So after the debate last night, I was talking with a friend and we both agreed that neither candidate really gave any specific details on what their plans are for the next four years. Neither candidate really answered any question straight-forward. But that is a politician's way, right? But it got me thinking, what would the ideal campaign look like? Well, let me tell you what I think:
I go back and forth on the amount of money that is spent on campaigns. On one hand, it is a ridiculous amount of money. There was one quote I saw on twitter that read: "Almost a billion dollars have been spent on campaign ads so far. It's a good thing our schools & roads are in great shape or I'd be mad." Which is true. I'm sure there are far better ways to be spending this money. On the other hand, the money that is spent on those campaigns and on the ads, do help with those businesses and gives them a boost. Maybe we need to find a happy middle ground. Maybe there should be a limit on how much money a campaign can spend. At least then, the campaigns would be on a more level ground with each other.
I also think there should be no Political Action Committees (PACs). Or if these need to exist, there need to be more rules and regulations in place so that these make sense. This seems simple enough, right?
Next, I believe there should be no negative campaign ads. What's the point? It's dirty, messy and most of the time full of lying. Can you imagine what campaign ads would be like if you couldn't be negative to the other candidate? What a nice change and a refreshing thought! Candidates should only be able to talk about themselves, their records and their plans in their campaign ads. That way everyone gets the same message with hopefully more truth than the negative ads. Don't tell me what's wrong with the other candidate - tell me why I should vote for you. What you have done. What you want to do. That's how I want to make my political decisions.
Which leads me to the next point: candidates should not be allowed to promise anything. Yup. No promises. Tell me what you've already accomplished. Tell me what you HOPE to get done during your term. Tell me how you plan to get those things that you want accomplished.
Because here's the thing. The President is only one man (and hopefully someday a woman!). He can only do so much by himself. That's the beauty of our country, no one man has the full power. He must be doing things by the law of the constitution and most things he wants to get done, he'll need the help of Congress. So its unrealistic to even make promises because you're going to run into roadblocks along the way. But tell us how you plan to get things accomplished. Tell me how you plan to work with a bipartisan Congress. I would much rather have a president that has told me what he wants to accomplish and how he's trying rather than a president that makes empty promises on a campaign trail that he has no way of getting done.
Plus, empty promises are something that people are going to come back and attack you on those promises. Something that's happening with President Obama right now. He promised to cut the deficit by half in his first term and he wasn't able to accomplish that. And now Republicans are attacking him on it. And fairly so. But he had said, I want to try to cut the deficit... and failed, he might not be getting as much backlash.
The other thing that bothers me on this point is that people only point on the promises that Obama has failed at. He has been able to keep many of his promises and has gotten a lot accomplished during his first term. Don't believe me? Check out this website. He has kept about 38% of his promises versus the 17% of promises broken. Not too shabby.
Well there you have it. My ideal campaign. I would have put something in there about not allowing politicians to lie about things... but let's be honest. Would that ever happen? I mean, I don't want to put the fact-checkers out of work!
So, think I'm living in a fantasy land? Well hey, a girl can dream, right?
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Debates & Such
Yeah, so it's been a while. I've been a little busy... But I have been paying attention to the election. It's been hard not to. :)
The first debate was a couple of weeks ago. It was out in Denver, Colorado at the University of Denver. As fate had it, I was out in Denver for the debate night for a conference! Unfortunately, the debate wasn't open the public so I couldn't even try to go. It was a strange feeling to watch the debate knowing it was taking place literally just down the road! :) I also watched the debate at a pub full of people - the first time I've ever done something like that. And it was surprisingly quiet, so I could actually hear the debate! And not a lot of crowd reaction either, that was a little bit surprising.
For the debate itself: Mitt was rehearsed. He had his bullet points and he hit them hard. I give him credit that he was well-prepared. Doesn't change the fact I didn't like or agree with what he was saying... President Obama was disappointingly distant. He wasn't nearly as active as he should have been and wasn't make very clear points. However, none of this changed my mind on either candidate.
Last week, we had the Vice President Debates. If I'm going to completely honest here, when Romney first announced Paul Ryan has his running mate and after listening to him at the RNC (not that I agreed with him on ANYTHING!), I thought he would do much better in the VP debate than Biden. However, I was proven wrong! And thank goodness! Now, I will admit that there were times when I thought Biden was being a little bit of a ... prick. A lot of laughing and smirking. I read on facebook that someone thought he was laughing because he was scared, scared of what would happen under a Romney/Ryan administration! Ha! But after every laugh or smirk from Biden, he followed up with the hard cold facts! He was fact-checking on the spot and knocking Ryan down! It was an entertaining debate, at the very least!
Tonight was the second Presidential debate and I feel like it's been far more entertaining than the first one. This debate is also a town hall setting which is always more interesting. There were a couple times where I thought a fist fight was going to break out! Both men showed up to this debate but definitely President Obama. He was energetic and lively and was hitting some good points. He probably could have done better and really fired back at Romney on some of the things he said, but maybe next time. Romney on the other hand, wasn't as well prepared as last time, at least in my opinion. He said some things that will definitely be held against him in the future.
For me, I think President Obama definitely won this debate.
Another thing I just want to mention is that it's been really hard for me not to comment on some people's statuses on facebook and such. I'm all about having an open mind and allowing everyone to have their own opinion. What I don't like is people who are posting things and have no idea what they're talking about or nothing to back up what they're saying. This is frustrating. If you're going to have an opinion, do the research to back it up first.
And finally, the marriage amendment in Minnesota. I've been reading and seeing a lot of different things for this and I'm very nervous for my home state. I'm worried that Minnesotans are going to vote yes on this. I'm worried it's going to pass. And this is not okay. I don't care what your personal thoughts on gay marriages are, it is not our place to judge them and deny them their basic human rights! I have NEVER heard a logical argument for why someone is against gay marriage. If it's against your beliefs - that's fine! No one is forcing you to have a gay marriage! A gay marriage is not going to affect you or your marriage in any way! If you think you have a logical argument against gay marriage, I'd love to hear it. If not, vote no. It's that simple. This is a very personal issue for me and one I feel very strongly about. I pray that the people in Minnesota do the right thing and show the rest of the nation their "Minnesota Nice".
