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Republican Role: Defend Capitalism?

In an MSNBC story today Senator Jeff Sessions, from our neighboring state of Alabama is quoted: Fellow Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions also opposes helping the auto industry. “Once we cross the divide from financial institutions to individual corporations, truly, where would you draw the line?” Just a second here. Line? What line? Look in…

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Obama and the Socialism Charge

I’m interested in how one can take a rather ordinary set of proposals and make them incendiary just by providing a label. And sorry, my conservative friends, I don’t buy into the “but he really is a socialist” line. The basis of the socialism charge is specific–Obama’s tax plans–and a response to that particular point…

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So Long to Public Campaign Financing?

I had mixed emotions about Barack Obama’s choice not to accept public financing of campaigns. On the one hand, as an advocate of free speech, I believe that public financing and campaign spending limits are a threat to free speech precisely where it needs to be most free. But on the other hand, I dislike…

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Not About Joe the Plumber

The furor over this poor guy has illustrated to me one of the problems of presidential campaigning in America. It’s not about analyzing policies to determine who they impact, to what extent, and for what purpose, nor indeed it is about whether the policies will accomplish that purpose. It’s rather all about engaging people’s emotions….

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The McCain Campaign and Comebacks

In an article on MSNBC discussing how Obama is moving into some traditionally Republican territory, I found this quote: McCain, for his part, was returning to the argument that Obama’s credentials are too thin for the White House, his campaign and the Republican National Committee releasing ads focusing on experience and judgment. Here’s my problem…

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But Can a CONSERVATIVE Vote for Obama?

I find it rather easy to answer the question of whether a Christian can vote for Obama. To summarize, a Christian can be politically liberal or even socialist, for that matter, and would presumably vote his or her beliefs. There is no requirement that a Christian be an American style conservative. Thus it should be…

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How Much Pandering and to What End?

I’ve been very disappointed in the way this campaign has gone. Not that it’s that much more nasty than any other campaign. As I recall from previous elections, things get pretty emotional and nasty. My disappointment has been in the candidates who could have done much better for the country. Obama made a mistake, in…

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How a Christian can Vote for Obama

Laura at Pursuing Holiness has a post titled How can Christians support Obama?. She begins: I am frustrated almost beyond belief that any Christian can support Obama. . . . She then outlines the reasons she has for believing that we cannot support Obama and provides links, describing these points as “well-substantiated.” Laura’s post falls…