(no subject)
Jan. 20th, 2004 08:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usernamenumberSo John Kerry seems to have won the Iowa primaries. It's already being circulated that this is far from a sure indicator of winning the country, to which I respond: "Duh". But I do wonder if I'm the only one on my friend's who's excited about Kerry's win.
While I have not done enough research to make a final descision, I have been leaning toward Kerry ever since I started watching debates and following the election to find out who this Dean guy everone said I should vote for was. He strikes me as an actual liberal-leaning moderate, like me, as opposed to somebody who's way left or, like the incumbent, way right (pretentions of compassion aside). I like his plan for repealing the tax cuts (leave cuts for the middle-class and below, vs Dean's plan to cut everything). I like his energy plan (there is a third option between drilling ANWR and dependancy on the middle-east: long-term funding of research into alternative vehicle fuels like ethanol). And I like the facts that 1) he has actually fought in a war (vietnam) and 2) he came home to become one of the leading organized protesters of that war. At first, my only real problem was how I could bring myself to vote for someone that fugly.
Since then I've read some things that indicate I have more research to do. For example, the politics1 site Lizbeth linked to mentions that he opposed legislation to force US review of China's human rights practices in order for them to retain normal trade relations. In fact, according to the site, he fought make those trade relations permanent. One of other things I like about Kerry is that he's idealistic without seeming... impractical to me, but this smacks of a republican-esque "practicality before all" attitude that I would not like to see from my candidate. As I've said, I'll have to research more.
Still, I think on the whole that I'm very pleased with this outcome. Kerry seems like he could be the kind of president that I could really get behind... maybe. If anybody here has information they'd like to share, for or against, feel free.
EDIT: Oh, one other thing that annoys me about Kerry. Throughout the leadup to the primaries, he always seemed the most likely to jump on Dean. During a health care debate I watched it was ridiculous, every single non-dean candidate was all over him, but none moreso than Kerry. Now, I understand that Dean was the man to beat and, frankly, I think that a lot of the anti-dean points are well made (flip-flopping on issues, the fact that he wasn't actually against the president's war, he just backed an alternate bill that would have supported the war under other circumstances), but the consistency with which Kerry tended to make the debates personal really bothers me on a character level. Props to Dean, I must say, for handling it as well as he did.
EDIT, part deux: Looking at the candidate summary that Louis linked to reminded me of another interesting Kerry plan. It's imaginative, it's bold, maybe it goes too far and I'm really curious to see what the rest of you think. I'm talking about the his emphasis on and plans with regard to community service. An example from Kerry's website:
"Service for College" Initiative
Now, what's to complain about there? Well, there's also been talk, though I couldn't find anything in my cursory search of the site, of making community service a mandatory high school graduation requirement. Like most Americans, I think, I tend to cringe when the word "mandatory" is used by the government. But really, would it be so bad? Most kids will whine, I probably would have, but I think the overall effect for the country and it's people would be positive, like the japanese schoolchildren mlechan described taking an active role in keeping their school clean, but on a community level. Opinions?
While I have not done enough research to make a final descision, I have been leaning toward Kerry ever since I started watching debates and following the election to find out who this Dean guy everone said I should vote for was. He strikes me as an actual liberal-leaning moderate, like me, as opposed to somebody who's way left or, like the incumbent, way right (pretentions of compassion aside). I like his plan for repealing the tax cuts (leave cuts for the middle-class and below, vs Dean's plan to cut everything). I like his energy plan (there is a third option between drilling ANWR and dependancy on the middle-east: long-term funding of research into alternative vehicle fuels like ethanol). And I like the facts that 1) he has actually fought in a war (vietnam) and 2) he came home to become one of the leading organized protesters of that war. At first, my only real problem was how I could bring myself to vote for someone that fugly.
Since then I've read some things that indicate I have more research to do. For example, the politics1 site Lizbeth linked to mentions that he opposed legislation to force US review of China's human rights practices in order for them to retain normal trade relations. In fact, according to the site, he fought make those trade relations permanent. One of other things I like about Kerry is that he's idealistic without seeming... impractical to me, but this smacks of a republican-esque "practicality before all" attitude that I would not like to see from my candidate. As I've said, I'll have to research more.
Still, I think on the whole that I'm very pleased with this outcome. Kerry seems like he could be the kind of president that I could really get behind... maybe. If anybody here has information they'd like to share, for or against, feel free.
EDIT: Oh, one other thing that annoys me about Kerry. Throughout the leadup to the primaries, he always seemed the most likely to jump on Dean. During a health care debate I watched it was ridiculous, every single non-dean candidate was all over him, but none moreso than Kerry. Now, I understand that Dean was the man to beat and, frankly, I think that a lot of the anti-dean points are well made (flip-flopping on issues, the fact that he wasn't actually against the president's war, he just backed an alternate bill that would have supported the war under other circumstances), but the consistency with which Kerry tended to make the debates personal really bothers me on a character level. Props to Dean, I must say, for handling it as well as he did.