Well, that's about it for now! I did already send in my ballot so I've officially voted! It's actually pretty ironic... I was scheduling my high school visits and I was trying to make sure I scheduled some fairly close to home on election day so that I would have time to come back and vote. That SAME night, a volunteer showed up at our door and asked if we wanted to sign up for early voting! Yes, please! So we got our ballots sent to us and we have both sent them back. I feel confident in my vote and I look forward to Election Night! :)
The first debate was a couple of weeks ago. It was out in Denver, Colorado at the University of Denver. As fate had it, I was out in Denver for the debate night for a conference! Unfortunately, the debate wasn't open the public so I couldn't even try to go. It was a strange feeling to watch the debate knowing it was taking place literally just down the road! :) I also watched the debate at a pub full of people - the first time I've ever done something like that. And it was surprisingly quiet, so I could actually hear the debate! And not a lot of crowd reaction either, that was a little bit surprising.
For the debate itself: Mitt was rehearsed. He had his bullet points and he hit them hard. I give him credit that he was well-prepared. Doesn't change the fact I didn't like or agree with what he was saying... President Obama was disappointingly distant. He wasn't nearly as active as he should have been and wasn't make very clear points. However, none of this changed my mind on either candidate.
Last week, we had the Vice President Debates. If I'm going to completely honest here, when Romney first announced Paul Ryan has his running mate and after listening to him at the RNC (not that I agreed with him on ANYTHING!), I thought he would do much better in the VP debate than Biden. However, I was proven wrong! And thank goodness! Now, I will admit that there were times when I thought Biden was being a little bit of a ... prick. A lot of laughing and smirking. I read on facebook that someone thought he was laughing because he was scared, scared of what would happen under a Romney/Ryan administration! Ha! But after every laugh or smirk from Biden, he followed up with the hard cold facts! He was fact-checking on the spot and knocking Ryan down! It was an entertaining debate, at the very least!
Tonight was the second Presidential debate and I feel like it's been far more entertaining than the first one. This debate is also a town hall setting which is always more interesting. There were a couple times where I thought a fist fight was going to break out! Both men showed up to this debate but definitely President Obama. He was energetic and lively and was hitting some good points. He probably could have done better and really fired back at Romney on some of the things he said, but maybe next time. Romney on the other hand, wasn't as well prepared as last time, at least in my opinion. He said some things that will definitely be held against him in the future.
For me, I think President Obama definitely won this debate.
Another thing I just want to mention is that it's been really hard for me not to comment on some people's statuses on facebook and such. I'm all about having an open mind and allowing everyone to have their own opinion. What I don't like is people who are posting things and have no idea what they're talking about or nothing to back up what they're saying. This is frustrating. If you're going to have an opinion, do the research to back it up first.
And finally, the marriage amendment in Minnesota. I've been reading and seeing a lot of different things for this and I'm very nervous for my home state. I'm worried that Minnesotans are going to vote yes on this. I'm worried it's going to pass. And this is not okay. I don't care what your personal thoughts on gay marriages are, it is not our place to judge them and deny them their basic human rights! I have NEVER heard a logical argument for why someone is against gay marriage. If it's against your beliefs - that's fine! No one is forcing you to have a gay marriage! A gay marriage is not going to affect you or your marriage in any way! If you think you have a logical argument against gay marriage, I'd love to hear it. If not, vote no. It's that simple. This is a very personal issue for me and one I feel very strongly about. I pray that the people in Minnesota do the right thing and show the rest of the nation their "Minnesota Nice".
Well, that's about it for now! I did already send in my ballot so I've officially voted! It's actually pretty ironic... I was scheduling my high school visits and I was trying to make sure I scheduled some fairly close to home on election day so that I would have time to come back and vote. That SAME night, a volunteer showed up at our door and asked if we wanted to sign up for early voting! Yes, please! So we got our ballots sent to us and we have both sent them back. I feel confident in my vote and I look forward to Election Night! :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Conventions
Alright, so I'm way behind on posting here. Not really sure why but now is as good as time as any to start up again! Because as we all know - it's convention time!
Last week was the Republican National Convention where Romney accepted the nomination and officially became the Republican candidate for president. His running mate, Paul Ryan, also accepted his nomination.
So to start off, this Paul Ryan character. Let's just say I'm not a huge fan of anyone who wants to take my rights as a woman away so I'm definitely not a Ryan fan. But I will say that he is a pretty good looking fella but he reminds me a lot of Will Schuester from Glee and during his speech I kept thinking, "When's he going to break out in song?" The other take away from Ryan's speech is just how untruthful it was. Even Fox News was talking about the lies that were told. And that is just not okay. I mean sure, every politician at some point has probably told a lie or exaggerated the truth or something like that during a speech but that doesn't make it okay for anyone. Especially not as much as Ryan did.
Mitt Romney's speech was nothing too special. I don't think he really had any flaws or anything that struck out as extraordinary either. But listening to his speech, I personally just can't understand why anyone would want to be a Republican. :) I'm kidding. Sort of. I just don't understand how anyone can benefit from being a Republican unless you're a millionaire and let's be honest, most of us aren't.
Another thing I want to mention is this clip from the Daily Show. Basically it's about how the Republican platform is against abortions in all situations. But Mitt, their candidate, doesn't agree with the platform. So the question is asked, how can you support your candidate if he doesn't support your platform? And their answers? "This is America. Everyone has a choice. They can do what they want." Ah yes. Except in the cases of abortion.
There's been a lot of talk about abortion in the news lately. It seems a lot of states are waging a war against women's rights. Funny enough, most of the people behind these laws are men. And some of the things people are saying are just outrageous. But here is a picture that was posted to Facebook that I really think puts things into perspective. Just something to compare it with...
You might not agree with abortion and that's fine. That's your personal choice. But it should be not be any other person's choice than the woman who has to decide if that's something she wants or not.
Alright, now on to the Democratic National Convention which started last night. The main speaker of last night was Michelle Obama and she did a fantastic job. It completed delivered and got people real excited for the rest of the convention. She talked about the type of person Obama is, how he was raised, the struggles they both grew up with and the struggles of being in love, married and in debt from student loans. She talked about family, healthcare and hard work. She hit a lot of great points. It's really hard not to like Michelle Obama. :)
It will be interested to see President Obama speak later this week. His speech four years ago was one for the history books. And it was a speech I was lucky enough to be in attendance for. He really got everyone excited and he will have to do it again. And it's probably not going to be as easy.
Finally, I just wanted to put a plug in for this website my brother introduced me too. It's pretty funny. http://stfuconservatives.net/ Check it out when you have time. :)
Last week was the Republican National Convention where Romney accepted the nomination and officially became the Republican candidate for president. His running mate, Paul Ryan, also accepted his nomination.
