MY ELEPHANT IS ABOUT TO GET SENT BACK TO THE ZOO!
I've been a card-carrying Republican for about 12 years now. Literally. I receive all of the Republican mail and fliers during elections, and my elephant card I most proudly kept and preserved. But I think I'm going to trash the card and send the elephant back to the zoo (and no, that doesn't mean I'm about to adopt a donkey).
What happened? Why the sudden change of heart?
Well, first of all, there doesn't seem to be a political party that fits my beliefs. Not that there has to be, though, but I'll get into that later. Instead of a political party defining who I am, I think what defines me are principals and ideals.
I am very conservative by nature. I don't believe that money can be printed and given away without any good sold or service provided. I don't believe that able bodied people should receive welfare benefits while others work multiple jobs to keep society functioning. I believe in the Ten Commandments. I believe in discipline in the school systems. I believe prayer in school can do no harm. I am a patriot, proud of several of my family members who served in the armed forces to preserve our freedoms and liberty. I believe that jobs shouldn't be taken for granted, because someone has to do triple the work to provide the very jobs for those that are employed. I believe that Jesus was who he said he was, and the Bible is the inherent word of God.
I could go on and on, but I don't have time to write a 100-page dissertation on what beliefs make me who I am. The point is, I have come to the realization that there is no way that a political party can define what I am all about. Political parties are are made up of man's corrupt system. Lying, cheating, stealing, and corruption are the norm in politics. So I no longer feel it necessary to "brand" myself with a political party.
As for the Republicans and my decision to send the elephant back to the zoo, let me tell you why...
In the past 8 years, our Republican party is mostly responsible for the largest government spending in our great country's history. But it's supposed to be the Democrats that do all of the spending, not Republicans. We've seen the sacking of Wall Street this year, and a failure of some of the oldest financial institutions in our history. How did this happen? Was it the constant push for deregulation and getting the government out of the way of the free market economy that we so often heard Republicans preach about? I don't know. Perhaps to a large degree, it could be. But what happened to fiscal conservatism? Seems the Republicans have shoved that ancient belief system into the junk drawer, only to be replaced by the greed-mongering monster that took over after we deregulated the financial sector.
Before you think the Democrats have been absolved of any of this mess, think again. I will be writing a post very soon that exposes the very Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives who vehemently opposed stricter regulatory oversight of mortgage buying giants Fannie May and Freddie Mac. You won't want to miss that one.
But lets get back on the Republicans for now, and look at what we just witnessed during the election. Fasten your seat belts Republicans, because this is gonna get bumpy. Seems that every Republican enthusiast out there was very quick to accuse the Democratic ticket of Socialism. "Obama is going to turn this country into a Socialist state! Universal Health Care is Socialism!" they cried.
And while they pitched their fit about the Democrats being "socialists", their own leader, President George W. Bush, was on television urging the country to support the largest government intervention we would ever see in our lives. While the vehement McCain supporters were at rallies screaming "socialism" regarding the Democratic ticket, he Republican leadership nationalized our banking system. At the same time, John McCain proposed a plan to "print" yet another $350 billion to help prevent foreclosures. If that isn't socialism, I don't know what is.
Seems a bit hypocritical on the face, but maybe I don't have the full picture. But the bottom line is, I'm not going to be caught carrying a card that represents this level of hypocrisy. That's why the elephant has got to go.
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