I guess I’ve always considered myself a conservative. Well, except in 1992 when I voted for Bill Clinton. My Granny told me I was a fool, but I really believed he could…oh who am I kidding. It had less to do with politics and more to do with those blue eyes, that Southern charm and he could play a saxophone. I was 19 and shallow…sue me. Blue eyed men – especially blue eyed men with a Southern accent – have always been my undoing.
Granny was one of the major influences in my life (I quote & refer to her often) who was an “old time” Democrats. I announced at the age of 7, much to Granny's shock, that I wanted to vote for Ronald Reagan. I said “Because he says things are bad & he’s gonna make it better.” Of course I couldn’t vote….but he won. I remember watching his inauguration and hearing shortly after that the hostages were free. When he ran again in ’84 I couldn’t vote for him…but Granny did. As far as I know, she voted for a Republican as President until she died in 1994. She was going to vote for Michael Dukakis in ’88 but when he was asked if his wife were raped and murdered, would he favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer, he said "No, I don't, and I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life", my dear Granny threw her shoe at the TV and in a very non- little-old-lady-like manner informed anyone within ear shot that (a) his parents were not married at the time of his birth and (b) that he wasn’t a man because he lacked the necessary equipment. I think he was the last Democrat she considered for President.
Along with considering myself a conservative I thought I was a Republican. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am a registered Democrat. Because the area I live in was so heavily Democrat, up until the last 5 years or so, most elections were settled in the primary. Because of my interest in a certain candidate, over the last week or so I’ve been told I wasn’t a true Republican or a conservative. Doing some research I’ve realized I’m more of a Libertarian than a Republican, but I am a conservative – more of a fiscal conservative than anything else. I wouldn't say that I'm a socially liberal; I just don’t think government has any right to tell consenting adults what to do with their personal lives. You can bet, when the public or the press starts poking around in the private life of a politician they pitch a fit, but it’s ok for them under the guise of “the government” to tell us what is appropriate and acceptable. So just to clear up where I stand here ya go:
Abortion: It’s murder, plain & simple. You’ll never convince me otherwise. That having been said, we’ve (women) had the choice, but if you ask me it should be the last choice. Why? We have so many more choices that we didn’t have at the time Roe vs Wade came before the Supreme Court. Birth control is readily available and in many forms; pills, shots, implants, and both male and female condoms. Honestly, if you’re having sex you should be using condoms anyway.
Gay Marriage/Adoption: The issue is for some is this; is marriage a religious or legal issue. The answer is it’s both. In the State of FL, you can have a minister, preacher, rabbi, or priest (or notary public, state judge, etc) perform the ceremony but without a marriage license it’s not legal. You can have the license but without being solemnized, (To perform with formal ceremony) it’s not legal. Here's the thing; if your reason for being against gay marriage is that the Bible speaks against it. Well it also speaks against being unevenly yoked believer to non-believer. So does that mean that if the person you love & want to spend the rest of your life with is a believer and you're not you can't get married? Some ministers will probably perform the ceremony if you took classes....but that's no guarantee you're now a believer. However, with your license in hand you can go to a notary public and be married no matter what or how different the religious beliefs of you and your intended are. If two consenting adults – heterosexual or homosexual – want to be married I don’t have an issue with it. If they get their marriage license, do the blood tests (if required), wait the required amount of time, not a problem. Do I think that a minister, rabbi or any other religious official should be required to perform the ceremony? No. If the state can't make them perform the ceremony for a heterosexual couple then they shouldn't be able to force them to for a homosexual couples.
As for the issue of adoption…why is it even an issue? I know straight people who should NEVER have been allowed to have and raise their own children period. One argument is “The child will grow up in a home with gay parents and become gay themselves.” Really? I’m sure that in my 38 years I’ve heard something more asinine but right now I can’t bring it to mind. Using that logic (gay parents will raise gay children) then the whole discussion is moot because there shouldn’t even be gay people anyway…every gay person I know has straight parents. Granny believed a person was born gay or straight it was who you were and there’s nothing you can do about it. Like most things, I agree with her.