So to start off, this Paul Ryan character. Let's just say I'm not a huge fan of anyone who wants to take my rights as a woman away so I'm definitely not a Ryan fan. But I will say that he is a pretty good looking fella but he reminds me a lot of Will Schuester from Glee and during his speech I kept thinking, "When's he going to break out in song?" The other take away from Ryan's speech is just how untruthful it was. Even Fox News was talking about the lies that were told. And that is just not okay. I mean sure, every politician at some point has probably told a lie or exaggerated the truth or something like that during a speech but that doesn't make it okay for anyone. Especially not as much as Ryan did.
Mitt Romney's speech was nothing too special. I don't think he really had any flaws or anything that struck out as extraordinary either. But listening to his speech, I personally just can't understand why anyone would want to be a Republican. :) I'm kidding. Sort of. I just don't understand how anyone can benefit from being a Republican unless you're a millionaire and let's be honest, most of us aren't.
Another thing I want to mention is this clip from the Daily Show. Basically it's about how the Republican platform is against abortions in all situations. But Mitt, their candidate, doesn't agree with the platform. So the question is asked, how can you support your candidate if he doesn't support your platform? And their answers? "This is America. Everyone has a choice. They can do what they want." Ah yes. Except in the cases of abortion.
There's been a lot of talk about abortion in the news lately. It seems a lot of states are waging a war against women's rights. Funny enough, most of the people behind these laws are men. And some of the things people are saying are just outrageous. But here is a picture that was posted to Facebook that I really think puts things into perspective. Just something to compare it with...
You might not agree with abortion and that's fine. That's your personal choice. But it should be not be any other person's choice than the woman who has to decide if that's something she wants or not.
Alright, now on to the Democratic National Convention which started last night. The main speaker of last night was Michelle Obama and she did a fantastic job. It completed delivered and got people real excited for the rest of the convention. She talked about the type of person Obama is, how he was raised, the struggles they both grew up with and the struggles of being in love, married and in debt from student loans. She talked about family, healthcare and hard work. She hit a lot of great points. It's really hard not to like Michelle Obama. :)
It will be interested to see President Obama speak later this week. His speech four years ago was one for the history books. And it was a speech I was lucky enough to be in attendance for. He really got everyone excited and he will have to do it again. And it's probably not going to be as easy.
Finally, I just wanted to put a plug in for this website my brother introduced me too. It's pretty funny. http://stfuconservatives.net/ Check it out when you have time. :)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Getting closer to November!
I know, it's been a very long time since I've posted anything on this blog. But let's be honest... has the election really been that exciting so far? Let's recap what's happened. Santorum dropped out.Gingrich dropped out. Paul I think is still hanging in there but won't be the Republican nomination. Which means Romney is left standing. Which also proves that you can buy an election. I mean really, does anyone really like Romney? He's really not the GOP's first choice. But there's no one else. And so the next question is who will be his running mate? I'm not sure anyone really wants the job... So here we are until the Republican convention this summer.
President Obama has already started his campaigning as well for the election. And while there hasn't been too much to say in this area, there was one major event that just happened recently that needs to be discussed.
President Obama came out in full support of same-sex marriages!!!
This is huge!! There was some talk about why this was such a huge deal though. Yes, it is true that Obama did have some support in the area before, but he was more in support of the idea of civil unions. The statement he gave recently stated, "I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."
The reason, I believe, that this is so big is because this kind of support has never come from such a high office, like the President's. And since his announcement of support, many other powerful political figures have also expressed their support for this issue.
Let's hope this is a huge step in the right direction for equal rights for all! Thank you, Mr. President.
President Obama has already started his campaigning as well for the election. And while there hasn't been too much to say in this area, there was one major event that just happened recently that needs to be discussed.
President Obama came out in full support of same-sex marriages!!!
This is huge!! There was some talk about why this was such a huge deal though. Yes, it is true that Obama did have some support in the area before, but he was more in support of the idea of civil unions. The statement he gave recently stated, "I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."
The reason, I believe, that this is so big is because this kind of support has never come from such a high office, like the President's. And since his announcement of support, many other powerful political figures have also expressed their support for this issue.
Let's hope this is a huge step in the right direction for equal rights for all! Thank you, Mr. President.
First in the Nation Photo Book
I've put together this photo book to share my experience in the First in the Nation project at Wartburg College.
(PS I'm not sure why a picture isn't appearing, but if you click the link to view the book larger, you should be able to see it there!)
(PS I'm not sure why a picture isn't appearing, but if you click the link to view the book larger, you should be able to see it there!)
You'll love award-winning Shutterfly photo books. Start your own today.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Perhaps a little bit of a rant...?
I know, I know. I've been way behind on this blog when it comes to all the events that have happened since my last post. We've had quite a few primaries/caucuses and a lot of other things I have comments on as well. :)
Last month, after the Iowa Caucuses, we had primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. I won't go into too much detail about these but what I found interesting was that each state picked a different winner. It came back that Santorum had actually won Iowa (after lost votes were counted). Romney took New Hampshire and Gingrich took South Carolina. So for the first three events, there were three different winners. Romney then took Florida as well. At that point, it seemed like the GOP couldn't yet agree on who should run against Obama. Perry and Huntsman had of course dropped out of the race after poor showings.
February has already seen four votes as well. Romney took Nevada first (a strong Mormon showing). And then in a little bit of a surprise, Santorum swept the board most recently with three wins in a single night in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. Again, all this shows me is that there's really no strong consensus in the GOP.
There are also things I just want to say about each candidate. I honestly try to keep an open mind about things and I feel like I stay informed. But I just can't agree with some of the things these Republican candidates are saying and I can't understand why everyone doesn't just agree with me?! :) Kidding. (Sorta!) haha Anyway, so I'm going to just take a little big of time writing out some of the things that I have opinions on. Because this is my blog so I have that right.
Romney: Really, probably the most "liberal" conservative in the race but he's playing up that he's not liberal. But if you look at this record, you'll see otherwise. I feel like he's only had a lot of wins because he's the least hated out of all the candidates. But that's just me. One thing I really can't stand about Romney is the fact that he pays a lower tax rate than the average American. I understand that a lot of his money comes from investments or whatever and that he's following all the right laws, but how is this okay? The fact that his housekeeper probably pays a tax rate at 35% and Romney only pays 15%? Granted, I don't know a lot about tax rates and whatnot, but why can't everyone pay a flat rate? We all work hard for our money and the rate deserves to be fair. This needs to change. If anything, I'm glad he's running because it has really brought this issue into light and I really hope it can change.
