for undecided voters...

A friend of mine was asked by another friend to explain why she's voting for McCain. She wanted to see support for a candidate without bashing the other candidate. I thought it was worth sharing here, especially if you are an undecided voter. I rarely talk politics, but this is an important election and if anyone needs help making a decision, maybe this will help. With her permission, I'm posting this here.


Why I am voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin.

It was requested that we talk more about why we're voting FOR someone and not AGAINST someone.

To me, there are fundamentals that I have to consider when deciding who I want to be the leader of the free world. Those fundamentals are integrity, strength, honesty and a willingness to do what is right more than what is expected.

John McCain has always been a fighter. He's fought for his country, he's fought for his life and hs spent the last 30 years fighting for what he knows is right. He will fight for the freedom and security of this country because this country and the idea of freedom mean so much to him.

John McCain is not a "party guy" like his opponent and critics would like you to believe. They say he's more of President Bush. However, prior to being the Republican candidate for President, McCain was one of the favorite Senators of those in his opposing party. They've praised his willingness to buck his partywhen he disagrees with their position. (I have this on video). To be honest, I didn't trust John McCain's commitment to his party in the beginning of the primary process. I had a fear that he would get the nomination and then do something that would make the conservative voice in this country go mute (or have no ears to listen). But now I see that John McCain is someone who is convited, principled and authors and votes on legislation that fits those convictions. I may disagree with him on issues like immigration and how to handle the environment but I agree with how he will lead this nation.

If I had to choose my favorite John McCain moment (of course, pre-VP pick) of the year, it would be when he voted for the troop surge in Iraq. John McCain has fought in a war. He's been in command of troops. His father and grandfather were in command of fleets with tens of thousands of troops represented in those fleets. He knows the rules of war because he's been there. McCain knew the way that we could achieve victory in Iraq and also knew that his opinion and vote could ultimately cost him the chance to be President as the Independent voters might shy away from him. McCain's reponse, "I'd rather win a war and lose an election than lose a war." Defeat is no option for the United States and Iraq and John McCain was, once again, willing to sacrifice his personal battle for the sake of the right thing. His opponent, on the other hand, has yet to utter the word, "VICTORY" when referring to the war.

I applaud John McCain's position on life. Life is a gift. It is precious and he and Cindy McCain demonstrated that with the care and later adoption of their daughter. I believe that when you get to the core of a person's belief and watch how they live their life, you can track that core belief to so many other areas of their life. I do have to contrast McCain with his opponent on this one. And I cannot possibly leave out McCain's running mate when you talk about living your beliefs. Sarah Palin has demonstrated her commitment to life in two strong images. One is her son and the other is her daughter and her daughter's choice to not abort her child. What Sarah Palin has said regarding her son is that he is perfect in God's eyes and that he was a special gift sent by God to bless their lives. It wasn't how she planned things but she has publically thanked God for this unexpected gift. And her daughter's situation and decision demonstrates that the Palin family has a core belief that life is something given to us by our Creator. Contrary to that was Obama's statement to Planned Parenthood (which I will foward in a video if anyone wants). He said that he wouldn''t want his daughters to be "punished with a baby" if they made a poor choice leading to an unplanned pregnancy. He didn't say that he wanted his daughters to have a choice. He pointed to the idea that they would be punished if they ever choose to give birth or keep a child. Obama's own mother was an unwed teen mother. I guess he feels that he was a punishment to his mother...? I don't get it. The anti-life, anti-choice NARAL crowd is blasting Palin for "forcing her daughter to have this baby" because they have no regard for life. There is no choice to those in that camp. I place McCain's opponent squarely in that camp. He talks their talk when he's in their presence.

Now, I was a Rudy Giuliani supporter in the beginning. Rudy is pro-choice however he has made it clear where he stands, personally. His political opinion is based on access and law. When speaking he would use the term, "unexpected occurrence" or "unintended outcome" for an unplanned pregnancy. He never once referred to a baby as punishment. Rudy was so strong on all other issues that I worked this one personally.

