Ok, so this post has little or nothing to do with being a medical student's husband. So be it...this has been on my mind, and I really want to get it out.
First of all, let me preface this by saying that this is the first election that I have paid close attention to - and I mean really close attention to. I have been reading the news as presented by multiple sources (while I consider myself a conservative, I do not limit myself to only the "conservative" media like fox news and the talk radio guys). I have watched the debates. (Ok, only a little of the second presidential one because the Tigers game was on, but after the game I read the entire transcript of the debate). I have become a voracious consumer of all kinds of political news and information. And I have decided to become the most informed voter I possibly can.
In the process of all of this, I have become dismayed with a few things.
1) I struggle with the obvious evidence of media bias - in both directions. The media is supposed to be impartial. Yet, I can visit CNN.COM and FOX news and read an article about the exact same debate or the exact same event, and sometimes it doesn't even sound like the reporters were on the same planet, let alone in the same room watching the same thing I saw on TV in real time. I am not opposed to people having political leanings, but if you are reporting news, you should be reporting what happens, not spinning it in such a way as to help your favorite candidate (or hurt the other guy). The media bias is something that someone like me who really digs into everything can see through and work through, but for the average person out there who gets the bulk of his information from a single news source, be it FOX News, CNN, NPR, or one of the other major networks, that person will be getting a partial picture, at best, of the political landscape.
2) I struggle with the attitude of our sitting president and his campaign. I certainly do not agree with many of his policies, and his record over the last four years (and the state of the economy) speaks for itself. He has promoted an intentionally liberal agenda with lots of borrowing, bigger government, more control and regulation, and some outright attacks on some values I hold dear. It is pretty clear to me who I am going to vote for. However, the thing I struggle with most in this campaign season is the intentional defamation of his opponent on many levels - personal, professional, religious, etc. I want a president who I feel has great integrity and professionalism. I want a president I feel like I can trust with the future of my country. The debt statistics alone are frightening, as I look at the future for my four kids. Yet the campaign has, by and large, been more about smearing his opponent and trying to make him look bad, trying to make Mitt Romney into some kind of awful human being, than it has been about showing us how our current president is qualified for four more years in office. This kind of elementary-school playground name calling is what the campaign has boiled down to - it's all the president can do, since he really doesn't have a strong record to run on. And I feel like that is just sad to see.
3) I struggle with the way advertisers can spin things almost any way they want to in an effort to promote an agenda. Here in Michigan, I think this is made most obvious by the huge amounts of advertising dollars being spent to promote the ballot proposals. Many times in the past, I've pretty much blown over the ballot proposals, but this year, I think they are really truly significant, as many of them involve amendments to the state constitution - which is much more broad, sweeping change than simply a yes or no about marijuana or an increased millage to support the zoo. The advertisements I hear for Proposal 2, Proposal 5, and Proposal 6 make it sound so good, and for the average consumer of news and politics, they will hear those ads and say, yeah, that sounds great! However, the long-term ramifications of some of these proposals are downright frightening.
That's what I want to spend the rest of this post talking about. The presidential election will take care of itself, but here in Michigan, I feel like I need to do my part to help people understand what's really going on with the proposals and why I think there are some real dangers here.
A friend of mine posted an article on Facebook recently that looks at the ballot proposals - you can access it here. I encourage everyone to read that article - it spelled out the intent (and the dangers behind) the proposals quite clearly.
The ads for prop 5 and 6 are particularly misleading. They present all the evils of raising taxes and government spending money on a bridge, and paint a pretty picture - vote Yes on 5 to make it harder for politicians to raise taxes. Vote Yes on 6 because the people should decide whether or not we build a big bridge. Here's the problem with these proposals. They actually serve the needs of a very small group of people, not the electorate at large.
A Yes vote on proposal 5 will require a super majority (at least 2/3) vote in both Michigan houses to raise taxes. Isn't that a good thing? Well, it depends on how you look at it. Yes, it makes it harder to raise taxes. But it gives a lot more power to the minority party in the state legislature. Now, instead of needing a 51% vote to block new tax legislature, we only need a 37% vote to block new tax legislature. This defaults the constitution to allow a much smaller minority of votes to be able to block significant new legislation. In essence, it provides substantially more power to the minority party, whichever party that is, to prevent tax legislation from passing that it doesn't like. This, to me, is NOT what I want in a representational government system. I don't want my representative to be able to be over-ruled by only 1/3 of the legislature. If things worked that way in real life, everyone would scream and throw a fit. People hear the ads say, "it makes it harder to raise taxes" - but that certainly isn't the whole picture...
Proposal 6 requires a state-wide vote to approve any new international crossings - bridges, tunnels, etc. The ads claim that the government wants to spend all of this money on a bridge, and that we shouldn't let them do it. But do you know who is behind the ballot proposal, and who is funding the bulk of the advertising supporting it? The owner of the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit - who makes millions of dollars every year from the tolls charged for people to drive over it. If a new government-owned bridge is built, it is competition for him. He obviously doesn't want that, and is trying to block it by creating this ballot proposal, and marketing it in a way that makes it sound like it would be good for everyone. The problem is, it's a constitutional amendment again. Now, am I in favor of a bridge being built using taxpayer funds? Not necessarily, but I most certainly do NOT want to change the state constitution just to stop it, especially since the only person who really gains from this is the owner of the Ambassador Bridge.
Proposal 2 is a little murkier, but I still have problems with it. Again, it's a constitutional amendment. Am I against collective bargaining? No. But I definitely do NOT want it written into the state constitution. Too sweeping a change, with incredible long-term ramifications. The advertising paints it as "if you believe in unions, and you want to help our police, fire fighters, and school teachers, you'll vote for prop 2." The reality is, the proposal grants unions significant power, including the right to supersede state rules if a union local wants to. Too much power given to too many small groups of people, and the potential for confusion and tons of legal issues is huge. It essentially allows labor unions to write their own rules in many cases, and to do so without having to answer to the state.
I encourage everyone in Michigan to actually read the proposals. Research them. Find out what's REALLY going on - not just what you hear on the conflicting radio and TV ads. I believe that some of these proposals, if passed, could cause more issues in the future for our state than the outcome of the presidential election.
I'm almost done with my election vent...let me just say, no matter who you support for president, no matter what side of things you stand on, whether you are a conservative, a liberal, a democrat, a republican, or an independent, we have been given an incredible privilege in this country. The privilege to participate in choosing our government. The privilege to have a voice. The privilege to be part of the most unique system of government in the world. Please, take advantage of that privilege. Educate yourself. Read about the candidates. Read about the proposals. Expose yourself to the viewpoints and perspectives of both sides, so that you can make a truly informed choice. Then, show up at the ballot box on November 6 and cast your vote. If you don't, you have absolutely no reason to complain, regardless of the outcome.
Thanks! That was really helpful.
ReplyDelete