I’ll preface this by explaining my political views. I believe that government is good when it is controlled by the people. That’s why I think the federal government has extremely limited value. It should handle foreign relations (including a strong defensive military) and provide basic regulations for all states to follow. All other decisions should be made at the state or local level. Why? Because the federal government is out of control. If you want to affect something in the federal gov., what do you do? Call your representatives, of course. However, even here in Alaska, we still have tens of thousands of people for each representative. Even if you manage to get something introduced, by the time it leaves Congress it will have dozens of additions and modifications. Only when the government is close to the people, not insulated behind layers of bureaucracy, can we hope to see effective governance. Local governments provide the people with control.
Why was Obama a bad choice, but still the right choice?
With that said, let’s look at the presidential election four days ago. Aside from the dangers of Sarah Palin one thready 72-year-old heartbeat from the presidency, there were some major problems with voting McCain:
* Rewarding the Republican Party would have been a mistake. More on this later…
* Obama has the ability to inspire. Much of the president’s power comes in the form of trust (of the people). Even if he’s incompetent, he may be able to push the country forward with the naïve enthusiasm of the masses
* If Obama picks many former Clinton advisors, things might turn out less-than-terribly. Bill Clinton and his staff did an acceptable job of balancing the country (with a lot of help from an economic bubble).
* Almost everyone else in the world wanted Obama to win. A little popularity may be useful at times.
What’s wrong with the Democrats?
It’s pretty simple. The Democratic Party fundamentally believes in government making its citizens’ choices for them. I don’t think that’s right, especially at the national level. A policy of big government is only tenable when the people have the reins.
What’s wrong with the Republicans?
The Republican Party has given conservatism a bad name. Only in America would “conservatives” spend a trillion dollars on a war against a country that presented no real threat. Only in America would “conservatives” pack a fortune in pork for “roads to nowhere” (and I live in Alaska!) onto completely unrelated bills. And only in America would “conservatives” consider it government’s responsibility to tell people who they can marry. The Republicans have formed a party of corruption and incompetence. They need to change or disintegrate.
Where’s the third choice?
If the two main political parties are problematic, where’s the alternative? There is none. Here are some other parties:
* The Greens: A policy of rabid anti-corporateism doesn’t appeal to me.
* The Libertarians: I believe that government must be locally controlled, and careful thought should be taken before enlarging it. However, I don’t believe that government is evil.
* The Constitution Party: The religious zealots and isolationists don’t do much for me.
* The Alaska Independence Party!: I couldn’t help it. How can anyone lose with DeNardo and friends?
The electoral college: can we have stupids now?
If nothing else, we should abolish the electoral college. It represents one of the dumbest ideas in the history of government. Drop it NOW.
If your post were a chick I’d marry it.
If that makes sense?
Totally not in a creepy way though. :]
Glad you liked it, but that is a bit creepy…