Why I am voting for John Kerry
October 16, 2004 A couple of weeks ago, one of my fellow Tampa bloggers, Chris, objected to one of my anti-Bush posts. He suggested that we each list why we are voting for our preferred candidate. I agreed that this is a great idea. Chris has not emailed me his list, and I have not emailed him mine. I'm a geek, and I work a lot, and study a lot - which is required to survive as a geek. We make less than doctors, but just like physicians we have to study constantly to stay current in our field. Not wanting to blast out a list of one-line reasons with no explanation, I have neglected to post or email.
So I am taking time this evening to post a few of my reasons for voting for Kerry, instead of using the time to prepare some geek presentations for the upcoming months, work on my next magazine article, do some work that I need to have ready for Monday, and study for my next industry certification. Here's a start at the list. I hope to get more reasons listed with the supporting documentation - because I know that many others also have a tough time making the time to do the research. But all the needed information is available on sites like Vote-Smart, FactCheck, JohnKerry.com, GeorgeWBush.com, and many, many others.
No, Chris, I have not forgotten; I look forward to seeing your posted list.
Fiscal responsibility
Bush bad: The deficit this fiscal year, ending September 30, was projected by the White House to hit $455 billion. Next year's deficit is estimated at $475 billion. This is after having a record surplus of $236 billion in 2000. No other president has been so blatantly blind to basic fiscal common sense as to offer tax cuts in time of war. But Bush not only cut taxes, he cut taxes where it benefits the wealthiest people the most. Under Bush's plan, the average tax cut for families making over $1 million is $136,000 in 2004. I don't know about you, but that tax cut is a lot more than my family's total annual gross income, let alone what's left after taxes. And then there's the estate tax - which Bush likes to call the 'death tax' because it sounds more evil. What's evil is Bush pushing to make the estate tax repeal permanent, yet 100% of the benefit of the repeal is for the wealthiest 2% of the population.
Kerry good: Kerry has rightly criticized Bush's careless tax cuts and wasteful spending. Kerry believes that we can exercise much more sensible stewardship over our nation's finances. Kerry voted for Clinton's 1993 deficit reduction plan and the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Kerry has already pared back some of his plans to adjust to the increasing deficit as Bush takes us further into debt.
Healthcare - an easy segue from talk of fiscal policy.
In my family, we do not have employer-supplied health insurance. We pay for our own. My wife is on COBRA coverage from a place I used to work. She was on a few medications and had had some surgery, so BlueCross BlueShield wouldn't let us buy coverage for her on the policy that we have for my son and me - or on any policy. I don't know what we'll do when COBRA eligibility expires. Fortunately, I have a decent job and we can at least afford the medical coverage we have at present. But with healthcare expenses up over 50%, many families can't afford any coverage and yet don't qualify for the existing government programs. The Kerry plan would rescind the Bush tax cut to the wealthiest Americans and use that money to fund health insurance to cover all children and many of the adults that are not covered today (the estimate is that 27 MILLION Americans that do not have coverage today, will be able to have coverage under the Kerry plan). Additionally (I think this is especially sensible and a brilliant idea), Kerry plans to have the Federal government pay for catastrophic claims. This lowers the risk to insurers by removing these expensive claims. When you buy insurance, you are rated - assigned your premium - based in part on the risk pool in which you are placed. If the claims usage of that pool - the experience of the insured in that pool - costs the insurance company less, then you should have a lower premium. In fact, if your insurance is through BlueCross and BlueShield, they are typically required to pay a high percentage of the premium dollars (around 90%) back to the insured and the providers of healthcare, to maintain their not-for-profit status. This ensures that premiums are kept down to a rate that reflects the cost to the insurance company. By eliminating the high-cost claims, your premiums will go down. Bush won't allow folks to buy prescriptions from Canada. Although, now that there's a shortage of flu vaccine, he is now saying that maybe we could get some of the needed vaccine from Canada (can you say "flip-flop"?). Is Canadian medicine safe (as I and many believe) or is it NOT safe (as Bush has implied)? Kerry believes that we should be able to purchase medications from Canada, that the drug advertisements that bombard us today on TV, radio, etc, should be curbed, that Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower drug costs. My dad went bankrupt after he and his wife both had expensive medical emergencies. I'm already paying over $500 per month for what I consider to be minimal health coverage and I know that many folks could not afford to spend that much. Something needs to change. Bush has not helped and Kerry has a real plan that makes sense.