Immigration/Illegal Aliens: I can’t tell you how furious it makes me to see people rewarded for breaking the law. They sneak into this country; take a job that pays them under the table so they don’t pay taxes, take advantage of our TAX FUNDED social programs, refuse to learn our language, but expect our businesses, schools and citizens to learn their native language, change our laws to suit & protect them but they have no desire or plan to become a citizen….and why should they? They – the criminal – are reaping all (and sometimes more) of the benefits of the taxpaying citizens without having to bear any of the responsibility. It would be impossible to “round them all up” and deport them, but when they’re arrested, send them back. Don’t keep them in jail indefinitely where they are supported by the taxpayers, DEPORT THEM!
Taxes: Taxes have gotten out of hand, but that’s not news. Those of us who work pay more every year to support those who don’t. I understand there are people who truly need public & government assistance. I also know (because of my former job and individuals I actually know) that there are probably more people who are on public and government assistance because they’re too sorry to work. We’ve got the better part of a generation – possibly two that have been raised on public assistance. I know of young couples who get married and factor in food stamps and other government assistance programs into their budget. They’re planning this BEFORE THEY GET MARRIED!
One option is to get rid of the IRS and move to a flat tax system. That way no matter how much you make a year or how you get paid everyone pays the same. Small tax breaks for companies who employee Americans. If a company wants to send their production to a foreign company…fine…that’s their right, but they’re gonna pay a higher fee to bring those items back into the United States. No exceptions.
Also, Presidential candidate Herman Cain has a plan -- the 9-9-9 plan -- that makes sense. Check it out. https://www.hermancain.com/999plan
Look, I’m no politician, I haven’t studied political science and I don’t have a college degree, but I was raised with common sense. Issues like abortion and gay marriage are important – no argument from me on that. But when you look at the state we’re in, in my opinion, they’re not as pressing as the economic crisis we’re facing. The country (most of them anyway) was sold a bill of goods under the guise of hope. Hope is a wonderful thing but folks hope won’t give you a job, pay your electric bill, put gas in your car or feed your kids. When there’s a candidate with a solid economic plan, supports our military and wants to protect our borders, but you dismiss him/her because he doesn’t check off each & every box on your survey is ludicrous. If you want to tell me I’m not a conservative, you go ahead. Knock yourself out. I don’t need someone else to tell me who I am or what I believe. But this I know; we’re in a hole people and we’ve helped dig it. The longer non-liberal/non-progressives keep fighting amongst ourselves about which issues “have to be” agreed on, the longer we’ll be in this mess. Rule #1; when you find yourself in a hole – STOP DIGGING!
Granny was one of the major influences in my life (I quote & refer to her often) who was an “old time” Democrats. I announced at the age of 7, much to Granny's shock, that I wanted to vote for Ronald Reagan. I said “Because he says things are bad & he’s gonna make it better.” Of course I couldn’t vote….but he won. I remember watching his inauguration and hearing shortly after that the hostages were free. When he ran again in ’84 I couldn’t vote for him…but Granny did. As far as I know, she voted for a Republican as President until she died in 1994. She was going to vote for Michael Dukakis in ’88 but when he was asked if his wife were raped and murdered, would he favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer, he said "No, I don't, and I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life", my dear Granny threw her shoe at the TV and in a very non- little-old-lady-like manner informed anyone within ear shot that (a) his parents were not married at the time of his birth and (b) that he wasn’t a man because he lacked the necessary equipment. I think he was the last Democrat she considered for President.
Along with considering myself a conservative I thought I was a Republican. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am a registered Democrat. Because the area I live in was so heavily Democrat, up until the last 5 years or so, most elections were settled in the primary. Because of my interest in a certain candidate, over the last week or so I’ve been told I wasn’t a true Republican or a conservative. Doing some research I’ve realized I’m more of a Libertarian than a Republican, but I am a conservative – more of a fiscal conservative than anything else. I wouldn't say that I'm a socially liberal; I just don’t think government has any right to tell consenting adults what to do with their personal lives. You can bet, when the public or the press starts poking around in the private life of a politician they pitch a fit, but it’s ok for them under the guise of “the government” to tell us what is appropriate and acceptable. So just to clear up where I stand here ya go:
Abortion: It’s murder, plain & simple. You’ll never convince me otherwise. That having been said, we’ve (women) had the choice, but if you ask me it should be the last choice. Why? We have so many more choices that we didn’t have at the time Roe vs Wade came before the Supreme Court. Birth control is readily available and in many forms; pills, shots, implants, and both male and female condoms. Honestly, if you’re having sex you should be using condoms anyway.
