Confessions of a College Republican

(printed in Black Hawk College Chieftain, 11-03-2004)

Jonathan Sawmiller

President, BHC Republicans

I am voting for Bush. There, I said it. I know it’s a shocking statement to read in a college newspaper, but it’s true. I really am going to walk into my polling place on November 2^nd and fill in the little oval next to the name of George W. Bush.

What, you exclaim, how could an enlightened college sophomore possibly vote for George Bush! After all, we’re surrounded at school by an atmosphere of rampant liberalism. How could we not just accept what we’re told by our professors and the mainstream media? Haven’t we heard that Bush is the purest form of evil, the wannabe fascist dictator of the world? Of course no one would vote for Bush, unless he or she is really stupid or singularly uninformed! Well, I can assure you, I am neither. As an honoree of the National Dean’s List, I don’t believe the really stupid label fits all that well. Singularly uniformed? Just ask any of the liberals with whom I’ve debated on campus. I’ve had to whip out my trusty copy of the 9/11 Commission report on them before. So why else could I possibly be voting for Bush? It’s all about the issues.

As I pen these words, it’s October 29th, with only four days to go before the American presidential election, which might quite possibly be the defining moment of our generation’s future. Which way will it go? Who will lead this great nation for the next four years? Will we re-elect a President who has made us safer from terrorists, lowered our taxes, improved our education system, improved the quality of our environment, is creating new jobs, plans to lower the cost of health care, and has a plan to save Social Security? Or will we elect a candidate who is unwilling to take unilateral action in defense of America, has promised to raise taxes, no longer supports the education reform for which he voted, has no record on the environment, plans to hurt job growth by raising taxes on businesses, voted against lowering the cost of health care through medical malpractice tort reform, and flatly refuses to fix the broken system of Social Security? The choice is clear. I am proud to say I will vote for George W. Bush for President of the United States. For the sake of our future, I hope and pray that Americans in every state vote to send President Bush back to Washington, D.C.

The most important duty of the President is to protect his country, and this one issue is by far the most important to voters in this election. If I had the space, I would happily go through each and every issue, and compare George Bush’s and John Kerry’s accomplishments and records. However, since we don’t have the space to rip apart John Kerry on every issue, let’s just see how the candidates compare in the vital area of our nation’s security.

President Bush strongly supported the Patriot Act, which has given the government the same tools used against the Mafia to use against terrorists, and now allows intelligence agencies to communicate freely with law-enforcement agencies. In fact, a planned attack on the Brooklyn Bridge by an Al-Quaida operative was stopped by applying the newly-enacted provisions of the Patriot Act. (1) What does John Kerry think about the Patriot Act? Well, even though he was among the nearly-unanimous bi-partisan majority that voted for it, it has now become fashionable for Democrats to oppose it, a la Michael Moore. So John Kerry flip-flopped, as he often does, and now supports replacing the Patriot Act with something else. (2) Supposedly, civil rights are violated by the act, but the ACLU, that most sue-happy of organizations, has been unable to find a single case of someone’s rights being abused by the Patriot Act to bring before the Senate. (3)

Even scarier than John Kerry’s politically-motivated reversal of positions on the Patriot Act is his position on fighting terrorists. During the second presidential debate, John Kerry said “But if and when you do it [preemptive action], Jim, you have to do it in a way that passes the test, that passes the global test…” (4) Oh, I see. Before we act to defend ourselves, we must pass a “global test” created by other countries. If we fail their test, John Kerry will refuse to defend the American people! George Bush understands that America, as a sovereign nation, has the right to defend herself. John Kerry apparently believes the U.N. or some foreign power should make that decision, not America. And I’m supposed to vote for this guy to lead my country?

Granted, John Kerry says he will be tough on terrorists. Never mind that he voted against the death penalty for terrorists who kill Americans. Of course, being the dying fish that he is, he’s since flip-flopped and now supports their death penalty. (5) John Kerry claims he will increase funding for our intelligence services. Of course, he conveniently forgets he created and voted for a massive $6 billion dollar slash in the funding of those agencies. (6) Worse yet, after John Kerry votes to send troops to war, John Kerry refuses to support them! John Kerry said that a vote against funding for troops would be “irresponsible” and that no Senator would “abandon our troops” (7) by voting against them. Unfortunately, that is exactly what John Kerry did, and what is worse, he voted against the troops to gain political ground against Howard Dean. (8) It is astounding that the Kerry campaign is now running an ad claiming he will “always support and honor those who serve” (9) when he did just the opposite when given the chance during the primaries. If John Kerry can't make the right decisions in the face of political pressure from Howard Dean, how can he be expected to stand up to the terrorists?

Now, more than ever, we need a real leader who is guided by consistent beliefs and values, not one who must consult the latest poll before taking a position on issues. We need a leader who will keep America safe even if it makes him unpopular with the liberal media or political opponents. We need a leader who won’t sacrifice the security of his country for the advancement of his own political career. John Kerry’s seeming inability to make up his mind on issues has been one of the reasons why his attempt to pass himself off as a credible leader has failed. John Kerry has a long history of voting against our military, our intelligence services, and our efforts to keep America safe from terrorism. George W. Bush has wholeheartedly supported our military and intelligence services, and since that awful day of September 11, 2001, George W. Bush has kept America safe from terror attacks. George W. Bush has proved time and again that he puts the best interest of the American people first, instead of his own political interests. George Bush is the real leader that John Kerry can never be.

Security is but one of the many issues in which I support President Bush, but it is definitely the most important. And so I shall cast my vote into the maelstrom of the electoral college, and pray that sensible Americans wake up and re-elect President Bush to another four years.

Sources:

(1) Dick Morris, FahrenHYPE 911 (film) Michael & Me L.P.

(2) Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Iowa State University, 12/1/03

(3) U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) Press Release, 10-8-2004

(4) Transcript: First Presidential Debate <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/debatereferee/debate_0930.html>

(5) FactCheck.org <http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx@docID=226.html>

(6) Amdt. To H.R. 3759, CQ Vote #39: Rejected 20-75: R 3-37; D 17-38, 2/10/94

(7) CBS' "Face The Nation," 9/14/03

(8) Philip Gourevitch, "Damage Control," The New Yorker, 7/26/04

(9) Kerry Press Release, "New Kerry Ad Honors America's Troops," 10/27/04