A Little Food For Thought

ViRedd

New Member
Holding my nose and voting Republican
By Linda Chavez
Wednesday, October 25, 2006


I am not happy with the Republican Party, but on Nov. 7 I will cast my vote for my incumbent Republican congressman and senator nonetheless. I don't feel I have any choice -- and it's not just that the Democrats running in my state are particularly unappealing candidates.
I'm angry at Republicans for abandoning their principles. This Republican president, aided and abetted by Congress, has increased federal spending at a reckless rate, even when the costs of the war in Iraq are taken out of the equation. I'm embarrassed by the scandals that have plagued some Republicans and by the abject failure of the leadership to do anything meaningful on lobbying reform.
I'm sickened by the cronyism that protected former Congressman Mark Foley and put children at risk. I'm disappointed that after years of claiming to be the party of colorblind equal opportunity, Republicans have actually expanded racial preferences in federal programs. I'm disheartened by the demagoguery on immigration and the refusal to do the one thing guaranteed to stop illegal immigration, namely, enact a broad guest worker program.
But none of these issues will make me stay home, much less vote Democratic. The fact is I don't trust the Democratic Party to lead this country in a time of uncertainty and war. While the Democrats say they want to refocus the nation's energy on the war on terror, they've demonstrated time and again that they oppose the most effective means of fighting terrorism.
Democrats would interfere with the National Security Agency's ability to intercept communications between terrorists abroad and their agents in the United States. They would extend to terrorists being held overseas access to the U.S. civilian court system, which could jeopardize national security by making classified intelligence available to the terrorists and their attorneys. They would treat terrorists like common criminals rather than as combatants who are at war with us.
Nor do I trust that Democrats would do the right thing in Iraq -- not that the current administration has had a stellar record there, either. I'm tired of debating whether we should or should not have gone into Iraq -- both Republicans and half the Democrats in the Senate voted to authorize the war in 2003. The question is what the United States should do now. It's clear the war is going very badly and that Iraq is on the verge of a civil war. Democrats have offered no clear plan except to leave Iraq as quickly as possible, regardless of the consequences.
And I don't think the Democrats would back tough measures if Iran and North Korea continue to pursue nuclear weapons either. Certainly the Clinton administration's record with respect to North Korea doesn't inspire confidence. Democrats like carrots a lot better than sticks and are more concerned with "world opinion" than American interests.
Democratic control of Congress also worries me when it comes to the economy. Democrats always want to raise taxes in order to pay for social programs, transferring money out of the hands of ordinary people and turning it over to bureaucrats. Most Democrats are also infatuated with government regulation and rarely find a government directive they don't like. Higher taxes and more regulations are a recipe to cool our healthy economy. Democrats seem to want to punish businesses rather than encourage the creation of more wealth. And they have a nasty propensity to encourage envy and class warfare, which benefits no one.
Politics is sometimes about making the least bad choice. I know some of my fellow Republicans will stay home on Election Day, hoping to send the party a message that they're fed up with the current leadership. But putting the Democrats in control won't bring about needed changes -- it will make matters even worse. The place for revolt is within the party itself, by urging the elected representatives to pick carefully when they choose House and Senate leadership in January and by challenging incumbents in primaries next time if they don't stand up for basic Republican principles.


Linda Chavez is chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity and author of Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics . Be the first to read Linda Chavez's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox. Sign up today!


Copyright © 2006 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.
 

medicinaluseonly

Well-Known Member
You're shameless, more right wing drivel to fill the page. Have you ever had a thought of your own or do you just peruse the right wing columns to get your Ideas. I'll guarantee you that that kind of posting wins you no allys, it basically shows what a shallow dork you really are. Other peoples opinions. That must be your middle name, I'll start calling you OPO for short. Come on now use that old wrinkled brain and post some original thought, your not even a challenge any more.I'll have to stop reading your rants. I gave you credit where none was deserved.
 

Dankdude

Well-Known Member
I'll be out there to vote believe me... But I'll be voting to throw the bums out and start over.
 

Doobie006

Well-Known Member
Don't care for the democrats too much. But for any party to have this much control over the country is unhealthy for democracy. So I say definitely vote democratic. Someone has to keep this administration in check.
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
Despite no-shows, candidates take walk on wild side

Posted by The Oregonian Politics Team October 16, 2006 22:44
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Where else would you learn that Ron Saxton owns every "Green Acres" show on DVD, that Gov. Ted Kulongoski keeps a whole refrigerator full of beer at Mahonia Hall and that hyperconservative Mary Starrett could get a thunderous round of applause from a room full of the opposite?
That's the draw of "Candidates Gone Wild," the quirkiest, if not the most informative, political sideshow in town.
The event, sponsored by Willamette Week and the Bus Project, played Monday night to a jam-packed crowd at Portland's Roseland Theater. The raucous gathering of mostly 30- and 40-somethings were looking to equate politics with entertainment, and with Portland rock phenom Storm Large in a low-cut gown helping keep things lively, they weren't disappointed.
Well, not too.
Two of the main attractions, Saxton and Kulongoski, the Republican and Democratic contenders for governor, took a pass. That left the stage to what has become a touring road show of the three minor party stalwarts: Starrett, of the Constitution Party, Pacific Green Joe Keating and Libertarian Richard Morley.
"What happened to Saxton?" someone in the audience yelled early in the show.
"He's on border patrol," Large shot back.
The show was less about talking points and more about laugh lines, but the idea wasn't so much to inform as to invigorate. Starrett, who holds strong anti-abortion and anti-tax views got into the spirit quickly when it was her turn to speak.
"I know I'm outnumbered here," she told the crowd, but nearly brought them to their feet when she said it is time to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. "We're in an illegal, immoral and unconstitutional war," she said.
Asked why, given her low standing in the polls, she didn't return to her old job as a daytime TV host, Starrett, grinning, said, "As much as politics is really filthy job, TV is even worse."
Morley, too, played to the crowd. The usually conservative dresser hepped up his wardrobe with a white turtleneck under a blazer and let the audience know that Libertarians such as himself believe in a woman's right to an abortion, in civil unions and medical marijuana.


A no brainer...my vote is for Morley.

 
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