Election
Note: This entry is getting a lot of attention! I've disabled mandatory registration for a limited time to encourage discussion.
Ever since I enlisted, I've taken more notice to politics. It seems like my day to day life changes everytime the President farts. It gives me great interest in seeing the outcome of this election be in my favor. That said, I support Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.
It was basically a no-brainer. Obama has never supported this war in Iraq and he's the one of the few politicians who seem at all concerned in ending it. I'm in a combat manuever brigade. My deployments will not end until the war in Iraq does. A Republican administration will do nothing to take us out of Iraq. McCain himself said he will keep us there for another hundred years. They say we won't establish permanent bases in Iraq but when I go to the bigger bases that's all I see. New construction. We're digging in for the long haul. Under Republican rule, this country will become another hardship tour duty station such as Korea or Germany.
When I get home from this deployment, I will have roughly 18 months left in service. I'm only "guaranteed" (and that guarantee is only Army strong, which is to say it can change at any minute) 12 months stateside. 18 months is a long time to dodge another deployment to Iraq at this pace, no matter where I'm stationed. I've basically hinged my ability to avoid stop-loss on this election. If Obama is elected, I stand a good chance of getting out of the service on my scheduled exit date. If he's not, I can guarantee I will be stop-lossed and involutarily extended for up to 18 months; 3 months prior to deployment, another 12 to rot here while the rest of the world turns without me, and 3 months after.
Katie and I have a lot riding on this election. If I'm stuck in Iraq for another tour, I can almost promise that once I am let free I will not endure another minute in a country under the rule of Republicans. God knows they've sent the country to hell in the last 8 years, no damage will be repaired if another warmonger is elected. By the time I get home the U.S. will be as much of a bombed out wasteland as Iraq is after we got done removing it's tyrannical dictator, and ours will still be there to show for it. To hell with my plans for school, to hell with the pittance of benefits leftover for veterans after the nations budget has been gutted for more war spending, I'll be packing up everything and moving elsewhere. I'm told Alberta is a nice place to live.
September 20th, 2008 - 15:16
I’ve been Republican most of my life. I voted Democratic once – for our current Gov. Rod. Look what HE’s done to Illinois. Put millions out of work and took millions of jobs and moved them out of Springfield, which has pretty ruined this city. Of course he was running against a crook, who is now in prison for stealing from taxpayers. Sooo…. what’s a person to do?
When this country was under attack by terrorists Sept. 11, 2001, what was the Republican party supposed to do? (By the way the entire Congress is Democratic- and everything has to be passed through Congress before anything can get done) I agree Bush did NOT do anything to find Osama BinLaden. Why he picked on Iraq is beyond me. BinLaden is still hanging out in Afghanistan and could attack this country at any time, just for fun, because he knows he can get by with it. But if this had happened when Bill Clinton was in office, I doubt Bid Laden would just “talk it over” and shake hands promising never to do it again. No – something HAD to be done. We cannot let other countries think we’re a bunch of woosies just to have anybody and everybody attack us. I’m still pissed over it. I’m proud that you were brave enough to enlist knowing full well were were at “war”. You have opened my eyes to what this country does (or shall I say does NOT do) for their Veterans – especially those who have served in another country during times of conflict – who includes your grandpa and your dad and step-dad. Grandpa enlisted, but Denny & Frank both were drafted. They had no choice. Did you know that 70% of the homeless are Vietnam Vets? Why is that? This whole “not enough funds to help our Veterans” is not new. It has been a constant struggle from the very beginning – doesn’t matter who is in office.
I totally agree that too much money is being spent in Iraq and Afghanistan building bigger bases. And I totally agree we should NOT be in Iraq at all. I DO think we should find the person who attacked this country and step up the forces we have here in the US so these attacks won’t happen again.
All that being said- I urge you not to run from this country for which you sacrificed 6 years of your life. I urge you to FIGHT for what is due to you and fight for every other Veteran. I mean what is DUE you. Take full advantage of every bit of free education you can get and anything else you can get your hands on. I, personally, am good friends with the Asst to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Greg Curran. Not that actually MEANS anything, but it IS his job to fight for Veterans rights, which he does on a daily basis. But one person can’t do it all.
