The Bane

I have had the pleasure of working quite a number of jobs in the Gallatin Valley. Two of the jobs I’ve had were working with my Dad on construction sites and working in the office of an asphalt company.

Almost all construction workers and asphalt crew members are conservatives, if not Republicans. They love America and everything it stands for. They are optimistic, hardworking, and enjoy all the right things.

The other thing I notice is that construction and asphalt workers are in great abundance around the Gallatin Valley because it is one of the fastest growing places in Montana and the building industry is flourishing. At the same time Montana has one of the lowest GDP per capita of any state in America, something MOST Montanans don’t worry about, and rightly so (another blog on that later).

The other thing I’ve noticed is that Democrats in particular and sometimes liberals like to claim that they represent the working man and are working to improve the lives of working men.

Just reporting on my experience in Montana and my experience with politics, it seems to me that wage earners don’t appreciate anything the Dems are doing.

Now to explain why I separated liberals from Democrats and conservatives from Republicans. I heard something on local talk radio that was very interesting. They said that Montana could and would hold a lot of power in the Senate if we elected an independent.

I agree with George Washington when he says, “Parties are the bane the country.” I always just thought that there is no other way to get actively involved in politics and really make a difference. I just thought that if I ever want to be a politician I have to choose a party.

Most people in this country don’t even identify with a particular party. The majority of college students I’ve talked to won’t admit they are one party or the other.

Also, if you read the news ticker on most cable news channels, you’ll notice votes in the senate go like this: Such and such bill was approved by 50 Republicans, 49 Democrats voted no, and Joe Lieberman voted yes (I-CT). I’m serious it usually names Joe Lieberman and throws all the R’s and D’s into piles. Obviously Joe Lieberman is a great guy, and the people of Connecticut recognize that and elected him even though he wasn’t affiliated with a party. But he did use the Democratic Party to build up his network and get elected a couple of times, so he probably could never be an independent in the Senate if he was an independent from the beginning.

All this leads me to wonder if it would be better if we elected everyone as independents, but then my practical side takes over and I don’t see any other way than the current way. I think it will be very interesting to follow this trend in the future. I obviously don’t know what to say or how to end this.

My Painting of the World

The situation in the world is very interesting. In America our economy is at full employment (meaning if someone wants work, they can find it), 86% of people have access to the best quality health care in the world, we haven’t had a terrorist attack in almost six years, and peoples’ biggest worry is the price they pay to fill up their SUV tank that will take them on their thirty or forty mile daily commute.

And if someone’s biggest worry isn’t the price of gas, then it is the current situation of Paris Hilton or Anna Nicole Smith’s child. I daily hear statistics about Americans watching over four hours of TV a day or that Americans are more likely to vote in American Idol than an election.

Meanwhile people in Sudan suffer from hunger and genocide, Africa in general suffers from AIDS, citizens in Venezuela have their rights taken away, Columbia is run by drug cartels, European economies slump, people are oppressed all across Asia in China, Vietnam, and Myanmar, the Gaza Strip erupts in violence, and ordinary Iraqis fear for their lives every day.

It is ironic that at this time Americans only care about Americans. One just has to look at campaign 2008 rhetoric.

The Republicans care only about American national security. Republicans don’t care about labor practices they just want expanded globalization. Republicans want a wall built between us and the third world (Mexico).

The Democrats want to pull out of Iraq because it is not worth American dollars or American lives. Democrats want to spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on providing universal health care to every American. Democrats want to fix the inequality and poverty in America.

Since America is the sole superpower the world looks to us for leadership. I feel bad for the rest of the world considering the level of debate going on right now. I honestly think most Americans are living in a dream world. I honestly know working class Americans whose biggest concern is the size of the tire on their truck.

For every person that dies from hunger or thirst in Africa and for every person that dies in a suicide bomb attack in the Middle East, there is an American demanding the American government do more for Americans.

I don’t want to propose my ideas because I’m trying to make this post apolitical. I’m trying to paint the picture I see in my mind.

Bush is Wrong on Immigration

President Bush proposed his comprehensive immigration plan; the so called "grand compromise," a few weeks ago. It is comprehensive so it includes border enforcement, a guest worker program, and a pathway to citizenship, among a million other things concocted behind closed doors.

I disagree with President George W. Bush. We do not need comprehensive immigration reform. We do not need a path to citizenship or even a guest worker program.

We need to secure the border.

If we would just build the fence that has already been authorized and send the National Guard to the border, then we can proceed with what to do with 12,000,000 illegal immigrants. We obviously can't send twelve million illegals back to the countries they came from (somewhere around one hundred and fifty), but we can institute the rule of law.

We should not send a message to all the people all over the world who year after year and generation after generation apply to come to the United States of America legally that if you come here illegally you will be rewarded.

If this bill is passed, anyone in the United States illegally will be able to obtain a "z-visa" and reside here permanently. Washington politicians want to tell us that they will secure the border. They told us the same thing in 1986.

I don't trust them, especially since the borders aren't secure.

Do you trust them?

Third Round of Presidential Debates

"The Bush administration’s efforts to thwart terrorism at home have created a fissure among the three leading Democratic presidential candidates, with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton coming under attack for saying that America is safer now than before 9/11 — contrary to a popular line of argument among some Democratic officials.

In a televised debate on Sunday night, Mrs. Clinton, who has tried to minimize her differences with her rivals on commander-in-chief issues, bluntly disagreed with a main rival, former Senator John Edwards, who had just said that the administration’s so-called war on terror was little more than a slogan.

“I believe we are safer than we were,” Mrs. Clinton said. “We are not yet safe enough, and I have proposed over the last year a number of policies that I think we should be following.”"

-NYT

I have said before that I thought Hillary Clinton was the only Democrat to understand the current international situation, and she confirmed that in the third round of primary debates. She was the toughest on security of any candidate, going against the idiom that women aren’t strong enough to be commander-in-chief. Because of this she is the Democrat I personally would vote for if my choices were limited to Democrats. She has the most experience and knowledge of any of the candidates and she is very realistic.

Unfortunately she called for socialized health care just like all of the other Democratic candidates. They seemed to be trying to outdo each other on how many billions of dollars they could spend every year.

I think Hillary Clinton would be the hardest Democrat to beat in a general election, which might explain why she is leading in the polls right now. While I agree she is the best of the Democrats, I don’t think she would be the best for America. Hopefully the Democrats nominate Barack Obama or John Edwards so we can have a no-contest general and get somebody like Rudy into the White House.

I think Rudy Giuliani came out on top in the Republican debate. Mike Huckabee had a great answer regarding religion; John McCain sufficiently defended the immigration bill (something I disagree with); Mitt Romney displayed the leader and smarts that made him successful in the business world; Tom Tancredo expressed the best immigration opinion of anybody (secure the borders first); But Rudy Giuliani won it all because of the one major point.

When Giuliani was asked a question regarding George Bush’s unpopularity and how to get the independent votes back, he said the best way is to nominate him. It may seem like he was being arrogant if you don’t know the current political situation. Rudy is a social liberal, a fiscal conservative, and strong on national security. Most people in this country don’t see gay marriage and abortion as the biggest issue, as many Republicans do. He can attract independent voters because of his mainstream stance.