Other than the occasional social issue, I try to stay as clear as possible from politics. It’s not the politics that I find distressing, but rather the politics OF the politics that I find particularly off-putting, but really that’s an argument for another day. Upon creating this website, I never had any intentions of it being a political haven, particularly because I don’t think I can speak articulately enough on any one political subject well enough for it to be so, nor honestly, do I care. But it would seem now, with the November election rapidly approaching, I find myself a lot more interested, and not to mention, scared.

Yes, to repeat that, I am scared of which what the political winds are blowing. I’ve heard countless times that this may be the most important presidential election America has ever seen, and though I can’t argue if that is necessarily the case ¹I cannot deny that the election is crucial to the future of our country. The notion of John McCain taking office terrifies me. Actually terrifies me. The below video pretty much sums up why:

McCain will be the next Dubbya, and then some. Over the last eight years, the USA has tumbled² from grace due to the current administration and to be honest, I don’t think that we are strong enough to take another four years of decline. That’s over a decade falling, and that’s bound to do some damage. The economy is worse off than it has ever been. (From 3 trillion surplus to 5 trillion debt, is nothing to scoff at, even though the numbers are fairly hard to comprehend.) McCain will surely continue that with his notions of what “rich” is and how we should continue to stay in the futile war we’ve been drowning in for the last seven years. If McCain wins the presidency, America will go even further into debt with the war, not to mention, lose lives that ought not be lost, run screaming towards Christian Evangelical Fundamentalism and most certainly set social issues back twenty years. ³

We need Obama.  And though I really like him and think that he will do a good job as president, I am not claiming that Obama has to be the most 100% perfect man for the job.  We just can’t have McCain — at this point, even if it were 2000 McCain and not 2008 McCain — because Bush has already set us back too far. Maybe it would be different, tolerable at least, if he was coming straight off the heels of Clinton, but he’s not, our grave is being dug as I type this.  

Frankly, I don’t trust My Fellow Americans to make the right choice.  People vote their wallets an unfortunate amount of the time, even if they don’t have the wallets that are going to benefit.  Plus there’s the ignorant contingent that we have to deal with who just like to have their freedom to bare arms and not having to deal with those different (or more intelligent) than them.  Not to mention, those looney’s who vote Independent, thinking that that is a way to keep the evil away by not voting for it.  You know what, stay home, independents, because all you do is take away from the good guys, since your “parties” are generally little off-shoot denominations of Democrats anyway.  Thirdly, what’s to stop the GOP from stealing yet another election?  Twice in a row they’ve done it, and not subtly, either, so what’s to stop them from doing it again?  What’s the swing state of choice this time?  And finally, Obama is counting on a lot of votes from demographics that aren’t the most reliable when it comes to rolling out of bed on that Tuesday in November, and though they seem to be changing their tune this year, old habits die hard.  I can’t say that the outcome is optimistic here. 

The last thing I want to be is cynical, and to be honest, I think that my new found viewing of the West Wing is only exacerbating the issue.  (Why can’t Martin Sheen run for president?  Or at least Laura Roslin?  They’ve done nothing but proven awesome at it on screen, who’s to say they won’t do better than the standard Dubbya set?)  Is it so wrong that I want tomorrow to be better and that I believe that, in our case, if it doesn’t get better, it’s going to get a lot, LOT, worse?  I know I’m not the most informed person in the political playground, in fact, I’m pretty sure I’m the kid on the leash that has to sit in the corner facing the opposite direction, but I do my best to stay informed and alert.

I’m scared about the election.  I’m scared it’s going to turn out the way that I’m scared of it turning out.

Wii Fit:

Down to 22.27% BMI, thats 59.9 kg.  Fingers crossed.

________

“Obama Campaign Reaches out to Gay Georgians”

When I first saw this headline, I thought, “what, all four of them?”  Even as a lesbian from Georgia’s neighbor, South Carolina, I still find it hard to grasp onto the idea that there are more than a handful of gays and lesbians in the deep south and I think that it is insanely important (not to mention comforting) that people as politically powerful as Obama are able to recognize that gays and lesbians don’t just live in California and New York.  According to the 2006 U.S. Census analysis by UCLA’s Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law & Public Policy, there are over 280,000 GLB’s roaming the dirt roads of Georgia, and a number that meaty isn’t only surprising, but makes you go “Hm, maybe Obama’s onto something.”   And hey, maybe if this little experiment works out for him in Georgia, he can head on next door to my neck of the woods and see what kind of support he can rustle up over there.

According to the article in Southern Voice, Obama has turned some of his campaigning efforts in Georgia towards the GLB community in hopes of getting the southern st­ate to turn a pretty shade of blue in November for the first time since Bill’s first election in ‘92.

It would appear that Obama’s tactic is so appealing that, according to this article at least, even some of the gay Republicans can’t help being interested in his views on gay rights.

Ah, the controversy of the Gay Republican.  Being born and bred on the buckle of the Bible belt myself, the concept of the “Gay Republican” is not foreign to me, though that does not makes it any less baffling.  So many of my peers and elders alike have lectured me about how “politics has nothing to do with sexuality and therefore doesn’t influence who I vote for.”  I’m sorry to burst any bubbles, but it does and it should, especially once anyone, GOP or otherwise, starts using a particular stance on sexuality for political sway. “Yes, you might be one of the few who gets a tax cut, but you must also resign yourself to wearing a pink triangle on your arm so that we can keep an eye on you.” It becomes unavoidably apparent that sexual and political preferences unquestionably go hand in hand. The question that does remain to be asked, however, is where is the line here? And what trade-offs are we willing to make for these “clear cut politics” so many people speak of?