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Unread 31-03-2004, 20:15
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Kristina Kristina is offline
Political Junkie
AKA: Kerry Girl
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Re: Kerry or Bush and why?

Preface: Anyway, I haven't posted in a while. I typically only come out of posting retirement for political stuff and even now, I was hesitant. I'll blame Cory; he made me do it I don't want to instigate a war of ideologies and I realize that one post probably won't change anyone's mind. However, it *can* lead to healthy dialogue and as someone passionate about politics, I know that it's important to try to get people engaged. If you want to know more about what I think, you can always IM or email me. This is just a post about why I'm voting for John Kerry.

It's hard for me to think of even where to begin because having worked on the John Kerry campaign for the last 10 months; it's so ingrained into me about why John Kerry is the best candidate. It's beyond ABB (anyone but Bush), it's about voting for a man who has a vision to deal with the problems of today and prepare us for the future. Concerns about the environment, civil liberties, education, jobs, social security, etc. are not merely "sissy" concerns by those "tree-huggin' liberals" [When you're VP of the Bruin Democrats, you hear it all], they are important issues that people of our generation will inherit and issues that Kerry has a plan for. Bush has had more environmental rollbacks than other president in history along with the worst job creation record since Hoover, Ashcroft scares me and I can give you a 20 page paper on why you don't have to compromise defense for civil liberties, we're in a major deficit, ask your teacher what he/she thinks about "No Child Left Behind", the bottom 60% of American only got 14.7% of the last tax cut contrary to what Bush’s claim of the “vast majority of my tax cuts goes to the bottom half of the economic ladder”…the list goes on. Moreover, it may seem like America is on the top of the world, and we are, but we're also a declining hegemon (meaning, we're falling from #1). As any political science or history class can tell you, you need your allies to solidify your position. However, with our retreat from Kyoto, the International Criminal Court, ABM treaty, land mine treaty, comprehensive test ban treaty coupled with our war hasn’t been that great in our foreign relations department.

So it’s easy for us liberals to whine, as we’ve heard that we do far too often. We have a solution though; rather we have a man with a solution. He’s worked in the Senate foreign relations committee for over a decade and understands global issues. He also understands domestic issues from his work in the Senate. Having me explain them wouldn’t do them justice so if you really care, you can go to www.johnkerry.com and read up for them yourselves. As for waffling, all I can say is that President George W. Bush at one point, didn’t want the department for Homeland Security. Does this mean that he’s a waffler too? No, it means that as the climate changes, you have to be receptive to new ideas to fix the environment you live in. Have you never changed your mind? It’s easy to go after a man who’s been in the Senate for so long because he’s had to make hard decisions, but let’s also remember there’s a reason why he’s been there for so long and he’s gained a great deal of experience to lead our country from it.

All in all, this is a brief (ok, I know it’s long, but I could go on for MUCH longer) glimpse on why I’ve devoted so much time to Kerry’s campaign and why I’m proudly voting for him in November. Before I devote myself to a cause, I do my research and I highly recommend that everyone, especially those old enough to vote, do the same. If you’ve done your research, and you find that Bush is the better candidate for you, well, I can respect that much more than I can someone merely going off of a few soundbits on TV or blindly following their parents. So if you get something out of this post, I hope that this is it. Voting for John Kerry would be a nice byproduct, but I think the most important thing is to get involved in the political process. It’s a lot of fun, challenging, important and very rewarding.

And of course I had to attach my picture of John Kerry and I last summer at UCLA.
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Former 691 Hartburn Queen | Current UCLA Bruin & CD Political Analyst | Future Lawyer or Politician or ??

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Last edited by Kristina : 01-04-2004 at 16:24.