Well, let me first just say that I disagree with both parties, haha.. Both Republicans and Democrats nowadays have strayed so far from the actual teachings of the Constitution that the forefathers would be ashamed of us for what we are dealing with right now. The Constitution was written to protect us from the reach of a centralized federal government, it was put in place to make sure the government was not going to be able to do some of the things it is allowed to do now. The President was not supposed to have as much power as he does now, it was all invested in Congress and that has changed way too much, especially now with Obama in office. The President now - and even 8 years ago under "Dubya" regards the President of something as a modern day King...Something we fought Britain in the revolutionary war to get rid of.. "When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated." my boy Thomas Jefferson said that. Are we not listening? One-size fits all social policy, dictated by unelected judges (The Supreme Court) from an imperial capital, is not the system Americans signed on for when they ratified the Constitution. We didnt even declare war on Iraq constitutionally. Congress gave "Dubya" the power to delcare war. Congress has no Constitutional right to delegate that power unto the President, and the President alone. It was strictly put into the hands of the elected reps in the legislature. The Patriot Act? In the post-911 freak out we passed the most un-Constitutional thing that we have ever seen. Basically giving the government the opportunity to monitor us at any given time. How nice is that?
I dont watch Fox News, or get my news off Rush Limbaugh, or anything because I dont agree with any of those nutjobs either. Its like two evils trying to exploit claims of a "better life, with healthcare for all" or "more liberties...but we might attack Iran and wiretap your phones"..Why would I want either of those? Not to mention our national debt has been run into the ground, and our money is slowly starting to be worthless. Do you realize how much debt we've sold to China? They could flood the market with it at any time and basically kill our "great" $$$, and meanwhile Obama is introducing even MORE federally funded programs, like Jeff said, National Healthcare. For example, I right now dont have healthcare because Im too cheap to pay for it and I would rather risk injury than be forced to buy it.. So when I go riding my bike down the street its my own damn fault I hit something and cracked my skull open, no one else should have to be forced to pay for my idiocy. And frankly, I dont really care if that happens to someone else, except for my family, which works hard to be sure they are providing themselves with a healthcare plan THEY want and not something that is mandated.
The things I see happening in America today remind me too much of the German system of government, which I wholeheartedly disagree with and hate, and a lot of it is both parties. You know who really loved the idea of centralized government, with state and local government having less and less power? Hitler! Yes, he wanted to build a "powerful national Reich" without having to worry about states disagreeing with what the central authority had to say on the matter. Nationalized Healthcare is a perfect example of the government in Washington saying "Hey, heres the healthcare bill, you have to use it on your citizens or else. Sorry." Who is the government in Washington to tell my state reps in NH that their citizens are now being FORCED to pay for healthcare? If NH wanted such a system NH would pass such a system themselves. The same thing is happening with that recent law that was passed in Arizona. Obama is already starting to butt in and have his advisors "closely watch the situation" so he can do what? Pass federal legislation to tell Arizona what to do with a law they wrote, and voted in? Another perfect example is the recent mine disaster in W. Virginia. Obama delivers the eulogy and he promises better safety reform for mines and miners. Shouldnt that now be addressed by the states in which there are mine operations? And not by the centralized government? The reach of Washington is far far beyond what it was intended to be. I turn on the TV now and I see Obama EVERYWHERE telling everyone he will make reform to accommodate them! Im sorry folks, but life is life and sometimes you have to WORK for your own things and not just sit on your ass and expect to government to take care of you like a baby. I know you know this all too well Mark, because I know you WORK hard for a lot of the things you have now.
And let me say something else - the whole policing the world policy is something that I totally disagree with as well. TJ preached a foreign policy of "trade with all, alliance with none". We have ourselves wrapped up in so many entangling alliances now that if one nation would go to war with another we would prob end up supporting both sides. And this whole war in Iraq and Afghanistan? Its all blowback. Blowback from the doings of a government which helped the Taliban get into power in the 80s by supplying weapons to them to fight off the commies. Who wouldve thought that government would turn into a radical muslim movement that harbored a terrorist? *sarcasm* and Saddam? We put Saddam in power as someone to watch over Iran and guess what he does too? Ha! Do you realize we supplied Iraq with $$, and weapons during the 8 year Iran-Iraq war? And now look - we are trillions and trillions of dollars in debt, and fighting a war on 2 fronts because of blowback. Do you realize during the first presidential election George W. Bush spoke out AGAINST policing the world and introducing Democracy? "Let us have an American foreign policy that reflects Americas true character. The modesty of true strength. The humility of real greatness." Funny how things change, huh? He even went on to say - "...I dont think our troops ought to be used for whats called 'nation building' I think what we need to do is convince the people who live in the lands to build the nations. Maybe Im missing something here-were going to have kind of a 'nation-building corps' from America?". Keep our military at home, and protect OUR own borders and OUR own nation. A strong military at home is what we need. We dont need troops all over the world in..Germany, Korea, Costa Rica, etc..etc.. Why not have a strong HOME based national defense? Where the troops stationed AT HOME would be dumping their money into our economy? Not the economy of Germany or Korea or wherever they are stationed.
So I guess to answer your question - Its not that I just hate Obama or that Im a republican lover, or that Im some backwoods hilly billy shooting my guns off and burning a cross while wearing a KKK robe... Its more.. Ive lost faith in this American government. I feel it has strayed way too far from what it was intended to be.. What we ran away from in the first place. If I wanted to be like Europe then I would move to Europe and stay here (Im here now but, its more just for the hell of it..not because I love European policies). Following the rest of the world is, like Jeff said, "the cool thing". Europeans love being told what to do. They love the government caring for them from cradle to grave, and its something we fought against. Its what makes America...America.....Like Jeff said..Obama is a symbol of a system that I hate, and dont want... Too much like the German government..
Sorry if this was long or all over the place - you just asked a very broad question and a lot of things came to my mind and I just answered how I felt haha.. It wasnt particularly about Obama..More about the government in general..