Gay Marriage/Adoption: The issue is for some is this; is marriage a religious or legal issue. The answer is it’s both. In the State of FL, you can have a minister, preacher, rabbi, or priest (or notary public, state judge, etc) perform the ceremony but without a marriage license it’s not legal. You can have the license but without being solemnized, (To perform with formal ceremony) it’s not legal. Here's the thing; if your reason for being against gay marriage is that the Bible speaks against it. Well it also speaks against being unevenly yoked believer to non-believer. So does that mean that if the person you love & want to spend the rest of your life with is a believer and you're not you can't get married? Some ministers will probably perform the ceremony if you took classes....but that's no guarantee you're now a believer. However, with your license in hand you can go to a notary public and be married no matter what or how different the religious beliefs of you and your intended are. If two consenting adults – heterosexual or homosexual – want to be married I don’t have an issue with it. If they get their marriage license, do the blood tests (if required), wait the required amount of time, not a problem. Do I think that a minister, rabbi or any other religious official should be required to perform the ceremony? No. If the state can't make them perform the ceremony for a heterosexual couple then they shouldn't be able to force them to for a homosexual couples.
As for the issue of adoption…why is it even an issue? I know straight people who should NEVER have been allowed to have and raise their own children period. One argument is “The child will grow up in a home with gay parents and become gay themselves.” Really? I’m sure that in my 38 years I’ve heard something more asinine but right now I can’t bring it to mind. Using that logic (gay parents will raise gay children) then the whole discussion is moot because there shouldn’t even be gay people anyway…every gay person I know has straight parents. Granny believed a person was born gay or straight it was who you were and there’s nothing you can do about it. Like most things, I agree with her.
Immigration/Illegal Aliens: I can’t tell you how furious it makes me to see people rewarded for breaking the law. They sneak into this country; take a job that pays them under the table so they don’t pay taxes, take advantage of our TAX FUNDED social programs, refuse to learn our language, but expect our businesses, schools and citizens to learn their native language, change our laws to suit & protect them but they have no desire or plan to become a citizen….and why should they? They – the criminal – are reaping all (and sometimes more) of the benefits of the taxpaying citizens without having to bear any of the responsibility. It would be impossible to “round them all up” and deport them, but when they’re arrested, send them back. Don’t keep them in jail indefinitely where they are supported by the taxpayers, DEPORT THEM!
Taxes: Taxes have gotten out of hand, but that’s not news. Those of us who work pay more every year to support those who don’t. I understand there are people who truly need public & government assistance. I also know (because of my former job and individuals I actually know) that there are probably more people who are on public and government assistance because they’re too sorry to work. We’ve got the better part of a generation – possibly two that have been raised on public assistance. I know of young couples who get married and factor in food stamps and other government assistance programs into their budget. They’re planning this BEFORE THEY GET MARRIED!
One option is to get rid of the IRS and move to a flat tax system. That way no matter how much you make a year or how you get paid everyone pays the same. Small tax breaks for companies who employee Americans. If a company wants to send their production to a foreign company…fine…that’s their right, but they’re gonna pay a higher fee to bring those items back into the United States. No exceptions.
Also, Presidential candidate Herman Cain has a plan -- the 9-9-9 plan -- that makes sense. Check it out. https://www.hermancain.com/999plan
Look, I’m no politician, I haven’t studied political science and I don’t have a college degree, but I was raised with common sense. Issues like abortion and gay marriage are important – no argument from me on that. But when you look at the state we’re in, in my opinion, they’re not as pressing as the economic crisis we’re facing. The country (most of them anyway) was sold a bill of goods under the guise of hope. Hope is a wonderful thing but folks hope won’t give you a job, pay your electric bill, put gas in your car or feed your kids. When there’s a candidate with a solid economic plan, supports our military and wants to protect our borders, but you dismiss him/her because he doesn’t check off each & every box on your survey is ludicrous. If you want to tell me I’m not a conservative, you go ahead. Knock yourself out. I don’t need someone else to tell me who I am or what I believe. But this I know; we’re in a hole people and we’ve helped dig it. The longer non-liberal/non-progressives keep fighting amongst ourselves about which issues “have to be” agreed on, the longer we’ll be in this mess. Rule #1; when you find yourself in a hole – STOP DIGGING!
