Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Presidential Election

Matt has been passionate about voting 3rd party this election. He usually isn't very active on facebook, but right now he's a moderator on the Ask a Gary Johnson Supporter page. He was good at it. I enjoyed watching him and reading his wit.

I'm going to put his logic for 3rd party, and then we're going to carry on our merry way. :) He posted this on facebook today:

Please hear me out.
If you were told you have 2 choices, either everyone you love or care about is killed, or you must run a gas chamber and exterminate 10,000 people you never met, what would you do? Would you debate the two options and pick the lesser of two evils? Would you do only the two things those in power tell you to do? Or would you choose the third option of fleeing the country with everyone you know?
There is always a third option. The same is true for this election.
Get enough support behind Gary Johnson and he could make it to the debates. I know if he were in the debates he would win. A large portion of the nation is unsure of where their vote is going. He is tied for first for the 18-35 age bracket. He is first with military. Think about that. Most of our soldiers want him, that means something to me.
He's a fiscal conservative who's main goals are more personal freedom. His economic policies are to stop corporate welfare, cut government spending, and once the budget is cut he'll lower taxes, and he'll fight to make taxes simpler. He has experience as a governor balancing a budget in a democratic controlled state (look at state tax spending, not the federal spending in his state that he had no control over). He wants to shift power from the federal government back to the states, as most of the founding fathers wanted it.
He plans on ending the war on drugs. There was a massive crime problem during prohibition, people were murdered over beer and mobster got rich. We have those same problems today with the war on drugs. We don't have whisky black markets where bodies are dumped from bridges in cement shoes like we did during prohibition because whisky is legal, the same thing will happen with the drug trade if drugs are legal. Large gangs should eventually die out without that major source of income. The tax revenue from legalization along with the lowered cost of fighting that war, jail, prison, prosecuting, and patrolling will save us billions on the budget. Educating people about the dangers of drug use and focusing on treatment will be cheaper and more effective to stop drug use than criminalization.
I wouldn't support him if I didn't believe he could win. Look at his qualifications. Listen to him speak. Truthfully compare him to the other options. I know you'll see that he is a much better choice than the two main party tickets. Right now you know why you don't want Clinton. You know why you don't want Drumpf.
When you think about it, the only reason to not vote Johnson, is because you're convinced everyone else isn't going to vote Johnson. We need to be the change. We need to be the voice that say's we don't have to pick from two wasteful dirty evil candidates. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you have to follow the rules the two parties made up to keep themselves in power. There is always a third option.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Apologies to my children

I was once a political junkie. The first presidential election I followed was Gore v. Bush. I was 17. I watch the debates, I read all I could... and the race after that... and after that... but now....

I can't take it. I. Can't. Take. It. It's so depressing. My computer even has the John Oliver add-on making all things "Trump" into "Drumpf" (except Twitter for some reason) which just magnifies my frustration when Drumpf wins a state. I polled my family to find out if anyone was drawn to the election as I was. Survey said:
Doing laundry.
Watching West Wing (Vote Bartlett!)
Youth activity
Watching NCIS
I made cookies and ate ice cream. Painted a little, cross stitched to X-Files.

It was agonizing. How is it someone who says such outrageous things, which would swiftly kill any other campaign, still gets votes? How is he leading? I don't even know anyone who is voting Drumpf. America seems to be learning how Hitler was elected. We often say things like 'How did Germany vote for this guy?' 'Didn't they look into his background?' "How were they so blind?" This is how, dear America. Angry voters don't look into things. Anger is no way to approach an election. It feeds on the rantings of anything fueling the fire of blame. Times are tough and we like to hear it's not our fault. I believe angry voters is exactly why Trump is leading in delegates.

President Hinckley said "Anger is not an expression of strength. It is an indication of one's inability to control his thoughts, words, his emotions. Of course it is easy to get angry. When the weakness of anger takes over, the strength of reason leaves. Cultivate within yourselves the mighty power of self-discipline."

On the plus side (I hope it's a plus), there is talk of a brokered convention (I think it'd kill the GOP, but at this point I don't care) which would be fascinating.