I’m a registered independant voter so I don’t get to vote in the primaries. I only get to pick between the candidates pre-chosen by the Democratic and Republican parties. That doesn’t bother me much since I usually don’t care for either one and have to simply pick the lesser of two evils.
So for the 2008 election, it looks like I’ll get to pick between a right-wing religious conservative candidate or a left-wing tax-and-spend liberal candidate. There really don’t seem to be many (if any) candidates who are moderate.
Republicans want to stay in Iraq (and spend the money to do it), abolish abortion, legislate morality, and spread their “Christian values.” Democrats want to raise the minimum wage, create expensive social programs, and… well… we’re not really sure what their plan is, which of course is the problem. The current crop of Republicans scares me more than the current crop of Democrats but perhaps that’s just leftover Bush-created fear. The thought of having another devisive, right-wing, religious, secretive, ego-centric, power-mongering warhound in office makes me shudder.
But I digress.
All the Republican candidates have been placing a lot of emphasis on their religious beliefs and the strength of their Christian upbringings (except for Mitt, of course, who leaves out the “Christian” part). The Democratic candidates seem to be doing the same thing, though not quite as self-righteously (or as loudly). It bothers me when either side does it.
What I’m looking for is an atheist moderate… someone who will keep religion out of the government and will make policy decisions based on rational thought and reason rather than blind faith in mystical beings and ancient texts… someone who has the personal strength and flexibility to accept factual evidence and incorporate it into the decision process even if it contradicts a previous decision… someone who understands that this country is supposed to have a government “for the people and by the people” not “for the people and by a god.”
But that’s just a dream. For now, it seems that a lot of people want the government to be run in accordance with a 2,000+ year old “mystical” manuscript rather than rational thinking and human decency, so my dream is a bit outside the realm of possibility for now.
Perhaps someday.