Paying off my bet

Here we are on 5 November. Obama swept into the white house yesterday. Today being the first of what will be proclaimed "The era of change." I made the bet that if he were to win the election, I would make 30 entries illuminating the ills of the Republican party. I will do this, as I gave my word.

A bit of a political background on me. I am a registered democrat. I haven't changed it in the years since I reregistered after moving to Central City. Typically, I vote republican conservative, as that is where my beliefs usually take me. I am, however, going to register as an independent, considering I believe that both parties have lost their way, forgotten their values, and have allowed the lunatic extremist fringe to dictate policy. Obama ran on a platform of change. How can there be real change when, really, candidates have to deal with the same old party crap?

As a rule, while I'm bashing the republicans, I will do my best not to mix in Obama bashing. Two separate issues, and they will be treated as such.

So let me start with anti-republican post one of thirty.

Any such diatribe would not be accurate if the issues of the election were not addressed first. I don't believe that there were any issues like hanging chad or voter fraud, or if there were, that it was in great enough numbers to ultimately call into question the end results. Senator Obama won the right to become President Obama, I believe, fair and square and congrats to him for his win.

The republicans lost focus. There was/is such hatered for Bush in the country, they never seriously tried to challenge that. Again, I blame extremist conservative talk radio for a great deal of that loss. Once McCain became the presumptive candidate, they, and he, tried to make him something he really wasn't. McCain has never really been a conservative. And the pundits spent way too many years saying he was pretty much a do nothing senator. McCain should have run more on his record, what he really stood for. Allow himself to be judged on his own merits. Granted, he'd have gotten his ass handed to him far sooner, but it would have been more intellectually honest.

I don't honestly believe that the Republican Party is primarily made up of conservatives. They just tend to be more active and have louder voices. I do believe in the basic values. Smaller government. Personal and fiscal responsibility. Give people the tools they need to craft their own success and don't just throw money at people and babysit them. Something given at no cost has no value.

The Republicans allowed the Democrats to dominate the airwaves. Once McCain became the go to guy, you just didn't hear very much about him. The fight between Clinton and Obama kept his name and the Democrats in the public eye. That is near criminal stupidity.

There were really just two hot button issues people wanted to hear about. The war and the economy. The Rebulicans never satisfactorily addressed either one. I have and continue to believe that the war is a conflict the USA needed to be involved in. We need to do the job, do it right and get out as soon as is proper. Cutting and running isn't the answer. McCain saying we will stay there for a 100 years if needed, won the hearts and minds of no one. He needed to be a bit more comprehensive on that.

My own feeling is that both parties blew it. We are on the "Bail Out Express," and I don't know how we are going to get off it. We just need to be telling the various industries that are crying hard times to suck it up and do what Americans have always done best. Be smart and innovative. Set positive trends. Don't follow bad ones.

So I guess, in summary, my point this time is that the Republicans have no clue who they are, where they want to go. They have no real leadership (which is why loud voices such as Rush Limbaugh's are seen as a form of leadership.) in a time where America is starving for it. They failed to articulate their ideas in such a way as they struck any chord in the electorate.

I was reminded last night that after the Carter administration, we got Ronald Reagan. We now have Barrack Obama. I can only hope the shining city on the hill has one more son to give us.

Be safe. Be strong.