I have jumped off of the fence and landed on the GOP side. I feels good to be home. McCain will get my vote in a couple weeks. The few on this board that truly know me, know that I did not come by this decision lightly, nor did I arrive at this decision by mere partisan tactics. I don't care about Wright, Ayers, ACORN, or any other partisan tactic that my beloved GOP has employed during this election cycle. What I do care about is political ideology. McCains idealogy is more closely entwined than mine. I considered overlooking this and voting for Obama until my liberal wife reminded me of something from Obama's '04 Senate campaign.
In '04, I was working for the GOP Senate nominee in the State of Illinois. My candidate had dropped out of the race in due to scandal and the GOP had caucused Alan Keyes to take his place. I was disenchanted and disgruntled and I was curious about Barack Obama. So I attended a rally outside Marion, IL. His message was fantastic. He was articulate, intelligent, charasmatic, and had an ability to transcend his race. A black man speaking to a crowd of white farmers is not a small thing in Southern Illinois. Yet, Obama spoke to the crowd. He connected with them. Especially on the issue of farm subsidies. He railed on for about ten minutes about farmers being the backbone of America and these subsidies were needed to support that backbone and take some weight off of farmers shoulders. Then everybody went crazy and applauded. Two hours later in Carbondale, IL. Seven miles away. Obama spoke to a different kind of crowd. His crowd was now more urbanized. I was at this speech as well, because I was seriously considering volunteering for his campaign. However, he took questions from the crowd and somebody asked him about farm subsidies. He answered this question by telling the crowd that these subsidies were nothing more than welfare for those that don't need it. That the money that goes to farmers to not grow crops needed to be reallocated to those that really need it. I ignored this obvious display of pandering and voted for him anyway. Alan Keyes was simply not going to get my vote.
I believe that Obama is all about change. Hell, I watched his position change in a seven mile roadtrip down Route 13 between Marion and Carbondale. This is why I can't vote for him for President.
In '04, I was working for the GOP Senate nominee in the State of Illinois. My candidate had dropped out of the race in due to scandal and the GOP had caucused Alan Keyes to take his place. I was disenchanted and disgruntled and I was curious about Barack Obama. So I attended a rally outside Marion, IL. His message was fantastic. He was articulate, intelligent, charasmatic, and had an ability to transcend his race. A black man speaking to a crowd of white farmers is not a small thing in Southern Illinois. Yet, Obama spoke to the crowd. He connected with them. Especially on the issue of farm subsidies. He railed on for about ten minutes about farmers being the backbone of America and these subsidies were needed to support that backbone and take some weight off of farmers shoulders. Then everybody went crazy and applauded. Two hours later in Carbondale, IL. Seven miles away. Obama spoke to a different kind of crowd. His crowd was now more urbanized. I was at this speech as well, because I was seriously considering volunteering for his campaign. However, he took questions from the crowd and somebody asked him about farm subsidies. He answered this question by telling the crowd that these subsidies were nothing more than welfare for those that don't need it. That the money that goes to farmers to not grow crops needed to be reallocated to those that really need it. I ignored this obvious display of pandering and voted for him anyway. Alan Keyes was simply not going to get my vote.
I believe that Obama is all about change. Hell, I watched his position change in a seven mile roadtrip down Route 13 between Marion and Carbondale. This is why I can't vote for him for President.
