I received a comment tonight on one of my older posts (yes, I do read them) that made me wonder if I've been clear about several things in the past. First, I'd like to thank Paul for his comments, both the nice and the not-so-nice. The feedback always makes me look for ways to improve my writing and to re-examine some of what I've written before. And anything that makes you think can't be all bad, even when you're "pegged as just another air-head follower of the Democrat line."
For those who don't know it, I am an independent voter--I just tend to lean more to the left. Before every election, I do my homework to find out what a candidate stands for, what they really believe in, before making up my mind about who gets my vote. I would love to see politicians remember why they went into public service in the first place, instead of spending all of their time trying to get reelected. I would also like to see the proverbial pigs fly. But like them or not (politicians, not pigs), it is my duty to vote for the person I think will do the best job. I believe that it is also my duty to ask questions when I think something is amiss. The few political musings in this space and the occasional letter to the editor are my way of doing that.
Most of my family consider themselves Republicans--always have been, always will be. Even my older sister who once thought herself a liberal now refuses to vote for ANY Democrat. Why? Because Bill Clinton had oral sex in the Oval Office and lied about it. She can't understand how I could still like him. I will never understand how she could think that oral sex is morally more reprehensible than distorting facts and/or outright lying to get us into a war that cost thousands of lives, not to mention the billions of dollars.
Anyway, Paul, for what it's worth, I do try to keep an open mind, and I make an effort to 'fess up when I've said something really stupid or just been flat out wrong. And I make every effort to use multiple resources before forming my opinions, which at the end of the day are just that--my opinions.
3 comments:
Are you telling me that you are not aware that Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and nearly all of the members of the House and Senate believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that is the main reason we are at war with Iraq? If Bush lied about his reasons for goig to war, so did a huge majority of the House and Senate.
No, Sir. I am well aware that the vast majority of COngress gave the President authorization to move against Iraq. I am also aware that a vast majority of people now believe that the administration cherry-picked the data that was shown to members of Congress and the public. As I am aware that the 9/11 panel found that there was no link between Saddam and al Qaeda, although large swaths of the country continue to believe this (possibly because certain members of the administration continued to say so). I am also aware that John Kerry sounded like an idiot when he said that he voted for the war before he voted against it.
Perhaps in this case, as in so many others, reasonable people can agree to disagree. Then maybe we can work on finding common ground.
Just wanted to drop in and say hi. I am also a "left coast" mom and I enjoy your blog.
I am also an independent who leans left. I never feel like I have to subscribe to either party, as I do not feel either one is worthy of my committed vote. I like to decide before each election who will win my vote.
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