Flip-Flop Fever
All this talk of “flip-flopping” and supporting evidence from everywhere; can we trust either of these people? What is going on? It’s like there is a flip-flop fever going around.
The camps of both major party’s hopefuls for president have been ramping up the rhetoric about the other candidate’s “flip-flops” and inconsistencies. When one follows the facts, the truth is that both candidates have had major flip-flops over the past year. Flip-flops big enough to make one wonder; “Who the heck are these people and what do they stand for?”
The truth of the matter is that June and July historically are the months when candidates retool their message and their stands to move a little closer to the center and away from the extreme ends of their party’s ideals to appeal to larger voting segments.
What makes it different this year? I think there are two things that are different.
I think with Senator Obama, his voting record shows him to be almost as far to the left as one can be, while his rhetoric, campaigning, and speeches make him appear to be very close to the middle and as “The Candidate of Change.” There a already many huge question marks about who he really is to begin with without him changing the message again.
For Senator McCain, he already has done more and more to alienate the far right within his party over the past eight or nine years and who he really is also warrants a huge question mark from his would be supporters. Many of the things he stands for and represents already is a hard sell to people in the middle or on the right at any level. Keep in mind that he represents the same party as the largely unpopular current president which makes his candidacy a hard sell as it is. He has somehow got to get the support of the right and the middle at the same time when both are skeptical to begin with and he is even going so far as to try to draw from the right betting on the fallout from the Democratic primaries. For those who are not already set on a candidate or a party (voting for a candidate simply because of party affiliation at this point in history with all that could happen over the next four years is not only stupid but grossly negligent) his message seems to be all over the map and makes him even less understandable to us.
The other reason I think this is such a big deal this year is the fact that there are more mediums that will verify what they are saying and more people who are apt to research such things.
How many of us have heard something stated by one of the candidates and then by the next day heard and read a firestorm of contradictions stated by the same person as noted on “factcheck.org” or other such organizations.
What I am saying is that the microscope has grown more powerful for this year’s elections and the candidates are under much more focused scrutiny. I suspect that if previous candidates had been under the same level of scrutiny as the current candidates history would be vastly different.
Are the candidates “flip-flopping” and still undefined? Absolutely! Are these candidates distancing themselves from their own past stands and voting records? Absolutely? When I look at both of their past stands and voting records, this is not really a bad thing if we are talking about a true change of heart.
The problem is, will this newly retooled and refined candidate show up in the Whitehouse if elected president or is it all for votes? I for one sure do like the candidates’ campaign faces a lot better than what the facts show.
Comments
Comparing their records, I'm pleased by neither candidate, however McCain has been consistent in one thing. He has consistently opposed tax increases. He might have opposed Bush's tax cuts but at least he is anti-tax increases. Obama thinks he can give the vast majority a tax break but want to increase taxes on the highest income people. Here's the problem with tax increases: they always get passed down to the little guy. Businesses pass their tax burden on to the customer. Rich people either invest their money or spend it. Investing means businesses and jobs and products. Spending means high end products like luxury items, boats, motorhomes, etc, Somebody has to build those things and maintain those things. Higher taxes means fewer jobs and higher prices. OIL. The Democrats keep trying to pass legislation to penalize the oil companies for their high prices. How do they penalize oil companies? Yep, taxes. Who pays the taxes for the oil companies? We do. So all they've done is raise the price of gas even higher and not produced one gallon more of gas. If you want the prices to drop, you've got to increase the supply. At the same time the Dems have tried to tax oil companies for gouging, they've prevented oil companies from producing more gas in ANWR and the Continental shelf and the shale oil available right here in the US. By the way, 70% of the oil we use is produced right here right now.
With the Supreme court working hard to usurp the authority of the legislature, judges are critical. John McCain has promised to set constructionist judges, while we know Obama will set more usurpers of Congressional powers. This year Obama sponsored a Global Poverty Act that would have ceded authority to the United Nations to tax Americans and spend it as they see fit. Not only that, but buried in the same bill was another ceded power to the UN to take our right to own small arms. Wherever you stand on these issues, ceding the sovereignty of the United States to the United Nations is deadly to our nation. Check some of my recent articles on the track record on the effectiveness of the UN not to mention their human rights record.
I'm holding my nose to vote in this election, but I'm voting because the alternative is anti-American.