Lightening and Lottery Tickets

I stood in line on Friday and shocked myself when I cast my vote for Barrack Obama. It was an odd thing for me to actually vote for a democrat, I’ve only done it once in my entire life and that vote had mixed results for me personally. I’ve jokingly remarked that I voted for Obama because I was afraid that McCain would die and that Palin would take over. Truth be told, I don’t think Palin is stupid and has overall, been a good Governor for Alaska. She has expressed some economic tenants which I find appealing and her legislative agenda has been a good one.

Ultimately, my decision came down to two things. First, the state of Constitutional law in this country. I am still bitter over the promulgation and passage of the Patriot Act which did what forty years of partisan politics could not do, an evisceration of the fundamental right to privacy. Staunch Republicans believe that American life is better with less government interference. This belief is why I am a Republican at heart, but Republicans have advocated more governmental interference in the personal lives of Americans over the past seven years than any democrat since FDR and they used the population’s suspicion and fear to do it. We’ve been inundated with messages from the white house that terrorists still want to attack this country, that they still want to kill us, that we are to remain on high alert. We take our shoes off before we get on an airplane, we have allowed law enforcement to tap phones, pull up our bank accounts, peruse what we read and what we access on the internet in an attempt to check our patriotism.

Republicans have used the abortion argument and the war on drugs to install Judges who have transformed our vehicles from a locked safe into a glass suitcase. Judges who have extended roadblocks from “Public Safety Checkpoints” into “Drug Interdiction Units”. Judges who have changed the law from “the curtilage is as protected as the home” to “a knock and talk is a consensual interaction between the citizen and the policeman”. Judges who have turned “Probable Cause” into “Reasonable Suspicion”. Republicans at every level of government have capitalized on the fear of every American and they should be ashamed.

We need to take a step back and remember history. There have been four attacks on American soil since the war of 1812. Pearl Harbor, a Japanese balloon attack on the northwestern coast, a car bomb in the parking garage of the World Trade Center and 9/11. Americans have a better chance of being struck by lightening, twice, while holding a winning lottery ticket than being injured in an attack by terrorists on American soil. However, Republicans have used that fear to their advantage and as result, the culture has changed for the worse. I want a President that defends all of the Constitution, not just part of it. I want a Republican that defends the Fourth Amendment as fervently as the Second, but he didn’t run this time. I have no confidence that McCain will appoint Judges differently that Bush did. My notes on his answer from the third debate reveal a shockingly ill-advised opinion. Obama indicated that he would nominate judges who would change the direction of the Court, something I desperately want. (Author’s note, I count at least two Supreme Court Justices which could retire during an Obama term).

Second, I voted for Obama because I am firmly convinced that the top down tax theory in this economy won’t work anymore. The top-down tax theory holds, as its premise, that if large corporations, ones that make over 5 million per year, are given tax breaks, they will use that capital to create more innovation and more jobs. The premise seems sound, but I looked at the facts and I run a business. On the whole, most of the innovations and most of the jobs are created by people just like me. I am not rich and my lack of size forces me to be innovative so that I can offer the same service that a bigger company can. Small businesses like mine employ the majority of the people in this country. The Obama tax plan will succeed because, while my taxes will very probably go up by a small margin, I’ll make more money in the long run because my clients will have more money to spend. I am one the best at what I do, and with few exceptions, the only reason I don’t get hired is because someone doesn’t have the money to pay my fee.

Finally, while the “spread the wealth” comment irritates me, I have looked at everything in Obama’s plan and I can’t find anything to indicate that he intends to reach into the wealth Karla and I have created. Obama did say that he would “roll back the Bush tax cut” which included a large reduction of the capital gains tax. I have in my notes that he said during the final debate that he would not raise the capital gains tax for anyone. If any reader remembers it differently, I would like to know. Instead, his plan does provide for a redistribution in income, which doesn’t bother me as much. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has redistributed income in some fashion, including the current administration. I don’t have a problem with that, I have a good accountant that will help me keep as much as I am allowed. I think the positives far outweigh the negatives for Karla and I.

I hope that each of you vote this Tuesday for whomever you think will do the best job for you and our Country. It should be a thoughtful decision. I have had discussions with a lot of folks over the past few weeks. I enjoy them. I like to know what people think and why. I am interested in your comments. You don’t have to say who you voted for, but I would like to know why you pulled the lever. I’ll check back later, I’m going to go play in a thunderstorm with my lottery ticket.

Trialdawg.