The economy, taxes, healthcare, the environment, and all other issues find me pretty much in harmony with the McCain-Palin ticket. I will be attending a few events and if I have the chance to ask John McCain or Sarah Palin a question it will be about what they plan to do to combat the fraud in the Medicaid system. It is estimated that thirty-one percent (31%) of Medicaid costs are fraudulent in nature. THIRTY ONE PERCENT of one of the most expensive government programs is fraud!! The federal government has no place being in the healthcare industry and this is evidence to support that claim. If I could design a healthcare plan for families whose employer did not provide health insurance I would hand the responsibility to the states. Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus are options that work. Two of my family members have had experience with both (one still does) and finds it to be a well-managed and patient-centered program. CHP, however, is not Medicaid. CHP treats claims, requests for treatment and such the same way private health insurance does. They scrutinize, verify and then approve. Medicaid just approves. I remember that when I was being released from the hospital with (daughter). This hospital has a lot of Medicaid patients. If I disagreed with being released, I had to go and then attend a hearing to decide for readmission. Medicaid patients were instructed to "sign here if you believe that it is in your best interest to remain hospitalized. A hearing will take place within 12 hours but you are not required to leave the hospital." HUH? I was paying $1100 per month for insurance and I had to leave but the freebies could stay? Federal Health Insurance does not work. McCain has talked about putting the states in charge of healthcare for the uninsured. He hasn't gone as far as to say what I'd like to hear, "Eliminate Medicaid and instead use the federal dollars to fund the state's coverage." He has talked about tax credits (dollar for dollar credit) for paying for health insurance. That is actually free health insurance. You just have to be able to pay up-front and then get reimbursed at tax time.

As part of a family that pays both, I agree with McCain's position on personal and corporate taxes. More taxes to the government to "redistribute wealth" hurts economic growth. The government take in plenty of revenue from taxes. You don't need more. Do you realize that the top 1% pays 40% of all income taxes while the bottom 50% pays 2% of the total income tax dollars received?? Nobody talks about those numbers (well. they do but it is buried by the press). My sisteris a low-income individual. She makes $24,000 per year and is a single mother. She gets more money back each year than she pays. My other sister and her husband make a combined $48,000 per year. They have one son. (well, he's my sister's son). I inquired and they ended up netting at total of $120 paid to the federal government for taxes last year. Both of them own their own homes, neither drives expensive cars, one has cable while the other doesn't. And John McCain doesn't consider people who make up to $5M per year the middle class. If you watched that interview (I did) it was said in jest after McCain was attempting to calculate in his head how much Rick Warren made from his book sales. That claim is just plain stupid.

I agree more with Palin on the energy issue than McCain but McCain is coming around. He's understanding the wealth of our nation's natural resources muchmore fully because of his running mate. Sarah Palin knows what Alaska has to offer. She understands how we can generate a TON of energy supply by tappinginto Alaska's natural gas supply. She gets it and he's seeing the issue more clearly because of it.

I'm not going to go into each issue because, quite frankly, I have to get back to work. I'll just close with the fact that by adding Sarah Palin to the ticket, my vote is even more secure. She brings an element of change. She's not afraid to stand up to her opponents when doing the right thing is what matters. Her experience,in my opinion is the best experience of the four. When Lou Gertsner left American Express to head up RJR Nabisco and then IBM people kept asking what a travelguy knew about tobacco and cookies and then what he knew about computers and networks. You don't have to know the industry to be effective. You take the experience of leading teams, of tackling problems, of protecting your people and resources (in charge of Alaska National Guard and pipeline security both), and you kick it up a level. McCain, Obama and Biden have zero experience with managing people, departments, budgets, priorities from an executive position. SarahPalin has that experience and she has the demonstrated conviction to do what is right for the people she serves.
In the McCain/Palin ticket I see Do-ers. I see people standing up to the opposition or even their own party to accomplish what few others have accomplished. Isee results-oriented people who aren't poll-watchers. I see two people who are completely fit to lead this nation.
My neighbor, a newly retired union trucker (Teamster) has echoed a claim I've heard before. "The Democrats used to represent the working guy. All they seem to care about these days is the non-working guy." JFK is turning in his grave because the statement now of the party seems to be, "Ask not what you can do for your country but rather what your country can and should do for you." I cannot support a continuation of the entitlement mentality.

There you have it. Yes, I had to take time to make contrasts where appropriate. (Heck, ask Obama or Biden to make a speech and not use the word, "BUSH." They can't and no one has told them that Bush isn't running...).

I hope this doesn't show up with funny symbols. I typed it in Notepad because MSN's windows wouldn't have survived the 6 hours I've been working on this thing.

Thanks for reading!