the election debate
i am among very apolictical people. i am serious. most of the people i work with, or know, looked at me like i had three eyes when i asked them what they thought about palin’s speech at the RNC. they were like, “palin who?” they know obama is african american, mccain is way too old. that’s about it.
i have thought hard about this personally disturbing nonchalance, and the possible reasons why.
is it because i am surrounded by christians who couldn’t care less about politics and the government because at the end of the day, “God will be in control of everything anyway”?
or is it because i am surrounded by filipinos who came here and became US citizens but couldn’t care less about who will become the next president or VP because at the end of the day, they will “retire in the philippines anyway”?
or is it because i am just surrounded by people, who, in general, simply do not care?
you know you’re not in the right blog if you are expecting some political facts and rants. i know guys who are good and are passionate about that. shrimplate is one, wounded healer is another. but not me. so if you thought you are in here for a good political opinion read, believe me, you are better off checking the right guys.
i’m just here to let you know, that unlike many of those around me, i have registered to vote, and i intend to be heard, no matter how small my voice is. i have nothing against my friends/family/coworkers who will not vote, because i know they have reasons. i may find those reasons questionable, and i may violently/silently question their apathy, but i think they have the right not to vote if that is their decision. also, in some sense, i do know where they’re coming from with their decision not to dive into the chaos that is politics..
for the record, i don’t want you to take this as a declaration that i know way more than everyone around me when it comes to politics. let’s just say that i have the desire to know as much as i can, as opposed to being completely or outwardly uninvolved.
anyway, does this mean i’m already done with the palin-biden, obama-mccain debate in my head? NO.
i know some people who are republicans or democrats find that fact very aggravating. i mean, they all think there is nothing to think about. i can lie to please those people, but i won’t, because even if it is totally stupid, the truth is, i have not decided yet.
i know there are promises being made right now. as candidates are expected to do, they promise the moon, the stars, and even mars as they go on with their campaign. i have nothing against that, but i know for a fact that one can’t really tell if these people will have that so called word of honor. let’s face it, making a promise is easy, and it gets easier each time the applause gets stronger.
let’s put it in perspective that i have only been here for over 6 years, and to be honest, i still have no concrete idea what the real difference between a republican and a democrat is. what i should focus on is what these candidates have done in the past, and what is it that they have that will make them the best leaders in the future? and that, i just do not have time to do yet. i am getting into it, and will eventually make a decision. i have basic concepts, but i think having lived here in the past few years with a republican president is not enough to make me jump to conclusion that all republicans are evil and that it doesn’t make sense to vote anyone who is republican. or that all dmeocrats are heaven sent and it is a no brainer to even think against them.
don’t get me wrong, i do not support the war in iraq. i strongly disagree with it, even though i support those courageous men and women who put their lives in danger for the sake of their country. i am grateful to them, but i want the war to end. i know the democrats claim that the war will defintely be over as soon as obama steps in. and on the other hand, they ask me sarcastically “so YOU want the war in iraq to contnue?” if i tell them i am still undecided. i won’t start a debate, but let’s be realistic here. a war is not ended by mere words. or, taxes and healthcare issues are not addressed my shallow promises.
anyway, this is getting really long. i suppose i should end this by asking you to blatantly sell your candidates to me. by doing that, i get first hand informations that i will never get from the news, and you get to convince one undecided voter.
it’s a win win situation, right?
Democrats = > liberal
Republicans = > conservative
Democrats ? liberal in some areas, conservative in others.
Republicans ? more conservative in some areas, liberal in others.
The “some areas” and “others” varies.
There’s your explanation. Take it from another Filipina who almost failed US History, and who barely made it in (US) Political Science.
Comment by Karin, RN — September 10, 2008 @ 7:41 am
I have no further explanations to you but I encourage you to vote for Obama just because . . .
OK, I’m gonna hide now.
Comment by Karin, RN — September 10, 2008 @ 7:45 am
May — thanks for the thoughtful post.
Here’s something that might help you: coincidentally, Healthcare United (the organization I work for) has just released a “candidate comparison” section to our website.
The first section covers the candidates’ voting records on healthcare issues, and the second section talks about their healthcare plans moving forward.
Here’s the link: http://www.healthcareunited.org/candidates/
Best,
Brad
Comment by Brad Levinson — September 10, 2008 @ 7:49 am
Brad posted a succinct link (Hey that rhymes ha) that shows where the candidates differ in their promises to improve healthcare in our nation. I personally believe that changes must be made in order to deliver effective and safe patient care. One method of effective patient care delivery is through effective infrastructure that gets the right information to the right people at the right time.
As a former technology geek now turned to the nursing profession I can share that this objective is no simple task and it will require collaboration between all types of healthcare providers to reach an effective solution. I write about my opinion on these matters on my blog at http://myhealthtechblog.com
At the core of any discussion though, is the patient, the care, and the people who deliver it.
Comment by Debbie Leyva — September 10, 2008 @ 11:46 am
So far my favorite story is that McCain plans to end the problem of so many uninsured folks using the ER for primary care by…having the Census redefine “uninsured.” WAY to a take a problem by the horns! I see too much smoke and mirrors with him and Palin and will be voting for Obama, who really seems to have thought through issues facing both health care consumers AND workers.
