Alright, I can’t avoid it much longer. I wanted to wait until the empty-headed Pez-dispenser séances that pass for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions before I did any commentary on the election because…I just can’t stomach it. I thought Bush/Kerry was a political Sophie’s choice, but McCain/Obama is fury-inspiring in a way I can’t fully express.
Briefly, here is what I think of the two candidates:
Obama is a half-witted, collectivist bromide-fountain. McCain is an ignorant, statist appeaser.
Obama is clearly a modern socialist. Of course, actually calling yourself a socialist as a presidential candidate is political suicide. So he clouds what he really is with political bromide. That doesn’t hide it very well, but Obama doesn’t seem too bright. Judging by his stance on several issues, he is clearly ignorant of basic economics and foreign policy. He supports such nonsense as “say on pay”, he defends FDR New Deal social welfare programs, he has equated privatizing social security with “social Darwinism”.
He blithely and belligerently spews out nonsense like a demand for a 35% reduction in fuel consumption, the BioFuels Security Act, cap-and-trade policies (or fuel rationing, do let’s be honest). He supports universal health care (socialized medicine, again, let’s not BS ourselves), net neutrality and affirmative action. He supports a policy of appeasement with Iran and he is a convert of the doom-saying global warming dogma.
There are also his constant demands for sacrifice, a la his commencement speech at Wesleyan.
Obama is old-school leftist evil. Easy to identify, easy to combat, easy to destroy intellectually.
McCain has done nothing worthy of praise in his term as senator. He’s responsible for the despicable McCain-Feingold Act and the Climate Stewardship Acts (with that other fool Lieberman). He admits ignorance on the science of climate change, but that hasn’t stopped him from caving to the green agenda.
He has a near-complete disdain for the individual and individual rights and is the “national glory” brand of collectivist-statist. He also admits an ignorance of economics. But that doesn’t stop him from presuming to lay the blame for the subprime crisis squarely on lenders.
He believes the United States was founded on Christian principles and the U.S. is today a Christian nation. I don’t know how seriously he is considering Huckabee (who is an explicit religious socialist) for VP, but if we end up with a McCain-Huckabee presidency, I would be very worried.
McCain is opposed to drilling in ANWR and voted to steal money from tax-payers for alternative fuel subsidies (“funding” my ass, it’s a subsidy—let’s call a spade a spade, kids).
This is a fairly stream of consciousness post, I realize. I simply am too disgusted by the upcoming election to spend a good deal of time thinking about and editing, re-editing and organizing an article about it. I simply want to get my point across and move on.
All that being said, and though I consider him an extremely bad candidate, a scoundrel and a fool and I disagree with pretty much every one of his positions, I will be voting for Obama.
I hate Obama. Don’t think I’m voting for him for any reason other than I think he is too foolish and weak to accomplish as much evil as he promises. McCain is more evil. He is more evil because he is doing what all conservatives seem to be doing: trying to pass off his tyranny as freedom. I also happen to agree with Leonard Peikoff: I will in no way support a Republican candidate, even as a lesser of two evils, until the party disassociates itself from the religious crazies. Due simply to inertia, the country will continue to move towards statism (discounting for the moment, a philosophical revolution). The left wants what the old-style socialists want, but they aren’t as impassioned. They have to argue with buzzwords and bromide, because they have no deeper ideology. The increasingly religious right has a deeper philosophy, but an evil one. As Dr. Peikoff put it, in a choice between “a rotten, enfeebled, despairing killer” and “a rotten, ever stronger and ambitious killer”, it would be immoral to do anything other than what would topple the latter from power.
There. That’s where on stand on the election. I’m going to go take some Tums now.
Ghouls and slugs--
Matt
2 comments:
McCain has not pursued the religious right and they are very upset at his candidacy. Is that not enough for you? I'm not criticizing your position, just don't know how anyone can vote for a candidate who clearly plans on looting this country wholesale. The fairness doctrine will be an attack on freedom of speech as well as a purge of the political opposition and Obama would certainly favor it.
McCain hasn't pursued the religious right (much), but that doesn't change what he professes to believe, which will necessarily affect what he does as president.
My reasons for choosing Obama *as opposed to* McCain are spelled out in the last substantive paragraph of my post. I don't believe Obama will be able to accomplish nearly as much evil as he promises (no president in recent years has--and Obama is an empty-headed weakling compared to, say, Clinton).
McCain, however, is flying under a banner of conservatism, which still implies low taxes, small government, freedom, etc. in many peoples' eyes. But McCain has demonstrated that he doesn't care one lick about individual freedom. He thinks public service is a virtue to which every American should submit. He is woefully ignorant of economics: he sneers at the profit motive, he spews nonsense about speculation in the oil industry and about lenders (completely ignoring the role of government) in the subprime issue.
He has caved to the greens on countless issues. That he favors offshore drilling doesn't make up for that.
There is a smaller and smaller difference on economic issues between parties each election. The only thing that is keeping the right even remotely discernible from the left is their religiosity (which the left is beginning to realize that it has to pander to). I think McCain will be a more affective president than Obama. And because of his horrifying political and personal philosophy, that makes him more dangerous.
I could say more, but this response is getting a little long, so I'll leave it at that for now.
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