Anti-Gay Marriage

I am very sorry to report that while I voted against the Florida constitutional amendment that defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman, I didn't do enough.  I didn't speak out.  I didn't write.  I didn't ask what I could do to make sure the amendment failed.  I was wrong.  I didn't fail because I didn't care.  I just thought that there was no way it would pass. Unfortunately, similar amendments passed in California and Arkansas.  

I recommend that you read Leonard Pitts' op-ed piece that appeared in the Miami Herald this morning.

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/767511.html

and watch the video of Keith Olbermann's diatribe on the topic...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnHyy8gkNEE

I don't think I can articulate a better argument than either of these two men have.  It really is a matter of justice.  Why can't we as Americans see how we perpetuate these forms of discrimination?  A lesson in empathy would be useful.

When it comes to individual rights, it isn't something that should be put to a popular vote.  Could we vote on whether interracial marriage should be allowed?  Of course not.  Federal judges should settle this once and for all.

Post Election Open Letter to Barack Obama from Joe the Plumber

President Elect Obama (yes, it sounds so good),

I am Joe the Plumber. Not really, I'm an attorney by training and an entrepreneur by choice and my name isn't Joe. I'm a product of public schools. I've served in our military (11 years In the U.S. Air Force with service in a foreign military conflict--Operation Just Cause). I put myself through college and then law school. I am a registered Republican. I have supported Republican candidates for President since Gerald Ford in 1976 (with one exception, I voted against George W. Bush in 2004) and I have always considered myself a conservative, that is the kind of conservative who believes in small government, low taxes, unintrusive policies, freedom of and from religion. I supported Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. I manned phone banks, canvassed the streets of the West Grove in Miami, volunteered as a poll observer on election day and proudly cast my vote for Barack H. Obama on November 4, 2008.

I cheered as you won the election by an electoral landslide and the Democrats won greater control of both houses of Congress.  While the current Congressional leadership has done nothing to warrant retention of their jobs or their leadership posts (approval ratings are practically subterranean), it seems likely that Representative Pelosi and Senator Reid will continue in their present posts.  What is important for you and all of our elected officials to understand is that this is not a mandate for liberal partisan politics to replace conservative partisan politics, or liberal political realignment.

We, the Joe the Plumbers (and Josie the Plumbers) of the country, are fed up with the petty, partisan politics that has crippled Washington DC for the past 8 years, and probably longer. We want solutions to serious problems.  We want leaders who lead.  We want elected officials to repair our ailing economy, shore up our financial system, and return to capitalistic principles (our government shouldn't own our banks or our businesses) as soon as possible.  We want an energy policy that is sustainable, respects the planet, and rids us of dependence on foreign oil. We want the United States to be the most respected country in the World, not the most reviled. We want to return the balance of power from an overly powerful administrative branch to the legislative and judicial branches.  Most importantly, we want to stop the divisive rhetoric that inflames the far right or the far left base because it is politically expedient. The solutions to our nation's problems likely lie outside the "box" but are not on either extreme.  Be mindful, there is nothing  you can do that will make the twenty percent on the far right admire you and there is very little you can do to make the twenty percent on the far left abandon you.  It is time to govern for the sixty percent in the middle.

This is the mandate that I supported with my volunteer work and my vote for Barack Obama. The silent majority of Joe the Plumbers across the country have similar expectations.  I expect no less (in fact, I expect far more).  I will accept no less.  This is the mandate.  We will continue to fight for these basic principles until our elected officials listen to us and start governing with honesty, dignity, and integrity with the single goal to solve problems that make America great rather than appease their base or perpetuate petty partisan bickering.  I believe that you, Mr. Obama, have the intelligence, judgment, and temperament to rise above the status quo and truly effect change, but I know that you cannot do this alone.  You will need the help of great Americans.  Not great partisan political advisors, but great Americans.  We must begin to separate the two and only elect and empower great Americans.

God speed Mr. Obama.  This is not a religious endorsement, just a very nostalgic phrase from a time when America's greatness wasn't in doubt.

"Joe the Plumber"

aka Curtis Wolfe, an Obama Republican (Obamacan!, you read it here first)

Miami, FL

Man without a Party

After leaving my post as a volunteer attorney observer (we need those in Florida) at a polling place in South Miami on election day, I spent the balance of the evening watching the election returns with a group of Democrat friends and many hugs, tears, and glasses of champagne, the handful of die hards who remained decided that I was a decent enough person that I should be invited to leave the Republican party and join the dark side.  This was not the first time in the past three months since I had spent many days and nights working phone banks and canvassing neighborhoods for the Obama for Florida campaign and even attended a rally in Miami when Senator Obama was visiting in October, but I know that I don't fit into the Democratic party.  I'm a fiscal conservative who believes in free markets and capitalism, and a social moderate who believes in limited government, personal responsibility, and unintrusive government policies.  

So, how is it that I have come to the point where I find myself not only voting for a Democrat, but working to ensure he is elected?  The Republican party is adrift in a sea of divisive partisan politics, engaging in unparalleled spending, trampling on civil liberties by spying on Americans and imprisoning people with a complete lack of respect for due process.  The Karl Rove Republican party is not the party that I joined many years ago and because the party has lost its morale compass with regards to fairness, justice, and equality, it has lost its soul and has been hijacked by the religious right who believed that by dividing the country, the moral majority would actually be a majority.  

