# Meh. Fed up.



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

I changed my party affiliation to Independent today after fifteen or so years as a Republican. Not that there has been any individual event that precipitated it, aside from the coronation of the Manchurian Candidate, but I finally grew extremely tired of the GOP.

I stayed in the GOP for the last two presidential elections so I could vote in the primaries. However, the GOP has persisted in putting up faux conservatives as candidates, so voting in the primaries was a waste of time. I skipped the last primary, since I live in Arizona and the Manchurian Candidate was guaranteed a win. Since there is no way in hell I will ever give John McCain my vote for _anything_, including dogcatcher, I couldn't give my approval to this party anymore.

It was time to leave. I feel better now.

*Never pay again for live sex! | Hot girls doing naughty stuff for free! | Chat for free!*


----------



## hberttmank (May 5, 2006)

I understand your frustration with the McCain and the GOP, but compared to the alternative, I'll have to hold my nose and vote for him.


----------



## GTD (Dec 19, 2007)

I don’t blame you. There is not much of a difference in the two parties. I’ll vote for whatever independent candidate pops up, even if they have a snowballs chance in hell of being elected.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

hberttmank said:


> I understand your frustration with the McCain and the GOP, but compared to the alternative, I'll have to hold my nose and vote for him.


That's valid. But I simply cannot forgive John McCain for his eager trampling on the First Amendment with "Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform." I consider McCain as dangerous to liberty as the Democrats - if not moreso.


----------



## hideit (Oct 3, 2007)

i understand your pain
i voted in the primary but not for mccain
considering the supreme court upcoming vacancies - i gotta go with mccain becuase the others results in a terrible supreme court result

hope he picks romney as VP


----------



## GTD (Dec 19, 2007)

hideit said:


> considering the supreme court upcoming vacancies - i gotta go with mccain becuase the others results in a terrible supreme court result
> 
> hope he picks romney as VP


My state (IL.) is going to the democrats anyway, so I'll use my vote to make a statement. Go Nader!


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

hideit said:


> i gotta go with mccain becuase the others results in a terrible supreme court result


A Supreme Court composed largely of justices appointed by Republican presidents upheld McCain-Feingold. It's certainly no guarantee of liberty.


----------



## kev74 (Mar 22, 2008)

I feel your pain. 

I switched my party affiliation away from the Republican party a few years back when Tom Delay and co. went on their redistricting kick. They eliminated my congressman's district and gave it to a neighboring district with a bigger fundraising base - so we little people got ignored. 

Ever since Bill Clinton got elected, Republicans stopped being Republicans. They went from responsible spending, less taxes and smaller government to the party of SPEND SPEND SPEND and let someone else pick up the tab. And since Dubbya got in, we've got more spending yet with now way to pay for it - along with the biggest expansion of big government since FDR, but at least FDR's government programs helped people. Now we've got Homeland Security to spy on us, the TSA to make sure we take our shoes off before we get on a plane, and we've got the BATFE (what happened to the plain old ATF?) closing down small gun shops. With all this, does anyone feel safer? No. But the rich keep getting richer and the rest of us keep cutting back to keep our heads above water.

I never thought I'd do it, but if Obama gets the nomination, I'm going to vote Deomcratic for president. I'd rather give someone else a chance to screw things up a different way than keep going down the road we're on.


----------



## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

I'll hold my nose and vote for him only because he's the lesser of three evils. Then I'll go outside and :smt078

The Republicans are trying to squeeze out the real conservitives and this could get ugly if they stay home in droves. I can't figure out how he got the nomination other than the early primaries were stacked in favor of liberal states. There is some talk that a lot of Libs and Independents crossed over to get him up in the poles. Kinda like what Rush is doing to the Dems now.


----------



## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

You do need to tell the repubcrats that you changed and why. They won't even know your gone unless you tell them why.


----------



## js (Jun 29, 2006)

I've been an "independent" for the last 10 years and will stay that way. 

Both parties are a direct threat to our liberties at this point. The America our founding fathers and ancestors fought and died for.... is dead.


----------



## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

js said:


> I've been an "independent" for the last 10 years and will stay that way.
> 
> Both parties are a direct threat to our liberties at this point. The America our founding fathers and ancestors fought and died for.... is dead.


