Disillusionment

Among the first posts on this blog of mine was a brief review of the Republican candidates for president. In that aformentioned review, I mentioned that despite the fact that I supported Ron Paul, I would have little trouble backing Rudy Giuliani or John McCain should they emerge with the nomination.

I come to you tonight to retract those statements. Rudy is out of the race, and any support I once held for McCain has evaporated thanks to the most recent GOP debate. So, without further ado, I would like to present my UPDATED review of the Republican candidates.

Mike Huckabee: A genuinely funny man who, in spite of myself, I keep finding myself thinking Well, this guy's not too bad...as long as he avoids the topic of faith and its accompanying issues. (anti-gay legislation, school prayer, etc) Invariably, however, he mentions his religion and says things like 'We should change the Constitution in order to bring it more in line with the Bible.' At that point, my disdain for his political/religious views return with a vengeance. As I mentioned in my previous post, at the moment he's gunning for the Vice President slot and, as long as he doesn't get anywhere near my Constitution, that's fine with me.

Mitt Romney: A sickeningly rich neocon who always treats his opponents with an infuriating air of smugness. He gives off the same air of fake sincerity as Hillary Clinton, and has succeeded in pissing me off to no end.

John McCain: Ah, how the mighty have fallen. (in my mental standings) Eighteen months ago, this was my candidate for 2008. He was a war hero as well as a moderate Republican with fierce opposition to earmarks and heavy spending. I still have a lot of respect for him as a combat pilot and a prisoner of war, but in terms of politics I have been completely disillusioned. He's running the same kind of dirty campaign that Hillary and Romney have been engaged in for a year, and thus has taken himself down to their level. The problem is that once you're there, it's difficult to get back out again.

Ron Paul: In my opinion, the only candidate worth voting for. Unlike all three of his opponents, Dr. Paul believes in truly limited government that drastically cuts spending, reduces bureaucracy, and thus allows for vast cuts in taxes. Dr. Paul supports individual rights above all, including privacy rights that are currently under siege from the PATRIOT Act and House Resolution 1955 (look it up; the potential for abuse is staggering. Sedition Act, anybody?) He rejects the concept of a preventive war and advocates the return of American troops from Iraq to save both lives and the trillions of dollars being pumped into the war. He supports strict adherence to the Constitution by the federal government.


To the Republican Party: Please, ditch the neocons. They're nothing but a bunch of bible-thumping, gay-bashing, big government theocrats whose spending habits make Bill Clinton look thrifty by comparison. Take the party back to what it is genuinely supposed to be. Read The Federalist Papers. If Ronald Reagan were here, I believe he'd take a baseball bat to 90% of the party. This is out of hand, and precisely why I stopped being a Republican around 2004. (yes, I know I wasn't old enough to vote then. Not the point.)