Why You Should Vote FOR Your Democratic Candidate

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In my previous post, I gave my reasons for voting against the Republican candidate. Now here are my reasons to vote for all the Democratic candidates for House and Senate.

First, with the weakest argument. Vote for Democrats to prove Republicans wrong in their straw men. A victory for Democrats is not a victory for terrorism, nor for illegal immigrants, nor for any other derrogatory swipe Republicans can think of. The reason for those swipes is because Republicans really fear a loss of power. Prove Republicans wrong that the country will be just fine with Democrats in power in Congress.

Accountability

We all know power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We’ve seen numerous examples throughout history. We also know that, for some strange reason, a government seems to work better when one part works to keep another part in check. This was what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they constructed this nation, the Constitution, and the design for its governance. During the mid to late 90s, with a Democratic president and a Republican House, some of the better laws were created and passed, such as the Welfare Reform Act. The budget was balanced and a surplus was created. In the 1980s, with a Republican president and a Democratic House, both sides kept each other in check (to a good degree—though more should have been done about the Iran Contra Affair—but that’s for another story). Basically said, having the opposition party in power in one branch keeps the other party in check in the other branch. It keeps them honest (as much as is possible in American politics). Would the horrendous Donald Rumsfeld still be in power with a Democratic House and Senate? Not at all. He would have been gone after Abu Ghraib, as he should have been. Bush wants to keep him until 2008. We all know Iraq is one hell of a mess. Why is the leader who executed the mission not held accountable? Rep. Boehner, the #2 Republican in the House, thinks Rumsfeld is the “best thing to happen to the Pentagon in 25 years.” He’s basically saying that Republican leadership will not do a thing about Rumsfeld, when clearly Rumsfeld should be fired, and held accountable.

The problem is that Republicans are overhyping our enemy while not doing enough to actually get them. Terrorism is on the rise, and our government is becoming far too secretive and estranged from the principles America used to believe in. Are Republicans in the House and Senate going to reverse this trend? No. Democrats will. Doing so does not bring an end to terrorism, nor would it increase terrorism, but it will keep our principles, the very things we are supposed to be fighting for, intact. I’ve said before that Americans use to give up their lives for their principles. Now we are giving up our principles for our lives. This is not good. This will lead to tears and pain and heartache. A Democratic majority in the Senate and House will not end the conflict in Iraq or Afghanistan, but it will ensure that our funds and our troops are used appropriately, something Republicans seem to refuse overseeing right now.

Domestic programs

There are many issues here. The first priority of the Democratic majority should be to increase minimum wage. States are moving ahead of the federal government (California, under a Republican governor, I might add, is increasing their minimum wage to $8, to reflect the increase in costs for the state). Do Republicans at the national level actually think that costs and inflation are at the same rate as ten years ago?

On the issue of the national debt, Republicans pressed for a tax cut without pressing for a cut in funding to offset the reduced income. Nothing could have been worse for them to do. You cannot have lower taxes and an increase in programs. Well, you could, but then you do your children a disservice. Either increase the revenue back up by removing the tax cuts for the wealthy (that’s Bush’s tax cut), or make some sacrifices and cut programs. Either way, we’re living on borrowed money, and that is never good. Democrats wish to remove the tax cuts for the wealthy. That’s a part of the solution. The rest of the solution is that programs Republicans pushed through (the pork barrels I talked about yesterday) also need to be cut. The Highway to Nowhere must not be funded. If Alaskans really want it, they can find ways to pay for it as a state. Remember, Alaska has not state taxes. Not only that, every Alaskan resident gets money back from the state just for being a resident! Why the hell does Alaska need federal funding for a bridge going out to an island with 50 inhabitants? If they state wants it, they have the resources to fund it. Business can be promoted through tax credits for creative reasons, such as for donating to charities, etc, or funding grants and scholarships to increase education of our children (so they don’t get stuck in Iraq heh, sorry, had to say it. I can make fun of a Democrat, see. ). There are ways to relieve the burden of taxes from the wealthy. They are smart people. They get around taxes pretty easily anyways. I’m not really concerned about them.

There are many other issues of great import domestically. Things that the federal government should have no business with, such as gay marriage, should be left alone for the states to deal with, as they have. The only reason to bother the federal over this issue is to create a political wedge. There is no other reason for it, and thus must be disregarded and pushed to the side of extremists. Both parties need to get back to being more moderate.

Conclusion

A Democratic majority in the House and Senate will bring America back from the hands of extremists who are taking America in a very wrong direction. They will hold the Executive accountable and in check, as is the Constitutional responsibility of the Congress. A Democratic majority will not be a victory for terrorists. In fact, it is my opinion that Bin Laden has been proven right in the eyes of Muslims about America. We ARE discriminatory against Islam. We have attacked two Islamic nations, threatened two others, and backed Israel in attacking a fifth. The more we get back to finding peace between Muslims and the West, the more we prove terrorists like Bin Laden wrong. That’s where the real victory against terrorism will come. Extremists in the Muslim world would love nothing more than to see the West at war with the Islamic world. Why give them that? That’s playing into their strategy.

A Democratic majority in the House and Senate will ensure that important domestic issues get a play politically. This majority will not be extremist, as Republicans portray them. The Democrats see that to win, they also need to step back from extremism. We’ll see if Republicans learn this lesson. I think that Republicans will not work with Democrats these next two years. They’ll try and bring governing this country to a halt, so in 2008 they can go on the airwaves and prove that Democrats can’t do anything as the majority. Hopefully I will be wrong in that assessment, but I’m not holding my breath.

What do you all think? Why should you vote FOR your democratic candidate? Why do you think you should vote against them? How about other parties?

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Filed under American politics, Congress, Democracy, Democrats, Iraq, Kerry, King George, Republicans, Straw Man, War on Terror