As sad as it is I think you may be right. I would rather go with them than live in a socialist state.:smt1099


----------



## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

"We the People" do have the power to change this if there are enough of us. The question is, are there enough of us? I sometimes get the feeling that I'm a stranger in a weird world. I can't believe some of the dribble that people believe as fact. I get the feeling that the Repugnacans lost the Senate and House because we the people were trying to send a message. The trouble is they read the message just the opposite of what we were trying to say and they went left instead of right.
I couldn't believe my ears when the Hilderbeast said she was gonna take the oil Co.s profits! Who the hell gave her or the Government the right to take the profit of anyone just because they made more than she thinks they should....and the stupids out there ate it up. Both she and O'blunder are gonna raise taxes on the "rich" and the corporations. Who the Hell do you think is gonna end up paying that TAX!.....and the stupid people just eat it up......
Are we as a country THAT STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope when the dust clears with the Dem primary that they start eating McCain's lunch *HARD!* Maybe he'll get the picture and quit screwing around with playing kiss up to them.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

I actually tend to have a pretty optimistic view of America, and definitely don't walk around in a state of high dudgeon about the state of a country that offers tremendous personal freedom and an extremely high standard of living. We have it great in America, and I deeply appreciate my good fortune in being born an American.

I just don't think the GOP represents my views anymore and I think John McCain is an authoritarian threat to liberty. Obama is no better, of course, so I won't be voting for him, either.


----------



## js (Jun 29, 2006)

Mike Barham said:


> I actually tend to have a pretty optimistic view of America, and definitely don't walk around in a state of high dudgeon about the state of a country that offers tremendous personal freedom and an extremely high standard of living. We have it great in America, and I deeply appreciate my good fortune in being born an American.
> 
> I just don't think the GOP represents my views anymore and I think John McCain is an authoritarian threat to liberty. Obama is no better, of course, so I won't be voting for him, either.


I'm pretty sour at the moment at the state of things.... We have it good, I just look at the steady decline...it's not getting any better. I now think about what it's going to like in the future for my "soon to be born" grandson... (god that's still weird to comprehend)

anyway...


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

I hate to break this to you, but it isn't 1776 anymore. ;-)

Very interesting article here, about the "new conservatism" in Great Britain: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/opinion/09brooks.html?ref=opinion. Some of this has some appeal to me. As much as I hate to quote a hero of the Left, I often find myself quoting Ghandi: "_We must be the change we wish to see in the world._" It's why I joined the Guard, why I'm a Big Brother, why I bought a gas-sipper car, and a large measure of why I live my life as I do.


----------



## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Mike Barham said:


> ...
> 
> I just don't think the GOP represents my views anymore and I think John McCain is an authoritarian threat to liberty. Obama is no better, of course, so I won't be voting for him, either.


So, you're hoping for Hillary, then? :mrgreen:


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

DJ Niner said:


> So, you're hoping for Hillary, then? :mrgreen:


I'd vote for Hillary before I'd vote for John McCain. But you'd have to light me on fire to make me vote for either one. :mrgreen:

But she appears to be DRT, which makes it a moot point.


----------



## js (Jun 29, 2006)

Mike Barham said:


> I hate to break this to you, but it isn't 1776 anymore. ;-)
> 
> Very interesting article here, about the "new conservatism" in Great Britain: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/opinion/09brooks.html?ref=opinion. Some of this has some appeal to me. As much as I hate to quote a hero of the Left, I often find myself quoting Ghandi: "_We must be the change we wish to see in the world._" It's why I joined the Guard, why I'm a Big Brother, why I bought a gas-sipper car, and a large measure of why I live my life as I do.


The article was going great until it got to this statement...


> (he admires Schwarzenegger and Bloomberg)


:smt104

I'm totally disgusted with the 2 political parties in this country and a third party has no chance...at all.


----------



## Revolver (Aug 26, 2006)

You just now washed your hands of them?

I could care less about political parties. I just want our officials to genuinely care about our liberties and the principles on which this nation is founded. To serve this nation instead of their parties and themselves.

As I said when it came down to the three candidates, it's pretty sad that all of the candidates are _worse_ than who they're replacing.


----------



## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

The decline of the country's political system, has evolved from the newest "career field" in the american system. POLITICIAN. Up until just 20 years ago, our politicians were formerly *something else*... Now, all of our top level politicians have been career politicians since they won 6th grade class president.

