Politics

I don’t consider myself a Republican. I don’t consider myself a Democrat. I don’t consider myself a conservative or a liberal. Nor do I claim to be a Libertarian. I am registered unaffiliated. This opening paragraph may be a big surprise for some of you, even those of you who know me very well, including family and friends.

I like some Republican/conservative ideas, and I like some Democrat/liberal ideas. And I am appalled by some Republican/conservative ideas, and I am appalled by some Democrat/liberal ideas. I also like and dislike some Libertarian ideas. This does not make me “moderate” or “undecided” or “wishy-washy” at all. On some issues I am solidly decided, unchanged for decades, and very far from moderate. But my opinions on political issues do not fall perfectly in line with either party. A sad thing about political sides is that too many people think you have to be all in or all out, that you can’t agree and disagree with things from both camps.

I’ve never directly told anyone my political leanings. With close family and friends I may have discussed certain political issues, and they may have assumed my overall party leanings based on those conversations. In the company of people who are not close family and friends, I tend to not reveal my opinions on political issues at all. Often I find that people will assume I’m in agreement with them because I don’t argue against them. I find this amusing and convenient. Sadly, I also sometimes find that people will assume I completely disagree with them on all things just because I question some propaganda BS they’re spouting. I find this exhausting.

When I vote, I vote for the person, not the party. I also don’t vote for just one issue. I find most political debate to be more about finding fault and disagreement, and scoring little “gotchas” than about actually finding common ground or solutions. Both parties do this. Both parties nitpick each other to the point of absurdity.

Way back in 1992, I signed the petition to allow Ross Perot on the ballot. (A real, paper petition. This was before clicking Like on Facebook was the fad for supporting something.) I signed that because I thought he deserved to be allowed to run, not because I wanted to vote for him.

That election was the first one that I voted in. I was 25 years old. Since then I have voted in every presidential election, but only a few mid-term elections. I usually learn a lot about the presidential candidates, a little about Senators and Congressmen, but I rarely know anything about state level politicians. I don’t really research any candidate, but I do pay attention to the news and such. I hate political campaign ads. Hate, hate, hate. All campaigns ads I ever see are negative — they tell me that their opponent is of the devil, but not what they, themselves, stand for and will do. Negative political ads do not move me to vote for anyone, although they have moved me to not vote at all.

I’m perfectly comfortable with the idea of a non-white non-male holding any office, including president. There have been non-male and non-white candidates running for their party’s nomination that I would have voted for had they made the ticket. There are non-white and non-male people right now that I’d consider voting for if they decided to run. Again, I vote for the person, not the party, race, or gender.

It does annoy me when someone makes an issue out of a candidate’s race or gender. Ironically, though, most of the time, (if not every time), that I’ve seen/heard/read someone make an issue of some candidate’s/politician’s race or gender, it’s been an accusation of racism or misogyny directed at someone else rather than actual race or gender bias against the candidate/politician. That is, it is someone claiming someone else dislikes or disagrees with the candidate or politician because of the politician’s race or gender. Someone can disagree and/or dislike Barack Obama without being racist, and someone can disagree and/or dislike Sarah Palin without being sexist.

In most cases, the same people who disagree/dislike Obama, felt the same about Bill Clinton. But Democrat supporters claim it’s racism against Obama, where before it was just regular old political differences. And the same people who disagreed/disliked Palin, felt the same about Bush. But Republican supporters claimed it was sexism against Palin, where before it was just regular old political differences. This claim of racism/sexism is just political hacks trying to score intellectually underhanded points against the other side. It’s a low road taken when the hack can’t defend their side with a legitimate point. “My candidate’s position is so obviously superior that for you to disagree can only be because you hate their race or gender!”

If I don’t vote for a non-white and/or non-male candidate, it’s not because I don’t want someone of that race or gender in that office. And if I do vote for someone of a particular race or gender, it’s not because I think we need someone of that race or gender in that office. Whether I vote for someone depends strictly on their ideas, their character, their plans, and their ability to perform the duties of that office. Don’t tell me that I should vote for them just to help that race or gender to break some barrier, and don’t tell me that not voting for them means I’m racist or sexist. That is insulting both to my intelligence and my character. If you can’t sell your candidate based on their ideas, character, plans, and ability, then you have a crappy candidate. If your candidate has great ideas, good character, wise plans, and demonstrated ability, then you have a suitable candidate, completely regardless of their race or gender.

Bullgrit