Since it’s less than 12 hours away…

I’m going to go ahead and put my political business out there.

I used to vote Republican. I consistently voted for conservative tickets because I believe the government should be smaller and stay out of my personal life. Republican is a repugnant term to me now, because the party that I used to have things in common with has gone so far to the extreme right I can’t even recognize it any more. 

I’m an independent. I identify pretty strongly with the Libertarian ideals and wish they’d field a viable candidate sometime.

I voted for John McCain in the primaries during 2000. The man I voted for isn’t the guy who’s running for President right now.

There are a lot of reasons I’m voting against John McCain. He doesn’t believe I can make knowledgable decisions about my own reproductive health. He’s overly concerned about how people are having sex and with whom. He thinks kids would be better off in the foster system than being adopted by gay parents who love them. He thinks being gay is a choice. And he picked a spectacularly moronic running mate. When I heard the words “Russia is right next to Alaska” I thought it was a joke. And then the campaign kept saying it. And Palin kept saying it. And then McCain said it. Frankly, a fourth grader could tell you that’s a bullshit answer and the fact that they kept spouting it shows a vast contempt for the intellect of the nation. I’m not even going to get into the mudslinging and name calling. 

When I heard John McCain would be the Republican candidate, I was actually excited about this political season. I thought we’d FINALLY have a campaign that would be all about the issues. After all, MY McCain swore off of the nasty tactics used by Bush so that means all we can DO is talk about the things that matter. Imagine my dismay.

More than reasons to vote against McCain, I’ve got really great reasons to vote for Obama.

His upbringing is a lot closer to mine than John McCain’s was. When my Dad died of liver cancer, it didn’t bankrupt my mother but it strapped everyone in the family. I believe that a man who chose to work with poor residents of Chicago has a different kind of empathy than a guy who was essentially military royalty.

I am incredibly happy to hear Obama say that Affirmative Action should be economically based rather than race based. I was thrilled to hear him address – really address – the racial divide in our country and talk about what we’re going to have to do to fix it. I think he’s the only man who can bring us back together as a country.

His health care plan makes far more sense than McCain’s. I know that because I used to be a drug rep. $5,000 does not buy you health care coverage of ANY sort of quality. It’s impossible.

And most importantly, Obama’s tax plan helps ME.

I believe his views on foreign policy are what we need. I don’t think ignoring our enemies is effective (e.g. Cuba). I think Obama’s platform just makes sense.

Is it perfect? Hell no. Do I love everything about it? Hell no. Do I LIKE everything about it? Hell no. But given the alternative – I’m going blue this year.

And I forgot to mention, as an English major, I appreciate a politican who can write and speak with eloquence – as evidenced below. I don’t remember when I’ve been this excited about voting FOR a candidate.

I’m also voting yes on Prop 1 and Prop 2. I believe that anything which helps alleviate the suffering of patients should be used and my biology classes help me to understand that embryonic stem cell research is the most promising way to find cures for cancer and other virulent diseases.