Gingrich: I think he's a little crazy. I mean, a moon colony? Really? I think there are more important things to try and accomplish before sending people to live on the moon. But hey, that's just me. I also feel like he's just out of touch on a lot of issues. But the biggest thing I want to say about Gingrich is this: I'm personally torn on how much one's personal life should affect their run for office. I can see the arguments both ways. And normally, I'm not sure I would have a problem with Gingrich and his three wives. I don't know what happened in those marriages and I don't think it's any of my business. But what I do have a problem with, is Gingrich going on and on about the "sanctity of marriage", "traditional marriage" and how gays shouldn't be allowed to marry. Not cool. If anything is destroying traditional marriages, it's divorces, and Gingrich knows all about those.
Santorum: Well frankly, there are a lot of things I don't like about Santorum. I feel that he is a radical conservative with a lot of radical ideas. Again, I go back to my point about how Republicans are all about not wanting a big government and to get the government out of our lives, but they have no problem pushing their religion at everyone. How is that not hypocritical? I believe that Santorum does this. He's also told people that kids are better off with a dad in prison than with two moms or that people born with cancer and thus a "pre-exisiting condition" are on there own when it comes to health care. I just can't agree with what he says and I honestly don't understand anyone who does. He is pushing his religious morals on to the American people - which is not okay.
And a couple of other events... I thought it was pretty crazy when the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to pull their funds from Planned Parenthood. For an organization trying to find a cure to fight breast cancer, it makes sense to not support another organization that provides thousands of free breast exams to women every year. I was glad when they reversed their decision but now they have a PR nightmare on their hands.
Another is the issue about birth control, which is getting a lot of press and I don't understand why. President Obama has made it so that women should get provided free birth control by their employers - this means everyone. But the Catholic Church has made a big fuss about it because they don't believe in birth control. The Republicans have of course started to claim that the President has waged war against religion - which is so not the case. He's not saying that every women needs to be on birth control. He's simply stating that all women should have the opportunity to receive free birth control from their employers. There are so many women that maybe work at a Catholic institution but aren't Catholic - why shouldn't they receive the benefits of everyone else? And why is anyone arguing against free birth control? Aren't the Republicans the ones that are so against abortions? You know, if more people had access to free birth control, I'd bet there would be fewer abortions. I'm just saying.
And of course, perhaps some of the most exciting news lately - Prop 8 in California was official overturned and has been ruled unconstitutional! This is a huge victory but there is still a long ways to go. People need to understand that marriage in the governments' eyes has nothing to do with religion or belief. It's about the benefits that all married couples should get. I was really excited to hear this and I hope this great momentum keeps going!
Most of this post was a rant and I apologize for that. I get a little frustrated sometimes. :) But if you have any different opinions from mine, I would honestly love to hear them. I'm always open for some good conversation and maybe a little debate. :)
Last month, after the Iowa Caucuses, we had primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. I won't go into too much detail about these but what I found interesting was that each state picked a different winner. It came back that Santorum had actually won Iowa (after lost votes were counted). Romney took New Hampshire and Gingrich took South Carolina. So for the first three events, there were three different winners. Romney then took Florida as well. At that point, it seemed like the GOP couldn't yet agree on who should run against Obama. Perry and Huntsman had of course dropped out of the race after poor showings.
February has already seen four votes as well. Romney took Nevada first (a strong Mormon showing). And then in a little bit of a surprise, Santorum swept the board most recently with three wins in a single night in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. Again, all this shows me is that there's really no strong consensus in the GOP.
There are also things I just want to say about each candidate. I honestly try to keep an open mind about things and I feel like I stay informed. But I just can't agree with some of the things these Republican candidates are saying and I can't understand why everyone doesn't just agree with me?! :) Kidding. (Sorta!) haha Anyway, so I'm going to just take a little big of time writing out some of the things that I have opinions on. Because this is my blog so I have that right.
Romney: Really, probably the most "liberal" conservative in the race but he's playing up that he's not liberal. But if you look at this record, you'll see otherwise. I feel like he's only had a lot of wins because he's the least hated out of all the candidates. But that's just me. One thing I really can't stand about Romney is the fact that he pays a lower tax rate than the average American. I understand that a lot of his money comes from investments or whatever and that he's following all the right laws, but how is this okay? The fact that his housekeeper probably pays a tax rate at 35% and Romney only pays 15%? Granted, I don't know a lot about tax rates and whatnot, but why can't everyone pay a flat rate? We all work hard for our money and the rate deserves to be fair. This needs to change. If anything, I'm glad he's running because it has really brought this issue into light and I really hope it can change.
Gingrich: I think he's a little crazy. I mean, a moon colony? Really? I think there are more important things to try and accomplish before sending people to live on the moon. But hey, that's just me. I also feel like he's just out of touch on a lot of issues. But the biggest thing I want to say about Gingrich is this: I'm personally torn on how much one's personal life should affect their run for office. I can see the arguments both ways. And normally, I'm not sure I would have a problem with Gingrich and his three wives. I don't know what happened in those marriages and I don't think it's any of my business. But what I do have a problem with, is Gingrich going on and on about the "sanctity of marriage", "traditional marriage" and how gays shouldn't be allowed to marry. Not cool. If anything is destroying traditional marriages, it's divorces, and Gingrich knows all about those.
Santorum: Well frankly, there are a lot of things I don't like about Santorum. I feel that he is a radical conservative with a lot of radical ideas. Again, I go back to my point about how Republicans are all about not wanting a big government and to get the government out of our lives, but they have no problem pushing their religion at everyone. How is that not hypocritical? I believe that Santorum does this. He's also told people that kids are better off with a dad in prison than with two moms or that people born with cancer and thus a "pre-exisiting condition" are on there own when it comes to health care. I just can't agree with what he says and I honestly don't understand anyone who does. He is pushing his religious morals on to the American people - which is not okay.
And a couple of other events... I thought it was pretty crazy when the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to pull their funds from Planned Parenthood. For an organization trying to find a cure to fight breast cancer, it makes sense to not support another organization that provides thousands of free breast exams to women every year. I was glad when they reversed their decision but now they have a PR nightmare on their hands.
Another is the issue about birth control, which is getting a lot of press and I don't understand why. President Obama has made it so that women should get provided free birth control by their employers - this means everyone. But the Catholic Church has made a big fuss about it because they don't believe in birth control. The Republicans have of course started to claim that the President has waged war against religion - which is so not the case. He's not saying that every women needs to be on birth control. He's simply stating that all women should have the opportunity to receive free birth control from their employers. There are so many women that maybe work at a Catholic institution but aren't Catholic - why shouldn't they receive the benefits of everyone else? And why is anyone arguing against free birth control? Aren't the Republicans the ones that are so against abortions? You know, if more people had access to free birth control, I'd bet there would be fewer abortions. I'm just saying.
