Politics and Iowa

As the Iowa Caucuses get closer, I'm starting to pay more and more attention to the candidates. Even though we're not caucusing for a Democratic candidate, only the Republican side, I'm still paying attention. (As a registered Democrat, I can't participate in the Republican caucus) This is one thing I love about living in Iowa - they really pay attention to their politics.

I recently read an article - written by a professor at the University of Iowa, but not originally from Iowa. (read the article here if you want) Parts of it were pretty offensive, even to me - someone also not originally from Iowa. And while I do agree that he made some good points about how Iowa is not a fair representation of the rest of the nation, you have to give Iowa credit. Iowans take their role as a First in the Nation state very seriously. They listen to all the candidates. They take the time to go to those town hall meetings. They want their questions answered. They know a lot about each candidate running. They're very informed. And while sometimes I think some Iowans might get a little "big-headed" about their First in the Nation status, they can tell you a lot about where each candidate stands. They're confident about who they'll be caucusing for.

With Iowa being first in the nation, we get a lot of attention - from the candidates and the media. We hear and watch a lot of debates. We watch a lot of video clips from those town hall meetings across the states. We get a lot of TV and radio ads from the candidates. And we have opinions about all of those. One nice thing about all the attention is that is does keep us informed. We get to hear how the candidates feel about many topics. And I'm going to touch on just a couple of issues that have been in the news recently.

One was a video/news article about Michele Bachmann. This event took place at a Town Hall meeting in Waverly and during the event, a high school student questioned Bachmann on her views on same-sex marriage. You can read the article and watch the video here. The thing I can't stand about Bachmann is that she talks in circles, avoiding questions and contraindicating herself. Well that, and I think she's just kind of an idiot. I have to give the student props for not letting up as she continued to push Bachmann for an answer. But let's go over some of Bachmann's answers. Her first answer is: 

JANE SCHMIDT: One of my main concerns is government support for the LGBT community. So my question is what would you do to protect GSAs in high school and support the LGBT community.

BACHMANN: Well, No. 1, all of us as Americans have the same rights. The same civil rights. And so that’s really what government’s role is, to protect our civil rights. There shouldn’t be any special rights or special set of criteria based upon people’s preferences. We all have the same civil rights.

Great! We all have the same rights! But wait...

JANE SCHMIDT: Then, why can't same-sex couples get married?
BACHMANN: They can get married, but they abide by the same law as everyone else. They can marry a man if they’re a woman. Or they can marry a woman if they’re a man.

JANE SCHMIDT: Why can’t a man marry a man?

BACHMANN: Because that’s not the law of the land.

JANE SCHMIDT: So heterosexual couples have a privilege.

BACHMANN: No, they have the same opportunity under the law. There is no right to same-sex marriage.

JANE SCHMIDT: So you won’t support the LGBT community?

BACHMANN: No, I said that there are no special rights for people based upon your sex practices. There’s no special rights based upon what you do in your sex life. You’re an American citizen first and foremost and that’s it.

So... we don't all have the same rights... And as Bachmann states, we're all American citizens first and foremost. That's it. And she also said that all Americans have the same civil rights. But a man still can't marry a man... Something's not right. This article did get national attention and I'm glad it did. I'm glad to see a high school student standing up for what she believes - equal rights for everyone. Bachmann just doesn't say the smartest things... like at the last debate when she said, "I'm 55 years old. And for the last 50 years, I've been involved in the private business sector." ....right. Anyway, enough about her. I'm just praying that they're are not enough crazy Tea Party people in Iowa to vote for her in January...

Rick Perry is another candidate who is really getting some attention... but it's not necessarily all good attention. Perry has caused quite a stir with one of his recent TV ads that has aired in Iowa... Here it is below.

There is nothing okay about this entire commercial. Okay, I take that back, there is one okay thing about this commercial - out of the 6,345,835 people who have viewed this on YouTube, there are 663,586 dislikes. I recently read that this means Rick Perry's video is now officially the most hated video to ever be posted on YouTube. I'm glad to know there are a lot of people who don't think this okay. There is nothing okay about being ignorant and hateful - especially to a group of people who lay down their life to protect and serve you. It actually scares me that there are people like this that are in office. He talks about ending Obama's "War on Religion" - what war is he talking about? There is no war. America is NOT a Christian nation! Ronald Regan once had a great quote about this:

"We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief. Nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief. At the same time as our constitution prohibits state religion, establishment of it protects the free exercise of all religions. And walking this fine line requires government to be strictly neutral."

This is how it needs to be. This is what America stands for - religious freedom! (I got the quote from this article, which is also a great read!) Which brings me to my next point.

There is a great show on TLC called All-American Muslim. It chronicles the lives of Muslims living in Michigan as they life their life as normal as possible - as Muslims in America. Seems like a great show, right? I love shows like this because it gives you a look at a different perspective and a different culture. When I think about America, I think about how it's a great country because people here have the freedom to be whoever they are and practice any religion! I mean, it is the first amendment! But a news story broke recently that Lowe's - the home improvement store - has decided to pull all their ads from the air on TLC during that show. Seriously?! Apparently there is a conservative Christian group in Florida called the Florida Family Association that has been pressuring businesses to pull their ads because the show is showing "the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." What?! It's things like this that continues to make people so ignorant. We need to learn about other cultures and religions, we need to be open to them. You don't have to convert, but you shouldn't try and silence them. Apparently this group is also trying to get businesses to pull ads from other shows that "attempt to normalize homosexuality". Sometimes I really worry about the future of our country...

I'll get off my soap-box now. I know that these are just my opinions. You might not agree with me and that's fine. The thing about America is that you don't have to agree with me. We can all have our own opinions and beliefs. And I would love to hear yours. :)