Comment by Not Nurse Ratched — September 11, 2008 @ 2:24 am
Such a great display of international interest and all we can talk about is lipstick, pigs and pitbulls. What happened to America?
Comment by Roschelle — September 11, 2008 @ 7:09 am
Speaking from a Canadian point of view, I don’t see a big difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Republicans tend to be more socially conservative than the Democrats are. Also, Republicans are more for the war in Iraq than the Democrats are and are unlikely to end it any time soon. It all boils down to how socially conservative or liberal you are. The bottom line is both parties mainly do things that benefit the rich not the middle class or the poor. That is why many Americans don’t bother to vote at all. It makes little difference in their own lives which bunch of wealthy men and women get in office.
Comment by Sapphire — September 11, 2008 @ 2:29 pm
Tell em if you don’t vote you have no right to complain when the next government screws up….
Comment by Kj — September 11, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
It is so easy to find out about the candidates these days. They each have a website with tabs to look at their stands on the issues. Most major news outlets will have comparisons of their stands on the issues. If healthcare is your focus, look at just that issue. There are so many issues that matter that it is hard to focus on just one. But the differences between the two parties are stark.
In my opinion, nobody in good conscience could vote for McCain/Palin. We need energy innovation, a health care plan that ensures that everyone can get safe and affordable care, a realignment of our spending priorities so that our infrastructure doesn’t crumble while we spend billions and billions in Iraq.
My best advice is to read about the candidates. An educated vote is the best vote we can ask for.
Comment by Brenda — September 11, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
Hi May,
It is so refreshing to hear someone so honest, and open. It me it is important to get unbiased information. In my post Titled: “Politics - Just the facts ma’am! …What’s the Truth?” I list 4 fact checkers, and one non-partisan website that can give you a good idea of what the candidates really believe, and their records.
http://awakeinrochester.blogspot.com/2008/09/politics-just-facts-maam-whats-truth.html
Comment by Awake In Rochester — September 11, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
If people could just be persuaded to vote for their own best interests, the political landscape in America would be very different.
Comment by shrimplate — September 12, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
You have an award at my blog! ;o)
Comment by Awake In Rochester — September 12, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
Wow! So many comments and so many of them not useful.
I tend to vote more conservative anyway, so I have to admit that Obama had a hill to climb in my view, and for a while he was climbing it until one day when the realization crashed around me that he is all “smoke and mirrors” (to borrow a phrase from another commenter). Think about it: Obama talks about change and post-partisanship, and he does so quite effectively. It makes one excited to see what we can do differently in Washington. But when you look beyond the talking points and see what he has done in his political life, the words dry up. I have yet to find one significant bipartisan deed that Obama has done (okay, you can point to his work on Katrina and Nuclear Proliferation, but those were such non-controversial issues that they both passed without a single vote of dissent. That hardly qualifies as “reaching across the aisle”).
Then Obama goes on air attacking McCain for voting with Bush 90 percent of the time (okay, first of all, Bush doesn’t vote, so really it is voting with the Republican party 90 percent of the time). Isn’t it interesting, then, to look at Obama’s voting record and see that he voted with his party 97 percent of the time. So now who looks more post-partisan?
In the end, every time Obama details policy proposals, you can look back at his record (you know, the days where he was actually doing what he is paid to do - and was elected to do) and find nothing, or at least very little, to support the idea that this is how he would actually govern.
When you look at McCain’s policy proposals, you can look back at his record and find a remarkably consistant pattern of actually doing what he believes in - even when it angers those who form his base (myself included in several cases).
Looking strictly at healthcare proposals, I don’t like either plan. Obama’s is unrealistic and irresponsible, and McCain’s (besides increasing the use of urgent care centers as PCP) would be very nice for middle class families who would actually benefit from a 7000 dollar tax cut, but I don’t see how it would help those who don’t pay that much in taxes to begin with. In the end, I like McCain’s better, because although it does have flaws, it would preserve more of the free-market checks and balances while still reigning in some of the more egregious sins of the insurance companies.
Ultimately the one aspect of the healthcare debate that I do not hear that I need to before I can really get behind a candidate’s policy positions as related to our field is the idea of serious tort reform.
To summarize: Obama talks a lot but has no record to show that he would do what he says. McCain is old and not as exciting, and sometimes alienates both sides of the spectrum, but has a long record of working with those on both sides of issues and trying to get things done even when not popular with one faction of society. For that reason, I believe him when he says he will go into the Presidency with an eye to shake things up, and that is why I support him.
Comment by Braden — September 14, 2008 @ 9:57 pm
[…] i’ve used up my days off watching stuff about the candidates, because yeah, i want to make that supposed wise decision. due to the fact that even safe programs have what i think are unsafe advertisements for my 4 and 5 year olds, i do not watch tv when they are around. i have watched this parody of the sarah palin interview in abc, on youtube, way before i have watched the real thing on abc. and also, i agree with everyone who said tina fey was dead on when she did sarah palin at SNL. something funny always comes out of politics, why is that? […]
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