And of course, perhaps some of the most exciting news lately - Prop 8 in California was official overturned and has been ruled unconstitutional! This is a huge victory but there is still a long ways to go. People need to understand that marriage in the governments' eyes has nothing to do with religion or belief. It's about the benefits that all married couples should get. I was really excited to hear this and I hope this great momentum keeps going!
Most of this post was a rant and I apologize for that. I get a little frustrated sometimes. :) But if you have any different opinions from mine, I would honestly love to hear them. I'm always open for some good conversation and maybe a little debate. :)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Gay Marriage
I've talked about this issues many times before, but it was that is very personal to me. No, I'm not a closeted gay, but I know a lot of people that are gay - many who are close to my heart. And this post isn't just about gay marriage, but just being accepting of people who are gay. But let's start with the gay marriage thing.
I ran across this picture the other day. It takes a shot at explaining gay marriage. And I think it does a pretty darn good job. It's simple to understand. And it's completely true. I would like to try and see someone argue against this. Here it is.
I ran across this picture the other day. It takes a shot at explaining gay marriage. And I think it does a pretty darn good job. It's simple to understand. And it's completely true. I would like to try and see someone argue against this. Here it is.
How simple is this to understand? The church isn't involved in anyway when it comes to being recognized by the government and being allowed those benefits as a married couple. I don't care if your personal beliefs think that gay marriage is wrong. That's not really for any of us to decide anyway - it's God who is the ultimate judge. (I personally belief that God doesn't judge gays and that He created everyone just the way they are - gay or straight) But again - you can believe whatever you want. And I think it's up to each church to determine what they believe and churches are doing that. But when it comes to the government, there should be NO question. Gay couples are being denied rights they deserve. And that is unconstitutional. And sad. How is it, in a great country like America, not everyone has the same rights? Can you argue against that? I didn't think so.
Not only do gays not get to marry the person they love and be denied rights and benefits they deserve, they are very much persecuted against. I recently read a very powerful message online. The title of the article is "I'm Christian, unless you're gay". It really is one of the best articles I've read when it comes to the issue of being a Christian but not being okay with gay people. You can - and should! - read the full article here. To sum it up, it talks about Christians and what Christians believe. And what one of the main things that Christians believe is that you should love everyone. But many Christians don't. They look down on people if they're not like them. They judge people. They won't admit it, but they do. And I'll admit here that I know I'm just as guilty about this as the next person. It mentions that many people think it's okay to judge other people because their "actions were somehow justified because of my beliefs at the time". But the author takes a look at not only Christianity, but other religions as well. And do you know what the main theme was in all of these religions? Love.
According to Christians, Jesus taught a couple of interesting things. First, “love one another.” Second, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (“Her” being a woman who cheated on her man.)Love. That's the theme here. Love above all else. But do we do that? Sadly, no. The author does mention, and I agree here, that not all Christians don't put love first - many do. But we all should be doing this, there should be no exceptions.
According to Buddhists, Buddha taught a couple of thought-provoking things. First, “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.” Second, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
According to Hindus, a couple of fascinating teachings come to mind. First, “Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all.” (Krishna) Second, “Love means giving selflessly, excluding none and including all.” (Rama)
According to Muslims, Muhammad taught a couple interesting things as well. First, “A true Muslim is the one who does not defame or abuse others; but the truly righteous becomes a refuge for humankind, their lives and their properties.” Second, “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”
According to Judaism, their scriptures teach a couple remarkable things. First, “Love your neighbor like yourself.” Second, “Examine the contents, not the bottle.”
The article goes on to say that it doesn't matter what your religion is or if you have no religion at all. We should all just be good people. We don't have to accept or enable anyone. But we should care that they are a human being above all else, just like you.
In truth, having a religion doesn’t make a person love or not love others. It doesn’t make a person accept or not accept others. It doesn’t make a person befriend or not befriend others.How powerful is that? Why can't we just strive to be a good human being? A good person? A good friend? Everyone deserves to have a good friend in life. Let the rest go. Don't let your thoughts or beliefs stop you from caring for another person who is different from you? Everyone needs love. Because here's the thing: nobody is perfect.
Being without a religion doesn’t make somebody do or be any of that either.
No, what makes somebody love, accept, and befriend their fellow man is letting go of a need to be better than others.
Nothing else.
I know there are many here who believe that living a homosexual life is a sin. Okay.
But, what does that have to do with love?
Come on. Don’t we understand? Don’t we get it? To put our arm around someone who is gay, someone who has an addiction, somebody who lives a different lifestyle, someone who is not what we think they should be… doing that has nothing to do with enabling them or accepting what they do as okay by us. It has nothing to do with encouraging them in their practice of what you or I might feel or believe is wrong vs right.
It has everything to do with being a good human being. A good person. A good friend.
That’s all.
So read the article. It's worth your time. Think about what is says. Think about the next time you meet or see someone who is different from you. What will you do? Are you going to judge them? Or will you open your arms and love them? After all, the greatest thing is love.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Faith and Politics
I read an article a while ago called "What it means to be a Liberal Person of Faith". While this might seem like an oxymoron to some people, we are out there. If you haven't read the article, I encourage you to do so. It is well written and brings up many good points. You can find the article here.
I've been meaning to write about this article since I read it, but I figured after the Iowa Caucuses and the speeches from candidates that followed after, now would be a good time to discuss this. If you listen to the speeches that candidates gave after the votes were in on Tuesday, almost all of them mentioned God and thanked God. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a Christian and I have no problem if you want to mention God or even thanks Him. After all, He does great things. The problem with most of the speeches after Tuesday is that they felt almost like a sermon. This is where politicians need to be careful not to cross a line. They need to remember that there are other people of different faiths out there.
Going back to the article, it talks about what it means to be a "liberal person of faith". The quote from the article is this:
Christians are not the only people here in America. America was in fact founded on religious freedom - not Christianity. So if you're a politician and a Christian - great! I have no doubt that their faith makes them who they are as a person. But they have to be willing to open the doors for conversations with people of other faiths. They have to be willing to understand that their personal belief in something might not be the best action for the entire country. They have to understand that there is a separation of church and state and it is there for a reason. Don't forget, there are many different types of people of faith out there. They deserve a voice too.
Another reason why I decided to write this post today was because of another article I read, although this one was rather more frightening. Rick Santorum placed a very close second in the Iowa Caucus on Tuesday. But even so, not much is known about him and he really hasn't gotten much media attention before now. I didn't know much about him either so I'm not claiming that I did. One thing I did know however were his extremely conservative beliefs. Now, as a liberal, that's already not going to make me like someone very much, but after reading this article and hearing some of the things Santorum believes, I really don't like him. In fact, I'm scared to think of what would happen if he were to get into the Presidency. Read the article here.
