Last night I was invited by an acquaintance from church to a "Cookout for Change". I told a close friend about it & she wondered why I would be invited to such an event, when I feel as I do about Barack Obama. I thought about it, & I guess it's because this person I see at church & at the pool & at the Harris Teeter doesn't know how I feel about Barack Obama. She's just trying the spread the word about what she believes. I applaud that. She has inspired me to do the same!
I am sending this e-mail to you not because I necessarily know that you are Republican or Conservative, but because I know you are thoughtful intelligent citizens. You may not agree with my opinions, but I hope you will at least give respectful attention to the three issues most important to me. I think every American should think long & hard about at least these three things before they vote in a couple of weeks.
1. Spreading the wealth. We are in tough times. But we've had it really good for a long, long time. Economic prosperity always has, & always will, wax & wane. We can't just hand our country over to the socialists at the first bump in the road. In the second debate, Obama said that McCain’s plan takes tax money “out of the system”. (That statement tells you what system Obama believes in – not the American free enterprise system.)
Granted, no matter whom we elect, the next few years may be leaner for all of us than to what we are accustomed. Obama wants to immediately repeal the Bush tax cuts & raise taxes on families earning over $250,000 per year. That figure sounds like a lot, but that threshold is way too low for a national definition of "rich". People in major metropolitan areas know this all too well.
Why should you care about this if you make less than $250,000 per year? First of all, don't automatically assume that you aren't affected. Take a look at your old tax returns & see if the Bush tax cuts helped you or not. I bet they did, & you're about to lose that benefit. Secondly, isn't there a point that tax rates are so high it just becomes confiscation? Obama's plan will set the highest marginal federal tax rate at 39.6%! And that is just federal income tax - it doesn't include the 15% FICA/FUTA taxes, state income taxes (which here in NC are around 10%), capital gains taxes which can be as high as 28%, property taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes... What's going to be left to put into the economy after all these taxes?!?
Even if you aren't rich, & it doesn't hurt you personally for the rich to be punitively taxed, it just isn't right. It kills the American dream. Why work hard to achieve success if the government is going to steal your hard earned money & redistribute to others? 38% of the American public pays no income tax at all (yet under Obama's plan, that 38% will be getting a 'tax cut' - huh?). What both parties need to do is move those people into the realms of productivity. Our society is in big trouble when there are more takers than givers, & we are getting perilously close.
Sure, the Republican Party hasn't done anything to help these people & that's a mistake. But the big issue is that the Democratic party has a vested interest in keeping these people ‘down’, b/c they all vote Democratic.
Rick Martinez of the Raleigh News & Observer has a great article about just this. He cites a study done by William Galston (former adviser to President Clinton & scholar at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution). His findings state three simple things that individuals must do to break the cycle of poverty. What are the three things? In Mr. Martinez’ words, “Basically, all that's required is to finish high school, wait until at least age 20 to get married & not have a child out of wedlock. Now how hard is that?”
The Democratic Party courts the votes of the disadvantaged by saying they are the only party that cares, & by throwing entitlement money at these poor people. But they have done nothing in the past 40 years to address the root of the problem (a la Martinez). If the Democrats care so much, why don't they? I fear the truth in Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation in the mid-19th century that, “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money”.
2. Legislation from the bench. Watch this clip of the final debate (listen carefully to the closing words), if you want to hear it directly from Obama's mouth. The American system of governance was carefully crafted by our founding fathers to protect the citizenry from the tyrannies of corrupt government. They fought & won a bloody war of revolution to establish this great nation upon these brilliant principles, which have served us unbelievably well for over 230 years.
What I am talking about is the system of checks and balances provided by the three separate branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial). Assigning legislative rights to the judicial branch of government is dangerous & unconstitutional. Think what this means to us - in some instances one UNELECTED person (a federal judge) can use his/her judgment to change the laws of our nation. This is already happening at an alarming rate. We should not allow someone who views the judiciary this way (Barack Obama) to nominate our Supreme Court justices. These people are appointed for LIFE, & the effects of who sits on the court will be imposed upon us all for the next 50 years. This is not about abortion. This is about the sacredness of the Constitution of the United States of America.
3. National Security. Every time I go to a public event I am thankful that despite all his faults & mistakes, George Bush has kept me safe. All over the world, terrorists have been plotting how to kill us & still we've been safe since 9/11. I trust John McCain with the security of the United States. He has fought for our freedom, loves this country, & is dedicated to its continued achievement above all else, including his own personal success. Obama has no experience in foreign affairs & is stunningly ignorant. Prime example, his statement regarding the Russian invasion of Georgia - "We should continue to push for a United Nations Security Council Resolution calling for an immediate end to the violence." Even I knew that Russia is a permanent member, with veto rights, of the UN Security Council. Ridiculous.
Sure we're all tired of hearing about it, but B.O. has had long associations with people like Jeremiah Right & William Ayers. Shameful. At the very least it shows a stunning lack of judgment & character. (There's a reason every mother tells her children to be careful who you choose as your friends.)
And for some reason, the media has made it absolute taboo to bring up his name. They imply that anyone who would do so is a hateful bigot. I am not a bigot. But I have a problem with the man's name. He is named Barack Hussein Obama because his father was Muslim. And technically, that shouldn't matter. But we are in a war with Muslim extremists. They repeatedly state their aims of killing Americans every chance they get & destroying our free society. And so, yes, before anyone votes for this man to be the next President of the United States of America, they absolutely should at least consider the possibility that this individual might not have the best interests of the nation in his heart. I pray that's not the case, but I just can't be sure.
So if you are thinking of voting for Obama, please be sure you consider these things. Don't take my word for it. Research the issues yourself & be careful not to use partisan sources of information. Don't vote for him because it's what all the young or intellectual people are doing, or because he's more eloquent than John McCain. Search your soul then cast your vote.
And if you support John McCain, which I know most of you do, don't give up yet. The media is trying to fool us into thinking it's all over. Be sure you vote. Be positive. Remind every Conservative you know that they must vote. Offer your elderly neighbor a ride to the polls. And in these last few weeks, show that you are proud to support John McCain. Put a sign in your yard, a magnet on your car, and a pin on your lapel. And I strongly urge you to write down why YOU must vote for McCain & share it with your address book. Think big. I am sending this e-mail to contacts is NC, SC, GA, VA, WV, NY, IN, IL, AZ, CA, HI, MD, FL, TX. You can do it too. It takes a few minutes, but the very future of our nation is at stake.
Thanks Sandy.
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