Elections for '06 and '08

I want to know something, are people really concerned about the national community? Do most in America feel isolated? According to polls (which I feel are the worst part of politics these days), run by Democrats, these are the key issues facing the American public for the elections for '06 and '08. I think this is a sad soundbite driven platform that shows the Democrats have no ideas that can help right now.

While I agree with most that progress in Afghanistan should be better, and that Iraq is turning into a quagmire, I disagree on plans to 'cut and run'. The Democrats believe that it is politically better to cut our losses and set a time for the removal of our troops out of Iraq without accomplishing what needs to be done to stabilize the region. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is quoted on CNN saying "We believe that talking about the president's failed strategy in Iraq is not unpatriotic. It may undercut the president, but it does not undercut our troops." I disagree. I especially disagree when politics guides the military, a key part of why we had some of the problems in Viet Nam and are having more today (my opinion).

Even Sen. Joe Lieberman states "It is time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be commander in chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril." Democrats should not make plans to assail the President for political gain because they feel this is their chance. To weaken the President is to weaken the military, as he is the leader of the military. That is not to say that the President should not be held accountable, nor does it mean that a solid plan to win the goals of our conflicts should not be created.

But Gov. Tom Vilsack, Gov. Mark Warner, former Sen. John Edwards and others think that this is part of the solution to win an election. Another part is following polls that say community is the buzz word for America's collective ear. Mr. Edwards stated "There is a hunger in America, a hunger for a sense of national community, a hunger for something big and important and inspirational that they all can be involved in." Gov. Vilsack has said "What's happening in this country is we're losing our sense of common purpose," and "When we work together, when rely on one another, when we care about one another we remove the fear of sharing."

Again I disagree. I believe the fight against terrorism is a unifying goal. I believe that helping to create a stabilized middle-east is inspirational, and answers the desire for national safety. I think that the common purpose of the nation is better served supporting our forces (which means it must include the President who is Commander-and-Chief of our troops) and providing them the means, plans and time needed to acheive their goals. While community is important, America is a global capitalist representative democracy, and the individual is critical. Americans need to take responsibility for themselves, first and foremost.

By that I mean responsibility for raising our children (not teaching them to live on public support as the only means of survival), providing strong moral standards (which is the obligation of the parents, not the masses), maintaining national pride [see my post on Multi-cultural classifications], and economic fortitude for matters pertaining to current (investments,debt and bankruptcy) and future (pension, retirement and legacy) fiscal actions. The government is not here to do these things for us but to ensure that they cannot be taken from us, and we should not be so lackadaisical as to believe that it will all work out without our tending to these factors.

I truly hate soundbite politics. I disagree with polls and anyone who uses them to garner support without convictions to the actual issues. This is as true for republicans as it is for democrats or anyone else. A vote is worth more. Appealing to a sense of community, or taking advantage of missteps, without a clear and defined resolution to the underlying issues is merely an attempt to garner a vote on the cheap. Allowing that process to be effective is to weaken the American people and our entire government. My vote is worth more.

This is what I think, what do you think?