To understand this article plainly, here is a quote that sums it up:
The article states that Santorum has not shied away from these thoughts either. And he has stated that his policies would be based on "biblical truth". Some of the possibilities if Santorum was in office?
Finally, one thing that I personally find ironic... most conservatives want less government. Less government control in our lives. But they have no problem pushing their faith and beliefs on all of America.
I've been meaning to write about this article since I read it, but I figured after the Iowa Caucuses and the speeches from candidates that followed after, now would be a good time to discuss this. If you listen to the speeches that candidates gave after the votes were in on Tuesday, almost all of them mentioned God and thanked God. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a Christian and I have no problem if you want to mention God or even thanks Him. After all, He does great things. The problem with most of the speeches after Tuesday is that they felt almost like a sermon. This is where politicians need to be careful not to cross a line. They need to remember that there are other people of different faiths out there.
Going back to the article, it talks about what it means to be a "liberal person of faith". The quote from the article is this:
"It means to believe in God... It means to draw on religious teachings and beliefs when making judgments about matters of public policy. But at the same time, it means to know that when we, as people of faith, make a public argument, we must ground our statements in reason and a language of morality that is accessible to everyone -- to people of different religions, for example, or of no religion. It means to understand that "person of faith" does not only mean the Religious Right... It means being concerned about the poor and the needy, and giving a fair shake to all... It means that we share many of the concerns of conservative people of faith... It means that we welcome dialogue with our fellow citizens who have a more conservative religious viewpoint..."These are some of the things it means to be a liberal person of faith. Not that our faith is the right way or the only way for that matter. Not that we don't take our faith into consideration, but that we also take everyone else into consideration as well.
Christians are not the only people here in America. America was in fact founded on religious freedom - not Christianity. So if you're a politician and a Christian - great! I have no doubt that their faith makes them who they are as a person. But they have to be willing to open the doors for conversations with people of other faiths. They have to be willing to understand that their personal belief in something might not be the best action for the entire country. They have to understand that there is a separation of church and state and it is there for a reason. Don't forget, there are many different types of people of faith out there. They deserve a voice too.
Another reason why I decided to write this post today was because of another article I read, although this one was rather more frightening. Rick Santorum placed a very close second in the Iowa Caucus on Tuesday. But even so, not much is known about him and he really hasn't gotten much media attention before now. I didn't know much about him either so I'm not claiming that I did. One thing I did know however were his extremely conservative beliefs. Now, as a liberal, that's already not going to make me like someone very much, but after reading this article and hearing some of the things Santorum believes, I really don't like him. In fact, I'm scared to think of what would happen if he were to get into the Presidency. Read the article here.
To understand this article plainly, here is a quote that sums it up:
"Plainly put, Rick Santorum wants to convert our current legal system into one that requires our laws to be in agreement with religious law, not unlike what the Taliban want to do in Afghanistan."Of course, his religious law would be the Christian law. The ironic thing, of course, is that Santorum has also been telling everyone that "Muslims want to impose Islamic law -- called Sharia law -- upon non-Muslims in America." Exactly what he wants to do, but it's okay if he does it because he's a Christian. What?! No. That's not how things work, buddy. America is not a Christian nation and how anyone can think it would be okay to make our laws in agreement with a specific religious law is beyond me. I mean really, how is this okay? That is not what America stands for - at least not the one I believe in. Yes, I'm a Christian and I have faith, but I acknowledge that not everyone shares my same faith.
The article states that Santorum has not shied away from these thoughts either. And he has stated that his policies would be based on "biblical truth". Some of the possibilities if Santorum was in office?
- Rape victims would be forced to give birth to the rapist's child. Life begins at conception you know.
- Gay marriages would be annulled. He also supports a federal constitutional amendment that would ban them - which is totally unconstitutional and would totally destroy all current gay marriages and their families.
- Santorum would also ban all federal funding for birth control and would be okay with making it illegal if states wanted to.
Finally, one thing that I personally find ironic... most conservatives want less government. Less government control in our lives. But they have no problem pushing their faith and beliefs on all of America.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Iowa Caucus 2012: Follow Up
Morning is here and so are the final numbers. I tried to stay up last night but it just got too late. 1:30 in the morning is way past my bedtime on a work night, and frankly, most nights! But let's get the results.
First place went to Mitt Romney by a mere 8 votes. Eight.
Romney: 30,015 Santorum: 30,007
This is by far the closest a vote has ever been in a caucus or primary. And I'm betting it's probably going to stay in first place for along time with such a slim number like eight.
Overall, it was a very exciting night. A couple things that we learned by last night was that every vote does indeed count. And also that this race could still be anyone's race. Iowa was only the first stop. Every other state is going to get their chance to vote as well. It's really up in the air at this point.
It's also been in the news this morning that Michele Bachmann is going to be holding a press conference later today and it's rumored that she's canceled her trip to South Carolina, who has their primary on Jan. 21st. It wouldn't surprise me if she dropped out of the race at her conference today.
As soon as I finished typing that, I went back to CNN and the Breaking News banner along the top read: "Source says Bachmenn is suspending her campaign for President" And you know what? I'm very okay with this.
On to New Hampshire!
First place went to Mitt Romney by a mere 8 votes. Eight.
Romney: 30,015 Santorum: 30,007
This is by far the closest a vote has ever been in a caucus or primary. And I'm betting it's probably going to stay in first place for along time with such a slim number like eight.
Overall, it was a very exciting night. A couple things that we learned by last night was that every vote does indeed count. And also that this race could still be anyone's race. Iowa was only the first stop. Every other state is going to get their chance to vote as well. It's really up in the air at this point.
It's also been in the news this morning that Michele Bachmann is going to be holding a press conference later today and it's rumored that she's canceled her trip to South Carolina, who has their primary on Jan. 21st. It wouldn't surprise me if she dropped out of the race at her conference today.
As soon as I finished typing that, I went back to CNN and the Breaking News banner along the top read: "Source says Bachmenn is suspending her campaign for President" And you know what? I'm very okay with this.
On to New Hampshire!
Iowa Caucus 2012
January 3rd, 2012 - Iowa Caucus Night
You know, I love politics. I really do. And I think that if you have a privilege/opportunity/responsibility like voting in a caucus, that you should make sure you do that. Especially if you have an opinion about anything. Which I tend to have. (Hence a political blog...) With all of that being said, I wasn't going to go to my caucus precinct tonight.
