Babies, guns, and Jesus

This is my first partisan post. It is so important to get this one right...

Rush Limbaugh and I agree on something. This election is about three things. We are simply focused on three different things.

Rush Limbaugh watched the Republican Convention and declared that this election is now focused on Sarah Palin and is an attempt to renew the culture wars, about "babies, guns, Jesus. Hot damn!" Sarah Palin: Babies, Guns, Jesus - August 28, 2008. Is this really the vision you have for America?


One of these things does not belong with the others...

I suggest that this election is about another three things.

1. Can Democrats fight? ¡Si se puede! Yes we can! I love my country. I have fought for my country and my values. Barack Obama and Joe Biden must hold this ground. Americans respect, trust, love, and will follow someone who will stand up for what they believe in. This election, and our country are worth fighting for - even if we must say some hard things. John McCain is a hero who abandoned his principles and good judgment to woo the Republican base. Sarah Palin is a self-described pitbull who is long on teeth but short on policy and empathy. By contrast, Barack Obama is about the American values of hard work, big dreams, and the guts to believe that we can overcome our differences.

2. What is worth fighting for? "Without a vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18). There has been a fair amount of discussion about fact-based (and fantasy-based) voting. We believe that our positions are about the real world and about issues, not about the "horserace" and media-centric celebrity frenzies. We cannot make ourselves crazy about what people are perceiving. If we cannot win based on what we see and know as real, well, then, we're f***ed. Barack Obama is about thinking through issues, listening to people who are not lobbyists, economic policy which pays attention to workers and homeowners, healthcare which privileges people over insurance companies, and national security founded upon economic strength and war as a last option (not the first). We have to tell the truth as best we see it and trust in God and our fellow citizens to sort it out and do the right thing. Please note: this trusts the VALUES of American voters. If we can't trust that, well, the election is a crapshoot based on whatever you last heard from the TV-machine.

3. Turnout, turonout, turnout. This election - like every other - comes down to how many people get to the polls. If you're worried about the Bradley effect (where people say they're ok with a black guy and then vote white in private), or the Rove effect (where every good thing is spit upon and cast into doubt), or the Diebold effect (where those in power will lie cheat and steal to stay there), then GET YOUR ASS AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS' ASSES REGISTERED AND TO THE POLLS!

That, my brothers and sisters, spells victory. The people, united, can never be defeated. And that is a non-partisan statement. Just make sure YOU are one of the people who makes a difference.
 

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