I live in a very liberal area, so when politics come up, I get the same questions over and over again:
How could you vote for George Bush?
He has done nothing for the economy.
He has ruined our reputation in the world and created a mess with the unjustified war in Iraq.
He damages basic civil rights with the Patriot Act and his stands on homosexuality and abortion.
He’s a dumb, self-righteous, religious nutcase.
How can I vote for him?
George Bush saved our economy! He inherited an economy in recession, further exacerbated by September 11th when the country stood still for days and lost a million jobs in a few months (funny how Democrats blame Bush for that, not Bin Laden). Bush’s leadership helped us maintain our confidence after the tragedy, and he implemented tax breaks that jump-started the economy and helped it recover. It is in better shape now than it was in 1996 when Clinton ran for reelection and the liberal press gushed about the health of the economy. His basic conservative economic principles of giving people responsibility and letting market forces, not the government, guide the economy, will keep us moving in the right direction. If anything, he isn’t economically conservative enough.
The war in Iraq was absolutely justified (see articles below). Everyone agreed that Saddam had to go. Everyone believed that force was needed. Diplomatic solutions had failed for twelve years. In hindsight, it’s easy to say it may have been better to wait. The threat may not have been as great as some may have thought or could have known, but that’s the point – there was no way to know given Saddam’s continued deception. Saddam was a threat with a history of terrorizing his neighbors and supporting terrorists around the world, and after September 11th, it no longer made sense to wait around for the threat to come to us.
The Patriot Act that all but one Senator voted for hasn’t eroded civil rights. It’s fun for movie stars and college kids to talk about it, and criticize John Ashcroft for implementing it, but nobody seems to be able to point to any abuses. ACLU’s web site talks a lot about potential abuses, but doesn’t have an actual example of even one. If anything, we’ve been too lenient as we recently saw a released Gitmo prisoner fighting again in Afghanistan.
As far as homosexuality and abortion – some people have religious beliefs about the power and importance of procreation and families that supercede any non-religious logic put forth by people to defend these practices that cheapen the meaning of life, birth, and families. George Bush stands up for his beliefs, even if they’re not popular in college dorms or Hollywood.
George Bush is obviously an intelligent man. He may not be a good speaker, but he knows how to succeed. He earned degrees from arguably the two most respected universities in the world. He became president of the United States of America – not something you just stumble into. He’s not self-righteous – he’s a born again Christian. That means that religion and ethics are a part of who he is and aren’t just put on display for Sunday morning photo ops. He made mistakes in his life but he has become a better person through adherence to his beliefs. He didn’t just go sing in the choir on TV like Bill Clinton. He made changes like giving up alcohol – for good. That’s not something that is easy to do or is done just for show. Adhering to religious beliefs may seem nutty to some, but for most people in our country, religion is a real, guiding force in life that brings happiness and builds character. George Bush has brought character back into the presidency.
And lastly, but least importantly, I’m voting for George Bush because he is not John Kerry. Kerry is the most liberal senator in Congress. He has less appreciation for freedom than anyone else in congress, including Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy. He wants us to believe he deserves to be President because he was a “hero” in Vietnam, but it could be argued (and has been convincingly) that he only served there to boost his political resume – hardly a respectable reason for serving. Kerry would raise taxes, put our future in the hands of our political enemies, and miss a chance at building democracy in the Middle East. In typical liberal fashion, on ever issue he would sacrifice long term value for short term political gain.
The choice is clear – George Bush has the best economic policies, the best foreign policies, the best domestic policies, and the intelligence and character to truly lead our country the right direction.