Issue Position: Republican or Democrat
Issue Position
Are you a Republican or Democrat?
Greetings to all my valley neighbors, family, friends and supporters!
Our two party politics has dragged this great country into a stalemate, "you are either with us or against us" is a famous quote by a not so famous past president! In fact nothing can be further from the truth.
I was a lifelong republican until the decision to invade Iraq and Afghanistan.
I was in the U.S. Navy at the time and as Head of the Medical Reserve for the Washington D.C. district headquarters, it was very clear that the country was on the path to war, way before any public decision to do so. While at the time we were not informed against whom, we had orders to Man Up the reserve units to full staffing and identify reserve members to offset active forces deployments. It was a top priority.
When the "Iraqi leader defamation and character assassination went into full swing, many in the military wondered why we were going after Iraq instead of Saudi Arabia (where most of the 9/11 culprits originated).
The decisions were made at the highest echelons of the government and while everyone was puzzled many were not surprised as Iraq was not towing our line and Saudi Arabia was a major "Allay".
Many events and decisions that followed did not make sense, but our government leaders were "Hell Bent" on the military approach instead of the political approach and eventually committed our country to war.
It was difficult to see many of our young people suffer the consequences of those decisions. Many gave their life, many suffered horrific physical injuries, many had limbs amputated (lost) due to roadside explosives, while many suffered severe psychological and emotional pains, and worse yet many committed suicide. All that pain and suffering and family devastations on all sides (ours, Iraqis and Afghanistan) were committed in the name of the country we all love and cherish and what did those actions result in?
As a republican, I belied the party stood for many issues I aligned with such as fiscal conservatism, Smaller Government, Social equality, Business opportunity, deficit reduction, strong defense, etc
I witnessed every one of those absolutely destroyed by the republicans. I will address each.
Fiscal Conservatism: The spending on two unnecessary wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) decimated our treasury (the federal budget was finally on track with surpluses at the end of the Clinton Administration). The war spending coupled with the massive "NO-BID" contracts awarded to the friends of the administration left us all reeling with disbelief.
The federal government actually GREW under the republican administration.
The Republican Administration implemented the largest tax breaks in recent history, which coupled with the war spending resulted in astronomical deficits in the budget. Many items were not even included in the budget.
Businesses were subjected to more "rules and regulations" than during any previous democratic administration. Republicans were supposed to be friends of business, but only if they were very large business! The small business owners suffered as they continue to suffer today.
Deficit reductions were the last subject on republican's minds during their massive wartime spending. They did make an effort to CUT domestic spending while increasing "defense" spending.
Strong defense was translated into strong offense! As the world's only true super power, while we enjoyed the empathy of most nations, our leaders squandered that opportunity by attacking and destroying one of the oldest civilizations on earth. No Iraqi was associated with 9/11, they were contained. We were not content with containment, we were out for blood and blood is what we got. Our aggressive actions against a defenseless old civilization were the beginning of the turn of events in degrading our safety at home.
As we continued to pursue one military intervention after another, from direct military intervention to drone attacks against sovereign nations and regime changes, it is inevitable that those who lost loved ones and witnessed their country being reverted to the stone-age through massive military raids would pursue violent acts against us. Yet we act surprised when they do. It is not rocket science. We impose our will and are surprised when they respond.
I no longer recognized the Republican Party, and could no longer affiliate with them. Their primary focus centered on military adventurism, total disregard to diplomacy and anti small business regulations.
Then there was a new candidate on the horizon. Senator Obama was the Democratic Party candidate who promised change and an end to the two wars started by the Republican Administration. I believed his message. I requested political party change from Republican to Democrat. I even made donations to the Obama/Biden campaign. They were going to focus on domestic issues, I was elated!
While I trust that our politicians love our great country, I am not so certain that their actions are in the best interest of our beloved United States. Overt military actions and "drone" attacks endanger us all. We are concerned with security and will support and defend our homeland against any and all enemies domestic and foreign, but we must review our elected leaders' actions and hold them accountable. We must evaluate our military actions overseas and commit to an honest dialogue of ways to safeguard our children.
So, why am I a democrat now?
Under the current democratic administration, initially saddled with a collapsing economy, deepest troubles in the housing markets and banking defaults we witnessed incredible positive achievements to avert a total depression and slowly made all the necessary adjustments and regulations to steer our economy from the verge of collapse. They also implemented the Affordable Health Care Act, truly a monumental achievement considering the congressional climate of determined opposition. They made some inroads on addressing the banking system, tackled with unemployment and were instrumental in achieving equality for all Americans.
These and other issues are dear to me and coupled with others are the motivation for me to run for Congress. The work is far from over, and I believe the Democratic Party is better suited to achieving our priorities as a nation. We must join others with similar passions and together tackle these domestic issues.
Higher education for our children that is both affordable and accessible.
The Affordable Health Care Act was a start. We must improve access to healthcare and make it more affordable.
Reducing regulations on small businesses, while providing them with incentives to be the economic and employment resources they can be in training and hiring our veterans, seniors and others wishing to enter or reenter the work force.
We must provide improved access to health care and other services to the many veterans after they complete their service. Veterans suffer the highest suicide rate among all categories and that is absolutely shameful! They served with pride and honor, we must do the same. Many service men and women sacrifice daily to maintain our freedoms, their efforts must be honored.
We continue an open checkbook when it comes to foreign aid, it is time to stop buying friends and time to focus on our children's future before others. It is time to invest in what matters most, our children.
Homeland security is one area where we have not made little or no progress. Quite the contrary, I believe the politicians have made us less safe. While they focus on one segment of immigrants they ignore vast areas of our borders that are not secure. This is a must for the safety and well being of our nation.
For these and other reasons, I committed to work with the Democratic Party to make our great nation better. As a proud citizen, I will work with both parties to focus on what is important to our country before party! I am committed to serving the best interests of our community and our great country before all else.
Please join me. Ours is a great country and together we can make it better -- starting today.
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