When did being liberal become bad?

I am a liberal.  There is nothing wrong with being liberal.  Conservatives in recent years have done a very very good job of demonizing the word liberal.  If they or anyone who thinks being liberal is bad would stop to take a look at history, they would find that liberals have been great for America.

Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created social security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed every one of those programs.

President Abraham Lincoln was a liberal.  A liberal Republican! President Wilson was a liberal, F.D.R. was a liberal.  These three men make up what I consider to be the liberal trinity of our nations greatest leaders excluding the founding fathers, who were liberal too.

It burns me up that I cannot say that I am liberal without some Republican bashing and biting my head off.  People should stop to think before they speak.

Young America

Many of you know that I have been campaigning quite a lot lately.  Well out on the campaign trail I have seen very few young people, ages 18-25.  This isn’t acceptable.  We finally have a candidate who speaks to our issues and the issues of everyone.  Really I don’t care who you vote for just as long as you make an informed vote.  I respect everyones right to have their own opinion. 

There are real issues facing young Americans.  I know it is fun to party and be young but you have a civic responsibility to pay attention to things what WILL affect you now and later in life.  There are so many things that are being debated today that will for the most part affect our demographic.

So I am writing this post today to plead that young people, register to vote, make informed choices and actively participate in the government. 

There is a line from one of my favorite movies, All the King’s Men, that I love: “If you don’t vote, You don’t matter!”

Dr. Jeff Scott

Three months ago I was not very involved in politics, yes, I kept up with the news but I wasn’t actively participating like I once did.  I got burnt out and took about a year off from it.  Then I met Dr. Jeff Scott.  He along with one of my professors inspired me and convinced me to get involved again.  So I did, and today I volunteer in several campaigns.

I want to take this post to mention Jeff.  Jeff Scott is running as a democrat in the Georgia 9th congressional district against incumbent Nathan Deal.  I believe Jeff is a very special candidate and has a real chance to win in a district that Congressman Deal has had since 1994.  The national party has pretty much written off this district but, with Jeff, we have a real chance.  The past two weeks have been very special and more and more people are supporting him.  I plan on working as hard as I can and will not rest until I see CNN reporting on one of the biggest upsets in recent history.

If you want to learn more about Jeff or want to contribute, visit his site: www.electjeffscott.com

If you are a fan of facebook, check him out here : 
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1121880134#/pages/Jeff-Scott/17954347481?ref=mf

Experience to be President

Two of our nation’s greatest wartime leaders, Lincoln and FDR, had no military experience prior to becoming president.  In fact some our nation’s worst leaders had illustrious military careers.  So this notion that military experience breeds a great president is crazy. 

Experience, while helpful is not necessary. Twenty five years in congress does not make someone ready to be president.  Lincoln, had only two years experience in the house and a failed senate run before he became president.  Experience is not what matters, what matters is judgement.

While I admire McCain’s service I do not think it makes him any more qualified to be President of the United States of America.

Wesley Clark is my Hero!

Finally someone is coming out and saying that John McCain’s experience as a fighter pilot and a prisoner of war, while admirable and worthy of praise, does not make him automatically a great commander-in-chief!

Wesley Clark, someone whose credentials in the military cannot be questioned, is the one who is doing it.  And I think it it great and about time. 

While John McCain did serve in the military he has never made an executive decision regarding the military.  For him to claim his military service as a perfect segway into the role of commander-in-chief is crazy.

Obamacons about to shake up McCain

I found this article very interesting.

 

The Obamacons Who Worry McCain

By Robert D. Novak
Thursday, June 26, 2008; A19

 

What is an “Obamacon?” The phrase surfaced in January to describe British conservatives entranced by Barack Obama. On March 13 the American Spectator broadened the term to cover all “conservative supporters” of the Democratic presidential candidate. Their ranks, though growing, feature few famous people. But looming on the horizon are two big potential Obamacons: Colin Powell and Chuck Hagel.

Neither Powell, first-term secretary of state for George W. Bush, nor Hagel, retiring after two terms as a U.S. senator from Nebraska, has endorsed Obama. Hagel probably never will. Powell probably will enter Obama’s camp at a time of his own choosing. The best bet is that neither of the two, both of whom supported President Bush in 2000 and 2004, will back John McCain in 2008.

Powell, Hagel and lesser-known Obamacons harbor no animosity toward McCain. Nor do they show much affection for the rigidly liberal Obama. The Obamacon syndrome is based on hostility to Bush and his administration and on revulsion over today’s Republican Party. The danger for McCain is that desire for a therapeutic electoral bloodbath could get out of control.

That danger was highlighted in a June New Republic article on “The rise of the Obamacons” by supply-side economist Bruce Bartlett, who was a middle-level official in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. He expressed “disgust with a Republican Party that still does not see how badly George W. Bush has misgoverned this country” — echoing his scathing 2006 book, “Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy.” While Bartlett says “I’m not ready to join the other side,” his anti-Bush furor characterizes the Obamacons.

