10 Reasons to Vote for a Democrat in 2008

The last election for the first time in my life I voted straight down party lines and voted for all Democrats. I held my nose on a couple, but it was 100% reaction to the direction the Republican Party has taken this country.

The direction the country has taken over the last 6 years under Bush has been nothing short of disastrous. I've put together a list of 10 reasons to vote for a Democrat in 2008. The list is in no particular order.

1. Democratic Presidents tend to govern as centrists while Republicans pander shamelessly to their constituents. Cut the gay marriage, flag burning, censorship and other wedge issues that the Republicans have used to divide the country. Seriously, why isn't their some sort of Stem Cell research funding? 100% pandering to the base.

2. The budget deficit has grown so out of control over the last 8 years, serious actions need to be taken. Republican Presidents have tended to further the deficit through revenue cuts and increased spending. Democrats have tended to be more reform minded contrary to public opinion.

3. Supreme Court is dangerously tilting to the right. Right to chose, Presidential powers, right to privacy, torture, and surveillance hang in the balance.

4. Global Warming and Energy Policy. Republican party has sold out energy policy to their biggest contributors. Consumers have gotten squeezed, oil companies are getting rich and car companies have not been pushed to higher CAFE standards.

5. Health Care costs have gotten so high and unaffordable for both individuals and companies paying them. Having the drug companies practically write the Medicare Prescription Drug plan has produced one of the worst government programs in many years. Expensive to tax payers and inefficient costs. Pandering to corporate interests instead of tax payers has long been a Republican staple.

6. Iraq. Who do you trust to clean up Iraq? Romney, Giuliani, Thompson, McCain? no. The Republican Party has resisted making changes to the policies in Iraq that have failed over the last 5 years. We can't take another 8 years of "more of the same".

7. International credibility. The current crop, especially Rudy, looks to be no different the Bush. We have alienated allies and have lost what could have been a coalition to help fight global terror by failing to use diplomacy.

8. Education. Education is a mess and getting worse. GOP has pushed to regulate schools but not fund them. $10 billion to fund No Child Left Behind is about 5 days of funding for the war in Iraq. As an aside, here is an interesting glimpse into the opportunities afforded by our nations public schools.

9. Immigration needs to be addressed in a fair and rational manner. Basically only two Republicans have shown any leadership on this issue. Surprisingly Bush and McCain have provided some sanity that the rest of the party has lacked. Building a fence only puts a band aid on this head wound. Guest worker program, path to citizenship, as well as national security concerns all need to be addressed. The only thing most Republicans want to talk about is building a fence and deportation. If you thing a "kick em out" policy is going to work, you may want to read this.

10. Tax reform. Nobody wants to pay more taxes, but when a company can set up a PO box in Bermuda and avoid paying $10's of millions of $'s in taxes, there is a problem. If these loopholes exist, companies have obligations to their shareholders to take advantage of them.

Addressing the cap on Social Security tax would keep Social Security funded for the foreseeable future.
Republicans will not address tax issues rationally. Clearly some of these are fairness issues others are just common sense. But Republicans have it in their DNA to immediately dismiss any forms of revenue.