The way I figured was that since Obama is our incumbent candidate, there wasn't a reason to go because there wouldn't be any voting last four years ago. And frankly, I didn't want to sit through all the business that would take place instead. The one thing that kept me from saying no completely was the opportunity to become a county delegate. But I have also been bugging my husband about the fact that he needed to go caucus tonight as he had never experienced it before. He was also a little undecided on whether he would go caucus as a Democrat or a Republican. In the end, he decided to go to the Republican Caucus and he guilt-ed me into going to mine.
Now let me just point out here that this caucus night is so much different than four years ago. For one, it was a lot colder four years ago and we actually had snow! :) But more importantly than that, it was a very special and unique election process four years ago. There was no incumbent four years ago on either party and that's something that doesn't happen very often. And Iowans turned out in record numbers last time and in overwhelming support of Obama.
So tonight, we headed to our separate caucus locations to do our duty as Iowans. AJ told me that there were 66 people that showed up to caucus for the Republicans. In his precinct, Mitt Romney came in first and Ron Paul came in second within six votes.
When I showed up at my location, it was a much smaller turnout. We had just under 30 people there and we had about five precincts that were combined at our one location. So in my specific precinct, there were only seven of us. At first, I was some-what surprised at the small turn-out, but then I thought, well people probably didn't show up just as I wasn't going to - Obama has it. After some people did some introductions, we had a live broadcast with President Obama. That was pretty cool! His first words were, "Hello Iowa! I miss you!" Always good to know that we've been missed... :) There are some quotes of his that I took down I'll mention later, but first he took some questions from a couple of precincts elsewhere. One was in Coralville and the other in Cedar Rapids. When they showed those precincts I was shocked at the number of people that were there! One was at a performing arts center and the other at a gym at a school - and they were packed!! It was then that I realized probably the true reason why there was such a small turn-out at my caucus tonight. I now live in Western Iowa. It is largely a Republican area. There are just far fewer Democrats on this side of the state compared to Eastern Iowa, which was where I caucused four years ago.
Here were some of the quotes I liked from Obama's speech tonight:
I also have to mention here another quote from tonight that I really enjoyed. There was an older woman at the caucus who said she had been volunteering with the Democratic Party since she was 15 - so for some time now! And she had a really great quote that really makes you think:
Now that we're both back at home, we're watching the results come in on CNN. And I have to say, this is what I was looking forward to the most. Even within the last couple of weeks, Iowans have continued to keep an open mind and different candidates jumped in and out of first place in the polls. And the incoming results are showing the same thing. Right now (with about 48% reporting) it is a very close tie between candidates - Santorum and Romney with Paul fairly close behind in third. Even with almost half of the state reporting, they can't make a prediction because it's too close. This wasn't the case four years ago. So now we wait and see what the final results tally in as...
In the meantime, here are some pictures from my caucus tonight (take via my cell phone)
With 88% of Iowa precincts reporting, CNN made their prediction. Although it was a little unusual... they only mentioned who would win third place, fourth, fifth and sixth place. 
Look at this screen shot. They couldn't, at this point, determine who would get first or second place. The tie between Romney and Santorum was too close. In this screen shot, it was a difference of 13 votes! 13!! In true Iowa Style (as my husband says), Iowans are making every vote count. It is literally a "to-the-vote" process. It's unbelievable but also incredibly awesome. And, in all honestly, it gives me hope and belief in our democracy and political process.
There is a ONE vote difference!! ONE VOTE!! WOW! This was still with 99% reporting and taken at 12:39am. Just... wow. But this does prove a point - every vote counts. So get out and vote! Otherwise, you lose the right to voice your opinion.
The (almost) final tally - Santorum: 29,968 Romney: 29,964
I'm calling it quits. We're waiting on one precinct in Iowa. And so I'll write another blog tomorrow with the final final tally. (Just a note, the rest of this was written previously, just in case it doesn't make sense...)
What an unbelievable finish. I did not expect this. Not this close! And I'm not very happy about it! haha Apparently I'm the type of person that has to stay up to hear the final results and so this has made for a very late night! But, as my husband continued to point out to me - it's history in the making. Never has there been such a close vote! Never have I seen the two top candidates flip back and forth between first and second place! It's been fascinating to watch, don't get me wrong. I just wish it would have ended a couple of hours ago... :)
You know, I love politics. I really do. And I think that if you have a privilege/opportunity/responsibility like voting in a caucus, that you should make sure you do that. Especially if you have an opinion about anything. Which I tend to have. (Hence a political blog...) With all of that being said, I wasn't going to go to my caucus precinct tonight.
The way I figured was that since Obama is our incumbent candidate, there wasn't a reason to go because there wouldn't be any voting last four years ago. And frankly, I didn't want to sit through all the business that would take place instead. The one thing that kept me from saying no completely was the opportunity to become a county delegate. But I have also been bugging my husband about the fact that he needed to go caucus tonight as he had never experienced it before. He was also a little undecided on whether he would go caucus as a Democrat or a Republican. In the end, he decided to go to the Republican Caucus and he guilt-ed me into going to mine.
Now let me just point out here that this caucus night is so much different than four years ago. For one, it was a lot colder four years ago and we actually had snow! :) But more importantly than that, it was a very special and unique election process four years ago. There was no incumbent four years ago on either party and that's something that doesn't happen very often. And Iowans turned out in record numbers last time and in overwhelming support of Obama.
So tonight, we headed to our separate caucus locations to do our duty as Iowans. AJ told me that there were 66 people that showed up to caucus for the Republicans. In his precinct, Mitt Romney came in first and Ron Paul came in second within six votes.
When I showed up at my location, it was a much smaller turnout. We had just under 30 people there and we had about five precincts that were combined at our one location. So in my specific precinct, there were only seven of us. At first, I was some-what surprised at the small turn-out, but then I thought, well people probably didn't show up just as I wasn't going to - Obama has it. After some people did some introductions, we had a live broadcast with President Obama. That was pretty cool! His first words were, "Hello Iowa! I miss you!" Always good to know that we've been missed... :) There are some quotes of his that I took down I'll mention later, but first he took some questions from a couple of precincts elsewhere. One was in Coralville and the other in Cedar Rapids. When they showed those precincts I was shocked at the number of people that were there! One was at a performing arts center and the other at a gym at a school - and they were packed!! It was then that I realized probably the true reason why there was such a small turn-out at my caucus tonight. I now live in Western Iowa. It is largely a Republican area. There are just far fewer Democrats on this side of the state compared to Eastern Iowa, which was where I caucused four years ago.