The prototypal Obamacon may be Larry Hunter, recognized inside the Beltway as an ardent supply-sider. When it became known recently that Hunter supports Obama, fellow conservatives were stunned. Hunter was fired as U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief economist in 1993 when he would not swallow Clinton administration policy, and he later joined Jack Kemp at Empower America (ghostwriting Kemp’s column). Explaining his support for the uncompromisingly liberal Obama, Hunter blogged on June 6: “The Republican Party is a dead rotting carcass with a few decrepit old leaders stumbling around like zombies in a horror version of ‘Weekend With Bernie,’ handcuffed to a corpse.”

While he never would use such language, Colin Powell is said by friends to share Hunter’s analysis of the GOP. His tenuous 13-year relationship with the Republican Party, following his retirement from the Army, has ended. The national security adviser for Ronald Reagan left the present administration bitter about being ushered out of the State Department a year earlier than he wanted. As an African American, friends say, Powell is sensitive to racial attacks on Obama and especially on Obama’s wife, Michelle. While McCain strategists shrug off defections from Bruce Bartlett and Larry Hunter, they wince in anticipating headlines generated by Powell’s expected endorsement of Obama.

While Powell may not be a legitimate Obamacon because he never was much of a conservative, that cannot be said for his close Senate friend Hagel. He has built a solidly conservative record as a senator, but mutual friends see no difference between him and the general on Iraq, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, George W. Bush and the Republican Party. In a speech today at the Brookings Institution, Hagel is expected to urge Obama and McCain to reach out to each other. At the least, Hagel is not ready to strap on armor for his longtime political ally and office neighbor, John McCain.

Reports listing additional Obamacons do not add up to tides of conservative Republicans leaving their party. Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker is a Democrat who entered government in the Kennedy administration. Conservative commentator Armstrong Williams (an African American) leads me to believe that he has no intention of endorsing Obama. Conservative author Richard J. Whalen is for Obama because he sees a dead Republican Party, but he also was for John Kerry in 2004.

Nevertheless, Obamacons — little and big — are reason for concern by McCain. They also should cause soul-searching at the Bush White House about who made the Republican Party so difficult a place for Republicans to stay.

© 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc.

Recent Supreme Court Decisions

Today the U.S. Supreme court handed down a 5-4 decision to overturn a Washington D.C. ban on guns.  Oddly I, being in favor of gun control, agree with this decision. The District’s ban was the strictest in the nation and went to far, the court rightfully struck it down.

Many legal scholars hold this as a blow to gun control across the nation,  I don’t.  As long as a ban isn’t as strict as this one was, bans can still be enforced.  My form of gun control bans assault weapons.  NO ONE needs an AK-47.  Not hunters and certainly not Joe Somebody to protect his house, A simple handgun will do for that.

Furthermore I think there should be more restrictions on ammunition.  If a man buy 4000 bullets and isn’t in the military, odds are he belongs to a waco type group or he is up to something. 

This decision is the second rattling decision the court has handed down, the first being the due process rights for military detainees.

I do not agree with the court in that issue, I strongly disagree actually. Military detainees should not be tried or have access to U.S. courts because in addition to clogging and already clogged system they are not going to get a fair trial in U.S. courts either. I understand the legal reasoning behind the case I just don’t agree with it.  I’m not sure what the solution is though.  It is wrong for the military to detain them for seven years without a trial but a military tribunal isn’t likely to be very fair.  Any trial they have must have an independent jury without national interest at stake.

Hopefully these will be the last rattling decisions the court throws down for a while i.e. Roe v. Wade.

Joe Biden for VP

Before VP screener for the Obama campaign Jim Johnson resigned, a name at the top of his list had to be Deleware Senator Joe Biden.  Biden is a 65 year-old six term senator on the foreign relations comittee.  Biden would provide Obama with the much needed experience he needs on the ticket, particulary in foreign policy.

During the primary, I was very impressed with Biden, not his campaigning skills or his charisma, but his intelligence.  He struck me as far and above the smartest candidate.  He also stuck me as a very skilled debator.  The one downside with picking Biden is adding another liberal to an already liberal ticket, not to mention he is not the best campaigner in the world.  He tends to talk to much. 

He is certainly on my short list of VP candidates for the democratic ticket. 

Introduction

It was at a political march I was a leader in.

Hello everyone! 

I thought I would take my first post to let everyone know a little about myself.  My name is Elliott Pierce.  I am 19 years old.  I am a political science student at UTC.  I am very opinionated (hence the blog).  I like to think I am open-minded.  Some might call me liberal and indeed many of my opinions will fall under that umbrella, but I don’t make my opinions based on what the liberal talking points may be.  I am very politically active not only on the local level but also on the national level.  In addition to my work in politics, I also serve on the board of directors at a local healthcare center.  Finally, I am a supporter of Barack Obama. 

Over time I am sure I will say many things that many people will not agree with.  I try to base my opinions on facts though.  If you disagree with me that is perfectly fine, I love to debate.  That is why I started this blog, not only as an outlet for my opinions but also as a form of debate.  If I post something that may be factually incorrect please feel free to correct it. 

I hope everyone will be leaving comments on all of my posts.