Like acedemics, who have never seen the real world... never hired or fired someone... never interviewed, only campaigned... never made a decision without consulting a poll...

The only shining exception to this, is John McCain, former Military... I agree, that I hate his politics, some of them.

The solution is coming though...

It's called the THOUSANDS of men and women who have been fighting "over there" for YEARS now... We're starting to see a few good LTC and Cols show up with hats in the ring at the state and local levels.

The war in Afganistan and Iraq is a terrible thing that our country must do. It hurts families, but it builds men and women. Conservative men and women with world perspective.

I'm looking forward to voting for these men and women in the future. Until then, I share MOST of Mike's optimism...

This country has taken a few good shots to the ribs in the past few years... but we're far from out of the fight.

JW


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

I don't think all, or even most, of our troops overseas are necessarily conservative. In my experience, most are apolitical, and those that are political are pretty evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.

For example, I once listened to a political debate between three members of the 173rd Airborne. The two senior enlisted soldiers were both strong Democrats, while the lone officer was a Republican.

The "problem," if it is one, with soldiers is that they grow accustomed to the government taking care of them with health care, housing, legal assistance, food, etc. and often think that the government can do the same for the whole of the American people. Combine this with the strong authoritarian/hierarchal streak in most career military people, who are used to people simply obeying orders, and you have a potential recipe for a power-hungry, socialist politician. 

Not to say all ex-military people will go this political route, but I certainly don't think recent vets are necessarily a solution to our country's woes.

And regardless of what we hear on right-wing propaganda outlets, most soldiers do not want to be in Iraq or Afghanistan to "finish the job" or whatever. Yes, it behooves career-minded officers and senior NCOs to say that, but the average Joe just wants to survive his tour and go home. For good.


----------



## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

My wife and I have never registered for a particular party and probably never will. Staying NPA (No Party Affiliation) is where we like to stay.


----------



## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

I was an independent for years but I've never voted for a Democrat so I went ahead and registered as a Republican. For the most part they were more in line with my thinking. I guess I'm more of a Liberaterian leaning conservative than anything. The only reason I'll vote for McCain is I know the other two will raise taxes and generally push a Socialist agenda. That, and it would give Nancy the Witch a free hand and that woman scares the hell outa me. If Boreox O'Blunder get in it will be worse than the Carter years. I wonder if that guy can get his shoes on the right feet in the morning. I really get the feeling the guy is all silver tunged smoke and mirrors.


----------



## js (Jun 29, 2006)

JeffWard said:


> The decline of the country's political system, has evolved from the newest "career field" in the american system. POLITICIAN. Up until just 20 years ago, our politicians were formerly *something else*... Now, all of our top level politicians have been career politicians since they won 6th grade class president.


This is why I STRONGLY support term limits. Dipsh*ts like Ted Kennedy need the boot. Hell, he even killed someone and he's still in office.


----------



## Revolver (Aug 26, 2006)

The funny thing is, I use the Army's health care system as a case study against socialist medicine and it never fails to correct people who have never seen a socialist health care system in action.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

Revolver said:


> The funny thing is, I use the Army's health care system as a case study against socialist medicine and it never fails to correct people who have never seen a socialist health care system in action.


I never really needed military health care while I was deployed, beyond some prescription meds. The pharmacy at Fort Bragg was remarkably efficient. My wife and daughter were reasonably pleased with the military's TriCare system - they found it no worse than a civilian insurance system.


----------



## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Mike Barham said:


> My wife and daughter were reasonably pleased with the military's TriCare system - they found it no worse than a civilian insurance system.


My wife keeps threatening to sign me up for the military just so we can get TriCare. They're just about the only insurance out there that covers ABA therapy for kids with Autism.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

Todd said:


> My wife keeps threatening to sign me up for the military just so we can get TriCare.


1-800-GO-GUARD :mrgreen:


----------



## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Mike Barham said:


> 1-800-GO-GUARD :mrgreen:


That ain't happening. That whole roughing it thing and I sunburn easily. Plus I really don't like sand.

Now if I could get a cushy assignment in the Air Force with some air conditioned job and barracks, then maybe I'd go for it. :mrgreen:


----------

