If you’ve been following my site closely, or know me in any way personally, then you know that I am not, as Jon Stewart likes to call it, a ‘partisan hack’. Like him, I feel that those that repeat party talking points, like they are the Gospel, do real damage to our country.

I’m a person that believes in small government and one that is as unobtrusive as possible. I believe a strong defense can be a deterrent to those who would attack us. I am a fan of Ronald Reagan, this being against what so many tell me, and probably due to me being young when he was in office, but there it is. I look up to those in our military and honor the sacrifice and them and their families. I go to Church more than just a few times a year. I pray. I read the Bible on and off. And like Reagan, I believe that there is something special about America and its place in the world.

So how can I be so enthusiastic about John Kerry, or to take this even further, to encourage you to vote straight Democratic party this election?

I’m the dreaded social liberal, fiscal conservative. While I believe in small government, I believe that investing in people, providing them tools so that they have an equal chance to fulfill their American dream, is the only way to insure the future health of the country. I mentioned I pray. I’m a Catholic. The social justice believing kind. Bush talked a fair game with ‘compassionate conservatism’, but they were just words. I’ve seen no compassion for the working family from the Bush administration, or for the poor. John Kerry spoke to me in the third debate when he quoted the Bible, ?What does it mean, my brother, to say you have faith if there are no deeds? Faith without works is dead.?. What I?ve seen the Bush administration do is to pander to undeserving corporations with huge contracts and to blame those who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing on their education, when countless of them are already college educated. All the while growing the size of government more so than almost any President in history. Conservatives believe in small, unobtrusive government. Bush is no a conservative. He?s made our government more invasive into our private lives and private decisions. You don?t hear from Newt Gingrich these days as much do you? He offers this President faint support and I?m sure this is the reason why. It looks like Bush?s team has hijacked the meaning of the word ?conservative? and replaced it something new, ?Win At Any Costs?. ?Win At Any Costs? means denying reality and twisting the facts to meet your ideology. ?Win At Any Costs? enables you to shut down debate and to encourage fear. ?Win At Any Costs? enables you to not just see the world in black and white, but in just white alone. There is no other side. To recognize the other side would be to be empathetic, which is counter to ?Win At Any Costs?.

Clinton helped restore fiscal sanity to Washington, and by all accounts Kerry will do the same. It?s about accountability and John Kerry has shown that he?s willing to take on that burden.

As I said, I believe in a strong defense, and John Kerry has provided us with a roadmap that at least stands a chance. It deals with reality. It doesn?t deny the true threat of radical Islamicism. In fact, it faces it. Not simply head on as the Bush administration, but from all sides. We?re fighting a movement. To defeat a movement takes more than simple broad strokes. It takes finesse. It takes rooting it out at its source. Think about it: 9/11 was almost three years ago and Bin Laden is still telling us what his demands are. The bastard is still alive. Do you feel any safer than last year? The year before? Why do you think that is? The assult weapons ban expiring make you feel safer? Our soldiers fighting in Iraq when Bin Laden is elsewhere? How we’ve handled the nuclear threat of Iran and North Korea?

To swich gears a little, let me mention that my health care costs have gone thru the roof these past two years. Completely swallowed my tax break. My insurance is covering far less and I am paying far more of the cost for routine office visits and care. I can?t imagine what the costs have been for families with children, but they must be terrible. Bush is only addressing part of the issue, but the problem is more complex then he is willing to deal with. Kerry?s plans are far from perfect, but they are in the right direction and will help insure millions of others who currently are without even the coverage I have.

I’m going to urge you to vote straight Democratic ticket this year. The reason is simple: all three legislative houses are under the control of one party. Only by restoring balance in the halls of power will we have a government that is forced to listen to its people.

The gang playing to ?Win At Any Costs? needs to lose. We have a choice. And we’re going to do it tomorrow.