So many supposedly well-meaning but jaded voters are parroting the phrase that it doesn’t matter whether you vote for Romney or Obama, because the net result will be the same. As a jaded voter myself, I too am uncomfortable with some of the similarities that exist between the two candidates, among them Romneycare in Massachusetts and Mitt’s history of being soft on social issues during his tenure as the Bay State’s governor.
I have lived cheek-to-jowl with Boston politics my entire life, so I know firsthand how difficult it is to be any kind of conservative in that state’s monolithic political structure. Massachusetts produces “Republicans” like Bill Weld and Elliot Richardson, guys who would be Democrats in practically any other state. So I had no illusions about what Governor Romney would have been able to accomplish in such hostile territory. Not so with the national stage, and here is where the two candidates diverge.
Romney has tons of business and financial acumen. However anti-business a given voter’s inclinations may be, you cannot argue with the fact that Mitt Romney understands how to reverse poor performance and fiscal mismanagement. He has shown it repeatedly, both in public and private ventures. One of the most overwhelming needs this country has is for a return to some sense of fiscal sanity.
Under Obama, the national debt has grown by 50% in four short years, from $10.5 trillion dollars to over $16 trillion. We have mortgaged our future so far out that we aren’t even sure WHICH future generation will be paying the tab. Obama’s campaign slogan of ‘Forward’ emphatically implies that this profligate misbehavior is just beginning. Mr. Obama’s utter lack of any business or financial savvy is well-documented. So here’s a question for you, Mr. & Mrs. Undecided Voter: Which person would you rather entrust your life savings to? You may not like either choice, but you ARE going to have to choose.
Mitt Romney has been navigating the waters of international commerce for over three decades. He may not be a foreign policy expert, but when you consider the empty résumé Barack Obama brought with him for his presidential job interview, Mitt looks like a better choice. Add to that the shameful and feckless performance of Obama’s State Department and his global “We apologize for being American’” self-prostration before despots of all stripes (and particularly the Muslim ones), and you know it’s time for a change. I don’t see Romney shaming his countrymen or dragging our colors in the dirt to appease anyone. He doesn’t appear to be the rock-jawed cowboy that memories of Reagan evince, but nonetheless he clearly isn’t ashamed of his American heritage.
To those people of Christian faith who are contemplating withholding their vote or pulling for the incumbent because of Romney’s Mormonism, please prayerfully THINK about what you are doing. Mr. Romney may practice a faith that some find suspicious or even cultic, but he is open about it and more importantly, consistent.
Mr. Obama has publicly declared his Christianity, but gone ahead making choices that contradict the tenets most traditional Christians adhere to, even to the point of infringing on religious freedoms. Then we saw footage of Jeremiah Wright’s bastardized flavor of “Christianity”, which turned out to be a stew of thinly-disguised racism and bile with a robe on. Faith is what you do, not what you say. We know what Mr. Obama does. It’s not the same as what he says, most of the time. So, Christians, will you choose an experienced and deliberate liar, or a man whose convictions are reflected in his public and private life? Your non-vote is also a vote, so choose you must.
John McCain was a very poor option for conservative voters four years ago. To me, he was odious, unreliable, entitled and way too much of a Beltway insider. As unsavory as his candidacy was, I could see through Barack Obama’s smoke and mirrors back then and voted for McCain. I think he would have been at best a mediocre president. However, uninspired mediocrity still trumps radical deconstruction every time.
We are at the crossroads even more so this time. Mitt Romney is not the pulse-quickening hotshot conservative I crave, but neither is he the equivalent of his opponent, not on any scale. It is a falsehood to continue to propagate the equivalence of both candidates.
Imagine you are cut and seriously bleeding. You are confronted with a choice of doctors. One wants to bind the wound and stanch the flow of blood. The other wants to amputate the limb, and possibly bleed you further, just for good measure. They both wear white lab coats and carry black stethoscopes. They both say they have your best interest at heart (a dubious claim from any politician). You may not like the choices you have, but you’re still bleeding, and time is running out.
Which one do you choose?
Image: courtesy of UB Düsseldorf, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:2-437; Carl Friedrich Deiker(1836–1892); public domain, copyright expired.