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other ultra-conservative pundits have said since election night that the party lost the election because its candidate was not resolute in conservative principles and have vowed to take the party farther to the right.  Clearly, the Republican party is at an impasse.  Moderate Republicans don't identify with either the Democratic far left or the Republican far right.  We are without a party.  

Becoming an "independent" isn't an valid option.  Independents are by definition without identity.  They decide each issue on its merits, which is respectable, but without a core set of values, like a small, limited government, Independents are destined to always be joiners rather than leaders.  I want my party back.

Real Republicans can take back the party of Lincoln by divorcing the party from the radical right (they are welcome to form a new party) and recommitting to its core principles.  By doing so, the party will actually grow (much like when the government cuts tax rates, yet collects more tax revenue) by being an attractive alternative for moderate Democrats and other libertarians.  

The time has come for the Republican party to regain its original mandate.  Religious conservatives should take note that we want our party back.  We must not tolerate Karl Rove's followers to destroy the Republican party.  The time is now.

Palin Prediction

Today's Prediction:

Ted Stevens holds his win in the Alaskan Senate race.

Senator Stevens loses his appeal of his conviction and is sentenced and/or the Senate removes him from his office.

Governor Palin resigns, leaving her Lt. Governor (Sean Parnell) as the Governor of Alaska.

Parnell then appoints Palin to replace Stevens in the Senate.

This is the road of higher ambition for the formerly most popular governor in the nation.

An Open Letter to Barack Obama from Joe the Plumber

Senator Obama:

I am Joe the Plumber.  Not really.  I'm an attorney by training and an entrepreneur by choice and my name isn't Joe.  I'm a product of public schools.  I've served in our military (11 years with service in a foreign military conflict).  I put myself through college and then law school.  I am a registered Republican.  I have supported Republican candidates for President since Gerald Ford in 1976 (with one exception, I voted against George W. Bush in 2004) and I have always considered myself a conservative, that is the kind of conservative who believes in small government, low taxes, unintrusive policies, and freedom of and from religion.  I support Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

I have the utmost respect for Senator John McCain.  His service to our country, both in military and public service, is commendable and an example that serves our youth well.  Like many others, for me Senator McCain's selection of Governor Palin was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back (no reference to either the Senator or the Governor should be drawn from this reference).  Clearly, Governor Palin's inability to answer either Charles Gibson's or Katie Courics questions with candor and her misstatement (in a Cheney-esque fashion) of the role and duties of the Vice President showed that the Governor may not be ready to lead our great nation if called upon.  The campaign's choice to not allow the Governor to meet other members of the press confirms my concerns.  Senator McCain's selection of the Governor raises serious questions about his decision making process and about the truthfulness of his "Country First" slogan that makes it impossible for me to support his candidacy.

I believe that you, Senator Obama, will win the election by a landslide and that the Democrats will control both houses of Congress.  While I do not believe that the current Congressional leadership has done anything to warrant their retaining their jobs, I understand that this is highly likely.  What is important for you and everyone else who is fortunate or unfortunate, as the case may be, to take office in January 2009 is that this is not a mandate for liberal partisan politics, or liberal political realignment.  We don't need the political pendulum to swing equally far to the left as it is presently to the right.

We, the Joe the Plumbers (and Josie the Plumbers) of the country, are fed up with the partisan politics that has crippled Washington DC for the past 8 years, and probably longer.  We want solutions to serious problems.  We want leaders who lead.  We want elected officials to repair our ailing economy, shore up our crippled financial system, and return to capitalist principals (our government shouldn't own our banks or our businesses) as soon as possible.  We want an energy policy that is sustainable, that respects the planet, and that rids us of dependence on foreign oil.  We want the United States to be the most respected country in the World, not the most reviled.  We want to return the balance of power from an overly powerful administrative branch to the legislature and judicial branches.  Most importantly, we want to stop the divisive rhetoric that inflames the far right or the far left base because it is politically expedient.  The solutions to our nation's problems likely lie outside the "box" but are not on either extreme.  Just remember, there is nothing you can do that will make the twenty percent on the far right admire you and there is very little you can do to make the twenty percent on the far left abandon you.  It is time to govern for the sixty percent in the middle.

This is the mandate that I support with my vote for Senator Barack Obama and against my sitting congressional representatives.  I suspect the silent majority of Joe the Plumbers across this country have similar expectations.  I expect no less (actually, I expect much more).  I will accept no less.  This is the mandate.  If you are either unwilling or unable to rise to the occasion, I will have a new mandate in four years (or two if for my representatives) that I will deliver through your or their competitors.  We will continue to fight for these basic principles until our elected officials listen to the silent majority and start governing with honesty, dignity, and integrity with the single goal to solve problems and make America great rather than appease their base or perpetuate partisan bickering.  I believe that you, Senator Obama, have the intelligence, judgment and temperament to rise above the status quo and really effect change, but I know that you cannot do this alone.  You will need the help of great Americans.  Not great partisan political advisors, but great Americans.  we must begin to separate the two and only elect great Americans.  God speed Mr. Obama and all others who prevail on election day.  This is not a religious endorsement, just a very nostalgic phrase from a time when America's greatness wasn't in doubt.