Survival for low-income families
The last time the federal minimum wage was increased was when Clinton was in office back in 1997. It has remained at $5.15 since then, and Bush (and Republicans in general) are against increasing the minimum wage. What this means for folks trying to survive on this wage is that they have seen the purchasing power of their wage decrease by over 12% between 1997 and 2004 (it's decreased by 40% since 1968). These numbers are from InfoPlease, based on the numbers provided by the US Department of Labor. Bush believes that folks on minimum wage are in transition - that they need to improve their skills, get educated and get a better job. That is easy to say, when you've spent your life in a wealthy family. If you are born into a poor family, often the only option for education is to join the military. That's a whole separate issue (but related) - how the population of the military (like my nephews in Iraq right now) is disproportionately comprised of those who are trying to get money for college or just earn a paycheck, because they have no other options. But I digress. The fact is that it is simply a greedy lack of empathy and compassion that keeps some folks from wanting to raise the mandated minimum wage. Here in Florida, it is estimated that the average firm would have to increase its revenues by just 1/25th of 1 percent to fully cover the costs of the proposed increase of the state's minimum wage to $6.15.
Honesty and the Iraq War
Now, in terms of the individuals running for the presidency, I disagree with Chris' suggestion of "don't analyze the man" (in this post). As I have posted many times, I do not trust Bush, nor Cheney. If it was such a huge issue when Democrat Clinton lied about oral sex, why is it trivial when Republican Bush mileads America? It is not trivial. Clinton pissed me off. I didn't vote for him the first time, but I did vote for him the second time. For him to cave to temptation, cheat on his wife, and lie to America was a violation of the trust that I and so many had placed in him. But no one died from that lie. At least 13,000 Iraqi civilians and 1,100 US Military persons have died so far due to an invasion that was launched based on misleading and misperceptions, and has been exacerbated by the mismanagement of the Bush administration. And then there's the 7,700+ wounded so far. I trust Kerry far more than I trust Bush. I think of holding my newborn son literally seconds after he was born. I think back on that incredible moment and the infinite potential that was cradled in my arms. He is 20 now. I cannot imagine opening my front door and having two uniformed personnel convey the realization that my son had died in a war initiated on false pretense. I hope and pray that my sister does not get that knock on the door.
More issues I want to post about - and will - when/if I can make the time:
Energy
Environment
Degradation of the US Constitution
Personal rights for all people
Stem cell research
Additional links:
Endorsements for Kerry, listed on Vote-Smart
Kerry's Senate voting record
More reasons to vote for Kerry
Endorsements for Bush, listed on Vote-Smart
Politics
Reader Comments (12)
Yes Cheryle, I am for real.
As far as the "liberal blogger" tag; I'm just calling it how I see it. Headlines like:"Great editorial from NY Times" (NYT endorses Kerry)"Kerry support in Florida""Voter fraud from Republican-hired company""Pres Eisenhower's son discusses Geo. W Bush""Bush is NOT an environmentalist; he IS part owner of a timber company""And George W Bush continues the deception""Dick Cheney is a dishonest lying liar""Mr Bush, how about some truth"
Tend to get people the liberal blogger tag (especially since that is the majority of what is on the site recently). By the way, what's wrong with the "liberal blogger" tag anyway? Don't like being called a liberal? Why not? Isn't that what Democrats are?
Just as a recommendation, read my wife's latest post.
If you haven't read my "Anti-Bush or Pro-Kerry" article I most definitely think you should. It truly amazes me how when someone talks about why they are voting for Senator Kerry they usually can't come up with anything but "It's not President Bush" type statements, from the get go. Name one impressive thing out of Senator Kerry's voting record in his 20 year history in the Senate when I ask why you're voting for Kerry and I might have something intellectual to say. But, since no one usually does I have to get down on their level. Attacks are always met with attacks.
Comments like your previous one are going to be met with ones like mine. Meanwhile I bring up the issues that you've addressed and then you focus on the last line of a multiple screen comment. It amazes me.
So, what issues would you like to bring up?
1. I've noticed over the past decade or so the rise in the use of "liberal" as a pejorative by some people. What exactly do they mean when they use the word "liberal"?
2. Both sides misrepresent. To think otherwise is naive. I always refer to sites like www.factcheck.org to gain perspective not offered by the politicians' media machines.
3. As for being "Anti-Bush or Pro-Kerry" (disclaimer: I haven't read Chris' article) I am a little bit of both. And judging from conversations that I've with friends and coworkers, I'm not the only one.
I take many, many factors into account when deciding who to vote for and, although I don't agree with Senator Kerry's viewpoints on several issues I believe that he is better qualified to lead this country - despite what his party affiliation happens to be.
Ten reasons I'm voting for John Kerry. Comments welcome. References to the human excretory system not welcome. :P
PS Read and enjoyed your wife's entry, and agree completely about the need to take online comments with a grain of salt - the lack of facial expressions makes confusion almost automatic. You'll note (if you go to my site) the emoticons in the comment form to allow people to add smiles, winks, eye rolls, etc to show readers what emotion their comments are supposed to represent.
PPS No offense intended by posting this huge note on my blog instead of making it a comment on yours and/or Joe's. The idea of editing it in a small text box gave me hives. *grin*