Scrimmage Game 2008

There's a time in high school football when there are two groups of players contending for separate goals, yet regardless of the score at the end of the game, the home team is always the winner. Sometimes one side may be a little better than the other. But in the end, it doesn't really matter who wins. This particular game makes no difference in the team's season record. The type of game I'm referring to is that of a "scrimmage." For those of you familiar with high school football, this isn't a difficult concept. It's simply the same team, splitting their players into separate groups, and playing each other for practice. While there may be a bit of competition going on, the guy across the line from you is your buddy. You'll both be fighting for the same goals when it really matters. In fact, sometimes these scrimmage games can determine who the "starters" are. So, yes, there's a competition there, but when all is said and done, both of these groups form the same team.

So it is in today's presidential race. When I look at the slate of candidates, by and large, they all support the same things, whether they are Republican or Democrat. Some talk a different talk. Some "change their minds" where they stand on such important issues like abortion (i.e. Mitt Romney) when it seems politically expedient to do so. But by and large a vote for any of these tricksters is going to be a vote for four more years of "status quo." That's an optimistic attitude. The pessimist side of me is concerned that the status quo will not improve, but degrade—regardless of who wins the presidency. On the issue of abortion, we see that after eight years of the Bush presidency, a baby can still be killed through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason whatsoever, despite the rhetoric concerning the Partial Birth Abortion Ban. This is utterly unacceptable, considering he had a Republican Congress and Senate for half of that time. On the issue of sodomy, we see that President Bush has appointed far more sodomites to high ranking government positions and ambassadorships than President Clinton ever did. Likewise, under Bush's watch, we've seen sodomite "marriage" or "domestic partnerships" flourish in several states. Those are just a few of the social issues. On the financial side, we've seen Republicans raise taxes and increase spending just like the Democrats have done…repeatedly. Sure, Bush gave us some needed income tax cuts. But he didn't decrease government spending, but rather increased it. I'm only picking on President Bush and the Republicans because they have made themselves out to be the friend of conservatives. Yet, from what I've observed, I'd be hard pressed to say they were conservative by looking at their actions. It goes without saying that the Democrats are no saints themselves.

So, what do we do about it? There are only two candidates currently for whom I'd consider casting my vote. These candidates are Rep. Ron Paul and Gov. Mike Huckabee. Of the two, I perceive Rep. Paul to be a better agent in producing real change, though I tend to think Gov. Huckabee's position on abortion and sodomy are stronger. Short of either of these two winning the Republican primary, I think the general election is going to simply be a "scrimmage" game where no matter who wins it's the "bad guys" who'll be in power.