Here were some of the quotes I liked from Obama's speech tonight:
"Change is not easy. It never is."After Obama spoke, it was time to break up into our precinct and pick our delegates for the county convention that takes place in March. As I said earlier, there were only seven us in my precinct (which is determined on where you live) and we needed to elect three delegates. My chances were looking good! However, I didn't want to step on anyone's toes but after a while (and some chit-chat) no one was really speaking up. So I spoke up and said I would like to be a delegate. And that was that! I'm now going to be a delegate at the county convention in March! And I'm very excited!! It should be a great experience and hopefully I'll learn even more about how the party works. Plus it'll give me more things to blog about! :)
"You guys inspire me every single day."
"There is nothing we can't accomplish when determined citizens come together."
"We've done a lot, but we have much more to do."
I also have to mention here another quote from tonight that I really enjoyed. There was an older woman at the caucus who said she had been volunteering with the Democratic Party since she was 15 - so for some time now! And she had a really great quote that really makes you think:
"A democracy is run by the people, not money. But I'll be damned if it's not being run by money these days."I couldn't help think what a great quote that is! I don't care what party you support, but our democracy - what America is founded on - is run by the people. But things have gotten away from us and more and more it's the money that counts. And that's not a country I'm okay living in. It needs to change.
Now that we're both back at home, we're watching the results come in on CNN. And I have to say, this is what I was looking forward to the most. Even within the last couple of weeks, Iowans have continued to keep an open mind and different candidates jumped in and out of first place in the polls. And the incoming results are showing the same thing. Right now (with about 48% reporting) it is a very close tie between candidates - Santorum and Romney with Paul fairly close behind in third. Even with almost half of the state reporting, they can't make a prediction because it's too close. This wasn't the case four years ago. So now we wait and see what the final results tally in as...
In the meantime, here are some pictures from my caucus tonight (take via my cell phone)
 |
| Message from President Obama |
Look at this screen shot. They couldn't, at this point, determine who would get first or second place. The tie between Romney and Santorum was too close. In this screen shot, it was a difference of 13 votes! 13!! In true Iowa Style (as my husband says), Iowans are making every vote count. It is literally a "to-the-vote" process. It's unbelievable but also incredibly awesome. And, in all honestly, it gives me hope and belief in our democracy and political process.
Ron Paul (21%) and Newt Gingrich (13%) have both made announcements that they will of course continue on to New Hampshire, which is no surprise. It will be interesting to see how New Hampshire will vote, especially after such a close race here in Iowa. Surprisingly, Michele Bachmann is also going to continue to New Hampshire with only 5% of the vote. At least according to her speech. After such a poor showing in Iowa, I really don't think she'll last very long after New Hampshire. Rick Perry, who came in with 10% of the vote, is going back to Texas to "reassess" his campaign. Interesting choice of words... but I'm betting he doesn't continue on.
Before all the votes are in and counted for, Rick Santorum takes to the stage to thank Iowa. He is still tied with Romney at 25% but the two keep flip-flopping back and forth between 1st and 2nd with the vote difference ranging anywhere between 13 and 125. Santorum's speech is very much faith based and also sounds more like a political rally speech than the normal "thank you" speech you hear after election nights. He's definitely taking this opportunity in the national spotlight to help gear up his campaign before New Hampshire. Which is probably a smart move on his part because I don't believe he's been very popular in polls elsewhere in the US.
Mitt Romney has also taken the stage yet without all of the final numbers in yet. He's playing the "good sportsman" card as he congratulates the other candidates first. Already this sounds like the more appropriate "thank you" speech that candidates normally give. As Romney is speaking, CNN is showing 99% of the precincts reporting and Santorum is ahead by 5 votes. Five. Un-be-lievable! They're also reporting that this will be the closest Iowa caucus results in history, the last closest were back in 1976 with GHW Bush and Regan they were separated by 2100 votes! It will also most likely be the closest caucus/primary vote throughout the US as well. The previous record was held in South Dakota at their primary in 1936 which was decided by 257 votes.
Check out this screenshot...
Before all the votes are in and counted for, Rick Santorum takes to the stage to thank Iowa. He is still tied with Romney at 25% but the two keep flip-flopping back and forth between 1st and 2nd with the vote difference ranging anywhere between 13 and 125. Santorum's speech is very much faith based and also sounds more like a political rally speech than the normal "thank you" speech you hear after election nights. He's definitely taking this opportunity in the national spotlight to help gear up his campaign before New Hampshire. Which is probably a smart move on his part because I don't believe he's been very popular in polls elsewhere in the US.
Mitt Romney has also taken the stage yet without all of the final numbers in yet. He's playing the "good sportsman" card as he congratulates the other candidates first. Already this sounds like the more appropriate "thank you" speech that candidates normally give. As Romney is speaking, CNN is showing 99% of the precincts reporting and Santorum is ahead by 5 votes. Five. Un-be-lievable! They're also reporting that this will be the closest Iowa caucus results in history, the last closest were back in 1976 with GHW Bush and Regan they were separated by 2100 votes! It will also most likely be the closest caucus/primary vote throughout the US as well. The previous record was held in South Dakota at their primary in 1936 which was decided by 257 votes.
Check out this screenshot...
There is a ONE vote difference!! ONE VOTE!! WOW! This was still with 99% reporting and taken at 12:39am. Just... wow. But this does prove a point - every vote counts. So get out and vote! Otherwise, you lose the right to voice your opinion.
The (almost) final tally - Santorum: 29,968 Romney: 29,964
I'm calling it quits. We're waiting on one precinct in Iowa. And so I'll write another blog tomorrow with the final final tally. (Just a note, the rest of this was written previously, just in case it doesn't make sense...)
What an unbelievable finish. I did not expect this. Not this close! And I'm not very happy about it! haha Apparently I'm the type of person that has to stay up to hear the final results and so this has made for a very late night! But, as my husband continued to point out to me - it's history in the making. Never has there been such a close vote! Never have I seen the two top candidates flip back and forth between first and second place! It's been fascinating to watch, don't get me wrong. I just wish it would have ended a couple of hours ago... :)
Well, the Iowa Caucuses are now done. We've spent the time listening to the candidates, asking our questions and figuring out who had the best answers. The rest of the nation is up. We've done our part. Let's see if they follow the path we've laid out. Here is a quote from the Huffington Post about those who have won the Iowa Caucuses in the past:
Seven democrats in 10 caucuses who won in Iowa have ended up winning their party's nomination, according to the Des Moines Register. (Two were incumbents who ran unopposed.)So, does Iowa really matter? Eh, maybe not. But do we pride ourselves on our first in the nation status? Yes. There is one thing however that I think we can all agree on... we'll be glad to get a break from all the political ads and robo-calls for a while... :)
Six Republican winners in Iowa, out of nine contests there, have gone on to win the GOP nomination. (Three were incumbents who ran unopposed.)
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