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Am I The Only One?

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

My Vote Has Been Cast

Today I voted for George W. Bush. This may not come as a surprise to those who are reading this blog, but probably would to those who know me personally and have heard me voice my strong feelings about the environment, civil rights, health care, and populist issues.

But it came down to this: John Kerry had some roadblocks to getting my vote, and he did not address them. These roadblocks are the reason that I, like so many in this critical election-deciding swing state, voted for Bush.

#1. In 1971, John Kerry said on national TV that he committed war crimes.

Q: "Do you consider that you (John Kerry) personally as a Naval officer committed atrocities in Vietnam or crimes punishable by law in this country?"

A: "There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions..." [John Kerry, Meet The Press, April 18 1971] Read the full statement here.

Perhaps these are the words of an angry veteran, perhaps they were words indended to change the politics of the war. Personally, I do not judge Senator Kerry for this actions and I thank him for his service to our country. But what are we to do with this? How can one serve as a U. S. President after openly admitting to war crimes? I needed an answer from Senator Kerry, and I did not get it.

#2 Abortion. I am not a religious nut and I deplore clinic bombings, but to win my vote I need a simple answer: how is a fetus not a human? It can't be some other animal, and it isn't just extra tissue in the mother's body. If it is not human, what is it? With a simple answer to that question, I can side with the Democrats on this one, but so far the room has gone quiet.

#3 Specifics. You say that Bush has done the economy wrong, the war wrong, and everything else wrong. But what exactly will Senator Kerry do to correct these problems during his term? We never heard specifics, when specifics would have been so easy.

An so, I voted Bush today. I did vote for many fine Democrats in other elections, and I hope everyone gets their voice heard today. May the best man win.

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