I Voted

Hello, all,

It's been awhile since I've actually typed out an entry. Today, November 4th, 2008, will be viewed in the annals of History as a turning point in American politcs. One one side we have the potential for a Black President. On the other, the potential for a female Vice President. And that fact has been hammered many times, so it's not like I'm making some incredible revelation.

But I also look at today as one of the most important elections in a very long time. As usual, many people will say they do not like either candidate. I'm one of those people. However, many of those same people will pick one of the two major candidates. Many will just vote for the party they always vote for. Some will switch parties. And a select few will vote for someone else other than a Democrat or Republican.

In my eyes, Barack Obama is a Socialist. Plan and simple. If you like Socialism, then feel free to vote for him. Socialism is that warm security blanket that people like when they look at the surface. Socialism is a strong word. It connotes images of Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, etc. And it should. While some of these men were better described as Marxist, Facist, or Communist, they all shared the basic idea of Socialism. To remind you of what Socialism is, I turn to Wikipedia:

"Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and the creation of an egalitarian society. Modern socialism originated in the late nineteenth-century working class political movement. Karl Marx posited that socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution which represents the transitional stage between capitalism and communism.

Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and creates an unequal society. All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly, although there is considerable disagreement among socialists over how, and to what extent this could be achieved."

Socialism is not a euphemism for national health care, higher taxes for the "rich," green energy, big government, etc. It's government control of its citizen's lives. And that is currently the ultimate goal of the Democratic Party. It has been for decades. While they sugar-coat it so that Americans will accept it a little at a time, the reality is the Party is really striving towards a more Socialist (not Democratic) society. As a sidenote, remember that we are not a true Democracy. We are a Representative Republic/Democracy (depending on who's defining it). There's big money in it too for those "evil corporations" that people perceive as being ran by Republicans. Those corporations just want to make money, and they back whomever they feel gives them the best chance of making the money. No matter how loose or tight the regulations.

So, if I don't want Socialism, then I need to vote for John McCain? Not necessarily. While McCain isn't the stereotypical Republican most of the time, he is a member of that party. And the Republicans haven't been themselves for a long time either. As a party, they look more like Democrats everyday. But the Republicans are heading towards what can be called Corporatism. An excerpt from Wikipedia describing the common usage of the term rather than the classic definition in relation to fascism:

"Contemporary popular (as opposed to social science) usage of the term is more pejorative, emphasizing the role of business corporations in government decision-making at the expense of the public. The power of business to affect government legislation through lobbying and other avenues of influence in order to promote their interests is usually seen as detrimental to those of the public. In this respect, corporatism may be characterized as an extreme form of regulatory capture, and is also termed corporatocracy, a form of plutocracy. If there is substantial military-corporate collaboration it is often called militarism or the military-industrial complex."

So then who do you vote for? Vote your conscience. Just realize that the two major parties are trying their hardest to move our country into one direction or the other. And you need to be cool with that. Neither extreme is good for us as a country or society. Both exact too heavy a toll. Government based on the extremes of these philosophies always fail. And fail badly.

So who did I vote for? Me. Yes, seriously. I wrote in my name. Unfortunately, I didn't think of a Vice President, so the Senate will have to do that. And that means it'll be Palin as Joe Liberman would probably cast his vote for her. I'll do a better job in four years when I'm sure I'll be compelled to do the same thing. However, maybe I'll actually make an effort to get other people to vote for me too.

OK, so now many of you have just rolled your eyes and groaned. Or something to that effect. I even got told, "a vote for you is a vote for Obama. You took away a vote from McCain." Not really. If I had a gun put to my head and had to choose. I would choose McCain, and only because he's not as radical within his own party as Obama. So, yes, my vote would have gone to McCain.

However, I really couldn't see myself supporting either candidate. And to vote for any of the other candidates seemed to be the same as voting for myself. My tongue-in-cheek slogans are "I promise nothing" and "I can't be any worse than the other guys."

Of course I have a better chance of winning the lottery than winning the election so I'm not worried about having to come up with position papers and policies for the American People to review. Nor am I worried about reporters hiding in the bushes to dig up dirt about me. But my write-in vote demonstrates my overall frustration with the Administrations and Congress over the past couple decades. That's both sides of the aisle, folks. And this current Administration and Congress really pushed me over the edge. Though I did vote for Ron Paul in the Illinois Primary as he most closely matched my views.

As far as the remainder of my ballot, that's really no one's business. To paraphrase what Sarah Palin said today, "I reserve my right to privacy and won't reveal the rest of my votes."

What's next? Well, I get to go to work and watch the results come in. I also get to watch a Spurs game. In addition to that, I'll be listening to staff and guests all debating why their guy is better. Or listening to them bemoan that their guy isn't winning. And probably ad nauseam coverage of Obama's victory party in Grant Park in Chicago.

After that? I'm going to try to get the official results on paper to see my one vote for me. Maybe even frame it. And then work on my campaign for 2016 or 2020. If you've not voted yet, join my in a "protest" and vote for yourself, or me. Just remember that for Vice President, you must choose someone that is not a resident of the same state as you if you plan on voting for yourself. It's kind of in the Constitution, yo. If you did vote for me, send me an e-mail - marz888@gmail.com, or a twitter note - http://www.twitter.com/marz8.

I guess that's it. Just don't come complaining to me if the country continues to go to shit if your guy gets in.