their asses, standing up for one thing, but doing the complete opposite. Tens of thousands of Republicans and swing voters elected George Bush in ’00 and ’04 because he said he was going to cut spending and taxes. He only actually did the latter and coupled with the deregulation of the banking industry and the mortgage lending crisis, we find our economy on the brink of complete breakdown.

Because of politicians like George Bush, I don’t really believe anything any of them say. Including Barack Obama. I don’t have any illusions that a President Obama will rush into office and fix everything that is wrong. It troubles me that he’s associated with a documented terrorist. I don’t like that his former pastor is a raving lunatic, spewing hatred of the country he lives in. I don’t like that he hasn’t even served a full term as a U.S. senator yet he’s on the verge of becoming the President of the United States. I find it highly disturbing that Obama’s campaign donates to Acorn, an organization just recently accused of registration and voter fraud.

I have grave reservations about Barack Obama. But I’m voting for him because he says he’ll pull our troops out of Iraq and reposition them where they belong, Afganistan. I’m voting for him because I think he has a better understanding of the economy; he’s certainly handled himself well during this recent crisis, unlike McCain who seemed to run around with his head cut off, scrambling to eek out some political gain. I’m voting for Obama because he’ll likely remove or alter No Child Left Behind, an unfunded educational initiative that is doing more harm than good to our nation’s schools.

Will Obama do everything he says in this campaign? No, he won’t. But none of them do. If I thought for a second that McCain would actually make some hard choices, balance our country’s balance and trade deficit and start paying off the $10 trillion we have in debt, I’d vote for him. But all I hear McCain say is “tax cuts.” As if that’s supposed to make me my froth at the mouth, lope up to him with my tongue hanging out, and pant. To me, tax cuts equate to “Here’s some money we don’t really have. Go ahead! Spend it! Tomorrow is another day.” I can’t believe any candidate would dare sell tax cuts during an election season where the National Debt Clock has to be re-fabricated to account for a tens digit in the trillions.

So yes, I’m aware of Obama’s faults. When I vote for him in November, I’ll be doing so with reservations. Even if he wins and takes office, I’m not holding my breath for him to even fulfill half of what he promised on the campaign trail. That won’t stop me from being the winning candidate's most vocal critic. Because I’m not voting for a political party or a platform or an ideology, I’m voting for a man who can get the United States back on track.

These days, I don’t have much faith that such a man exists.