Maybe it's not one of my most closely guarded secrets (stay tuned - I may be divulging one of those in the next few months), but I am a Republican. I haven't been all that proud of it lately, which is a shame. I was a fan of George W Bush's promises of limited government and "humble foreign policy" back in 2000. However, like Ronald Reagan before him, Bush's foreign policy has been a great disappointment to Constitution-loving, liberty-minded Republicans like the late Barry Goldwater
I don't agree 100% with the Republican platform, particularly as it stands today. However, I've come to the conclusion that going the third party route is a futile, Quixotic exercise. The system is rigged in favor of the two-party chokehold and the only way to effect change is from within. As someone who favors both small government AND personal liberty (and in that order, because if you have the former the latter will follow), the path of least resistance is through the GOP.
I could write for days on this, but I don't want to get carried away and make anyone's eyes glaze over. The only reason that I'm bringing it up at all is because I just spent the last two days at the Maine Republican Convention in Augusta.
A few months ago, I was selected to be a state delegate at our town caucus. It was the first GOP meeting of any kind that I had ever been to, but being a fervent Ron Paul supporter, I wanted the chance to go to Augusta to try and get some of our national delegates elected. Unfortunately, with McCain having wrapped up the nomination so long ago, it was just US vs THEM, and there were far more of them. In a 3 or 4 way race, I would have liked our chances as the others battled it out. In the end, we only managed to elect 1 Ron Paul delegate off of our list of 18. Our one succesful delegate had a strong military background and took the effort/expense to put a flyer on everyone's seat. On those flyers, he also "neglected" to mention who he would be supporting at the national convention in Minnesota. Valuable lessons learned for next time.
I was the only one of our 10 North Yarmouth delegates that was a Ron Paul supporter. At a spry 35, I was also the only one under the age of 50. I believe the other 9 had all supported Romney at the town caucus but had no problem falling in line behind McCain. I'm having a tougher time doing so, given his past disregard for the United States Constitution and especially his willingness to stay in Iraq for 100 years if "necessary."
Overall, the convention was a great learning experience, despite being a logistical nightmare. They really did a poor job with the planning and scheduling, and there was WAY too much downtime while waiting for ballots to be distributed and votes to be counted. I've heard from people that had been to many other conventions that this was the most poorly organized one ever. At least I was able to connect with a few people that I knew or had only conversed with via email. It was also good that I had plenty of time to get better acquainted with some of my neighbors. Becoming more connected with my community is a goal of mine, which has also led me to be on the non-partisan North Yarmouth Events Committee.
Despite my apathy towards John McCain, I will do what I can to help Republicans get elected in local races. If there's one thing that Maine Republicans, Libertarians and even the Green Independent Party can all agree on, it's that 30+ years of Democratic domination has left Maine in a sorry state. We're constantly bleeding businesses and young people and our taxes have us perenially either #1 or #2 (Hi Vermont). Our income tax rate is 8.5%, and that top rate kicks in at only $17,351. How very progressive! Of course, when you tax something, you make it less desirable. Sales taxes discourage spending and encourage saving. Income taxes merely discourage earning, which is evil in my mind. Unfortunately, Maine is nearing a crucial tipping point where there will be more people getting a check from the government (either for being a state employee or from qualifying for at least one of the many assistance programs) than there are earning money from the private sector. At that point, things are going to deteriorate even more rapidly. Maine will truly become Vacationland, as nobody will be able to earn an honest living here anymore. Oh great - now even MY eyes are glazing over!
Anyway, the convention consumed all of Friday and Saturday. Sunday, we were supposed to have Angela's family over to celebrate her step-mother's birthday, but Angela woke up with a migraine and spent virtually the whole day in bed or in front of the toilet. I cleaned the house anyway and made a batch of granola. I had been forced to eat store-bought granola all week, and it's a very poor substitute! It was a crummy day of weather, so the girls just played inside and ate a lot. Pretty boring Sunday, but it was appreciated after the prior two days of chaos.
Tomorrow morning, I need to go to court to contest an unjust speeding ticket. More evidence that our government is devolving into a police-state! Of course I'm (half) joking.
Though I have liberal leanings, I consider myself an independent, because I tend to have views that span both major political parties. I don't think being a Republican is all that shocking--you are taking a stand, which is more than many people do.
Posted by: Lisa Belisle | May 06, 2008 at 04:47 PM