EDIT, part deux: Looking at the candidate summary that Louis linked to reminded me of another interesting Kerry plan. It's imaginative, it's bold, maybe it goes too far and I'm really curious to see what the rest of you think. I'm talking about the his emphasis on and plans with regard to community service. An example from Kerry's website:
"Service for College" Initiative
As President, John Kerry will call on young people to help strengthen America's security and address unmet community needs. In return, he believes we should offer young Americans and their families the opportunity for a college education. A Kerry Administration will offer Americans the chance to earn the equivalent of their state's four-year public college tuition in exchange for two years of service. If service members decide not to go to college, their award can be used for job training or to help start a business. John Kerry will set a national goal of half a million young people serving their nation every year within ten years. President Bush promised to double AmeriCorps, but he broke that promise and let Congressional Republicans cut the program in half. John Kerry believes we need to think big and do better and get 500,000 young Americans serving the nation.
Now, what's to complain about there? Well, there's also been talk, though I couldn't find anything in my cursory search of the site, of making community service a mandatory high school graduation requirement. Like most Americans, I think, I tend to cringe when the word "mandatory" is used by the government. But really, would it be so bad? Most kids will whine, I probably would have, but I think the overall effect for the country and it's people would be positive, like the japanese schoolchildren mlechan described taking an active role in keeping their school clean, but on a community level. Opinions?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From the onion.
Date: 2004-01-21 11:53 pm (UTC)Yee-Haw! My Vote Cancels Out Y'all's!
By Duane Bickels
Well, damn, man, it's pretty soon gonna be president election time again, and that means we gotta start thinkin' about who's gonna be the one we want to be president. That's some important stuff, who's president, because whoever's president will be in charge of the whole dang shootin' match. And, if y'all are like me, you know America's president needs to be the kind of old boy who, in the first place, kicks him some damn ass, and in the second place, don't listen to all that bitchin' about how he shouldn't be kickin' so much ass. And, if you ain't like me, guess what? My vote cancels out y'all's!
Now, you probably waste a whole lotta good-fishin' Saturdays readin' yourself the papers, watchin' all the talk on the TV, and sittin' around thinkin' real hard about which way you gonna vote. Well, it's a real shame, then, ain't it, that all that time you spend in real careful considerin' don't count for nothin', once my vote runs y'all's right off the road.
Shoot, neighbor, if there's one type'a guy you don't want in charge, it's some damn weaklin' in the White House what won't kick enough ass. Bush, that guy we got now, he kicked him some ass in that old desert. And Bush's daddy? He kicked him some ass, too. Reagan? Kicked all the ass he could, and some they said he shouldn't! But Clinton? Barely no ass-kickin' at all. Just got his ol' joint tugged by a fat girl, and hell, I could do that down by the Dew Drop Inn off I-78. What's the damn use of bein' the Commander-Chief if that's all you're gonna do? Face it, bein' president is a job of work for ass-kickers, and if you say otherwise, hell, I got a vote here what totally negates yours.
So maybe you ain't a patriot like I am. Now, when I say patriot, I'm talkin' about most of our athletes, country-music stars, and guys like me what agree with them. So, say you ain't a patriot, and you're fixin' to vote up a candidate what's some limpo what'll give in to the crybaby liberals, the damn screechin' women, the commies at the United Nations, and the other America-haters. Fine by me! I got a vote here that does just as much good as yours, and mine's marked "No Limpos!"
Or say you wanna take away the money we need for our Army tanks and rifles and fightin' planes what let us keep our eternal vigilance of freedom by invadin' other countries. And say you want to give it to the damn schoolteachers, which let me tell you never done old Duane any damn good, and still, they most times drive a newer car than I do. I learned all I got from my daddy—another guy without any fancy book smarts, by the way. If he didn't need them books, then why do anybody else? Well, hey, I might not be educated, but I do got me a big ol' flag, $300 from the government, and a president that, like I told you before, kicked him some ass. It's things like that what make me happy my vote gonna meet y'all's toe-to-toe and take it down!
Plus, what's more, I got to see Saddam get his ass throwed in jail. That's a big ol' switch-a-dilly from a few years ago, when Saddam was runnin' around free while Duane was in the tank, let me tell you.
Re: From the onion.
Date: 2004-01-21 11:53 pm (UTC)Shit, somehow we do it ever' time we need to keep the damn school board from gettin' uppity on us.
So hey, man, have fun readin' up and debatin' and thinkin' on what you gonna mark down on your votin' papers this year. Duane ain't thought too much yet about which way his vote's gonna go. But somethin' tells me, friend, it ain't gonna be the same as y'alls!