Posts with the tag partisan
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Looking into some of my area's local elections coming up has made me wonder as to why so many offices are partisan...
Why must there be decisiveness in local politics when it is completely unnecessary?
Read More »February 10, 2007
Today’s news of Senator Obama’s official entrance into the ’08 presidential election did not surprise me. I was not surprised that there were thousands of people standing outside in the shivering cold to hear him speak. What’s surprising is how several states away, in the former Capital of the Confederacy, a young Caucasian male in sweatpants, watching a stream on a laptop at his girlfriends apartment, could relate to a black Senator from Illinois.
What is great about Barack Obama now officially being in the race for our great party's nomination for president is that I have something to focus on. Now I have something to which I can direct all of the energy that is boiling inside of me. Every day I am frustrated by the cynicism and negativity that surrounds our country's politics.
Being a young student of politics, I thirst for a news outlet to keep me abreast of the day’s news as I go about my day to day activities. Considering that I don't possess a satellite radio, I am stuck listening to conservative radio shows in my city that offers only a biased AM radio selection. It is here that I rely on the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck to name a few, to keep me motivated with their outlandish commentary to stay a Democrat and get involved.
Although the outrageous semantics of these radio shows is great motivation, it isn't enough to activate me. To become politically active I needed something that gave me something to work for, not something to work against. Something that was positive, rather than pointing out what is wrong with our world. Barack Obama's campaign offers this cautious optimism.
In listening to the politicians that have polluted our televisions, and listening to the entertainers that dilute truth and change stories to benefit their own agenda I had become uninterested in our country's government. Feeling like these folks, who may physically resemble my family, couldn't relate to me I have longed for something different. I have longed for the emergence of a leader who can not only bridge the gap between our political parties, but also unite our own political party behind a common view.
Barack Obama speaks this language. He understands the weakness that is created by a divided government. In his book, he speaks about the experienced politicians such as Virginia's own Republican John Warner, who can have a casual and comfortable association with someone from the other party after debating their political views to an effective outcome. Our partisan politics, and partisan media outlets only weaken our nation and places unnecessary hurdles into our beautiful political process. Negative politics is only one aspect of politics that is wrong with our country. The other is the voters, the users of our political system, the beneficiaries. Considering how low the voter rate is in our country, it would benefit us to educate the ones who do chose to vote. My family represents what I feel is a large portion of our country's voters; voters that can not site more that one view of any candidate in any election, no matter how large the consequence. As an example, during the most recent gubernatorial election for the Commonwealth of Virginia my brother and I had a heated debate over who was the better of the two candidates. Republican Jerry Kilgore was running against Democratic Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine for the office. During this argument, I stated all of the reasons that I believed made Tim Kaine the better choice. After this barrage of policies and personal attributes that I shot at my brother from my lips, I expected a loaded response. It didn't surprise me that since the presidential election in '04 that my brother hadn't changed a bit. He spoke so adamantly about voting for Jerry Kilgore, but couldn't articulate why. The driving factor in him even voting in that election was that his friend told him that if Tim Kaine was elected he would lose his gun rights. He knew that when he drove around town, he saw signs that said "Sportsmen for Kilgore". But he couldn't name one other reason to vote for him. He voted for Jerry Kilgore, just like he voted for George Bush in the '04 election...blindly.
These voters crowd the polls of our nation. It is our job to activate ourselves, and help educate our friends and families about the policies that make a difference in our day to day lives. Sure the Iraq war is a huge issue in the '08 election, but can the majority of our population speak intelligently about any other issue facing our country today? We must commit ourselves to starting today to become as familiar as we can with our candidates stance on all issues. Start today so that we can articulate clearly why it is that we prefer Senator Obama over any other candidate on the political scene. What would feel differently about the United States of America with Barack Obama in the White House? Educate yourself, educate each other...get involved!
BN
Today’s news of Senator Obama’s official entrance into the ’08 presidential election did not surprise me. I was not surprised that there were thousands of people standing outside in the shivering cold to hear him speak. What’s surprising is how several states away, in the former Capital of the Confederacy, a young Caucasian male in sweatpants, watching a stream on a laptop at his girlfriends apartment, could relate to a black Senator from Illinois.
What is great about Barack Obama now officially being in the race for our great party's nomination for president is that I have something to focus on. Now I have something to which I can direct all of the energy that is boiling inside of me. Every day I am frustrated by the cynicism and negativity that surrounds our country's politics.
Being a young student of politics, I thirst for a news outlet to keep me abreast of the day’s news as I go about my day to day activities. Considering that I don't possess a satellite radio, I am stuck listening to conservative radio shows in my city that offers only a biased AM radio selection. It is here that I rely on the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck to name a few, to keep me motivated with their outlandish commentary to stay a Democrat and get involved.
Although the outrageous semantics of these radio shows is great motivation, it isn't enough to activate me. To become politically active I needed something that gave me something to work for, not something to work against. Something that was positive, rather than pointing out what is wrong with our world. Barack Obama's campaign offers this cautious optimism.
In listening to the politicians that have polluted our televisions, and listening to the entertainers that dilute truth and change stories to benefit their own agenda I had become uninterested in our country's government. Feeling like these folks, who may physically resemble my family, couldn't relate to me I have longed for something different. I have longed for the emergence of a leader who can not only bridge the gap between our political parties, but also unite our own political party behind a common view.
Barack Obama speaks this language. He understands the weakness that is created by a divided government. In his book, he speaks about the experienced politicians such as Virginia's own Republican John Warner, who can have a casual and comfortable association with someone from the other party after debating their political views to an effective outcome. Our partisan politics, and partisan media outlets only weaken our nation and places unnecessary hurdles into our beautiful political process. Negative politics is only one aspect of politics that is wrong with our country. The other is the voters, the users of our political system, the beneficiaries. Considering how low the voter rate is in our country, it would benefit us to educate the ones who do chose to vote. My family represents what I feel is a large portion of our country's voters; voters that can not site more that one view of any candidate in any election, no matter how large the consequence. As an example, during the most recent gubernatorial election for the Commonwealth of Virginia my brother and I had a heated debate over who was the better of the two candidates. Republican Jerry Kilgore was running against Democratic Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine for the office. During this argument, I stated all of the reasons that I believed made Tim Kaine the better choice. After this barrage of policies and personal attributes that I shot at my brother from my lips, I expected a loaded response. It didn't surprise me that since the presidential election in '04 that my brother hadn't changed a bit. He spoke so adamantly about voting for Jerry Kilgore, but couldn't articulate why. The driving factor in him even voting in that election was that his friend told him that if Tim Kaine was elected he would lose his gun rights. He knew that when he drove around town, he saw signs that said "Sportsmen for Kilgore". But he couldn't name one other reason to vote for him. He voted for Jerry Kilgore, just like he voted for George Bush in the '04 election...blindly.
These voters crowd the polls of our nation. It is our job to activate ourselves, and help educate our friends and families about the policies that make a difference in our day to day lives. Sure the Iraq war is a huge issue in the '08 election, but can the majority of our population speak intelligently about any other issue facing our country today? We must commit ourselves to starting today to become as familiar as we can with our candidates stance on all issues. Start today so that we can articulate clearly why it is that we prefer Senator Obama over any other candidate on the political scene. What would feel differently about the United States of America with Barack Obama in the White House? Educate yourself, educate each other...get involved!
BN
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