It doesn’t matter WHO is in office. Veterans will be constantly fighting for their rights because there is NEVER enough money to support the benefits they promised you when you enlisted. Obviously the Vietnam homeless prove this.
Again, I also agree that McCain doesn’t have any plans of getting out of Iraq anytime soon – I completely disagree with that. We need out of there right now. Unfortunately even if Obama is elected, he still has to go through Congress to get anything done. That may take years. I would love to have a president that will end all war and we will never be attacked again. I would vote for Obama in a heartbeat if he could get that to happen. Then what about this economy- what about the healthcare system- what about the situation with foreign oil? We have to take all that in to consideration, too. I’m sure if you moved to Alberta, there will be things you won’t like about it, too. No one lives in a perfect world.
I hate talking politics, especially with the most important person in my life. I’m just so scared to vote Democratic because of what Gov. Rod has done. I have to admit that Bill Clinton had this country is pretty good shape before he left. I just have nothing to compare him to when it comes to this country being under attack. I don’t know what to do. I just don’t want my children (and their spouses) hating me because I many lean this way or that. And I will always fight for the rights and help support all Veterans of Foreign Wars because you have opened my eyes.
September 21st, 2008 - 16:33
You’ve got a Canadian sponsor over here, if there’s a worse case scenario.
As long as you freaks don’t make me eat tofu, that is. ;o)
September 21st, 2008 - 16:48
I’m right there with you. I say take what you can and go to school, then move to Uraguay. It’s a nice country, with a temperate climate.
If I believed in a god that could snap his fingers and give me what I wanted if only I prayed, I’d pray for Obama to win the election. But, since I do not believe in fairy tales, I will vote for Obama myself.
And I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you don’t get screwed. I know how much you want out of here.
Stacy
September 22nd, 2008 - 19:12
I am not seriously concerned over the outcome of this election. I don’t think McCain has a snowballs chance in hell. If he wins it will be through sheer racism.
As for these wars, I do not believe that our decision to use the military was wise. I think use of espionage would have been more effective strategy. I think if one month after 9-11 we had assassinated Osama Bin Laden then it would have been a better show of force. You don’t perform surgery with sludge hammers, you use a scalpel.
Before anyone counts me down for advocating assassination, think of what we chose instead. Thousands death, our economy in the toilet, no progress, torture war crimes, Guantonimo Bay ect ect.
October 2nd, 2008 - 16:04
I almost voted for McCain in 2000 — I disliked Al Gore (and his wife) that much. Alas, he wasn’t on the ticket. McCain is a survivor, in more ways that one. He knows what to do to make sure he can keep on keeping on. As a result, I don’t know what the fuck he actually believes or will actually do, at this point. All I do know is that Sarah Palin as VP is a complete, absolute farce. A complete transparent attempt to pick up Democrats and Independents that have been floating since Clinton was not nominated as the democractic candidate.
There are some real stand-up Republicans, who do good things. Politics are compromise, ultimately. Balancing getting good things done, and playing the game enough to survive to be able to do more good things, is difficult at best. These fiscally conversative, socially liberal republicans carry on the best intentions from when the party was first created. Just like good ol’ Abe Lincoln.
These folks are now in the minority in their party. Even so, tarring them all with the same brush would be utterly retarded. Just as retarded as voting republican blindly, without question.
The same goes for democrats, greens, libertarians, etc. Each individual has their own reasons for being in the party, but you aren’t voting for the party — you’re voting for that person.
The governor of Illinois’ decisions are only a fraction of why Springfield is dying. There is a city council who allows far too much retail to be built out, way beyond what the local economy can actually support. That yields low-income jobs that have a high turnover rate every time one of the dozens of Walgreens stores go out of business. There are entire neighborhoods, like the one that I grew up in, that are full of abandoned, boarded-up houses. Why on earth are there so many new apartments being built further out of town, yielding more money spent on fuel? Smart city planning (like where I live) takes all of these things into account and avoids these issues by knowing when to say NO.
These are all local decisions, unrelated to the dozens of bad decisions that the governor has made. Rod is Rod and Arnold is Arnold, but you can’t reasonably and intelligently extend that to saying that a Democrat is a Democrat or a Republican is Republican.
Think, for once.