Whomever he or she is, know your candidate!
Sometime during the Summer of 2004, my cousin, who lives in the Ohio, and I "got into it" over the then-upcoming presidential election. He was (and still is) supporting George W. Bush; something I didn't know until that point while we were watching George speaking at a campaign stop. I was a clueless supporter of John Kerry. I say clueless because I believed any candidate other than President Bush could not be worse. That's about all I knew. The thing is, I didn't really know enough about Senator Kerry to argue in favor for him, which aggravated me more than anything, sitting next to my cousin as W continued flatulating to a captive audience. Everything my cousin was saying could easily have been regurgitated from Rush Limbaugh's ass--Which is not a pleasant visual.
Since I had flown in from Hawaii and was staying at his parents house, my auntie was close by to act as referee. (I can still remember her saying in Chinese don't talk about politics. No one ever agrees.) My cousin and I, both jackass-stubborn, didn't speak for the rest of the day, which was supposed to be a eventful day full of quality family time.
Upon returning to Hawaii, I vowed to learn everything I could about John Kerry so I would be better prepared to argue his case, if the need should arise. The need never did as Hawaii is a mostly democratic state and I would have been preaching to the choir.
Fast-forward to the Summer of 2007 . . . this time it's a hunter (that's how he introduced himself, " . . . I spend most of my time hunting or thinking about hunting."), who, overhearing a fellow student and me speak of Barack Obama, confronts me during a work-related class. "What makes you think Obama would be good president?"
"Well, uh, he's smarter than Bush!" To which Mr. Hunter-man replied, "okay, I'll give you that. What else?"
It was happening again. I was all hyped about my candidate but had little clue why other than "he's smarter than Bush!"
Tool.
After proving how much of a tool I was I began to spend most of my free time switching between CNN and MSNBC. That gradually turned into reading every democrat-friendly news site or blog I could as the aforementioned media channels didn't tell me what I needed to hear. Soon, I began researching what each of the two remaining candidates had done in the senate so that I know a bit more than "he's smarter than bush!"
Somehow, as much as I hate to admit it, I think a majority of Americans are just as uninformed as I was. The bad thing is, they can vote. The good thing is, it's not to late for them to vote for the "right" candidate.
I could take my cousin and Mr. Hunter-man now . . . no worries, though, I may stick to those things that really concern me, and hence, issues I follow daily/hourly: the war in Iraq, veterans, faith and the economy--all of which are related in some way.
First of all, as an army veteran, it's important to me that both democratic candidates realize the importance of getting our troops out of Iraq. With the amount of money we've spent on this, we could have rebuilt two New Orleans and had money left over to fix a few bridges that, forbid, are bound to fall and maybe even some of the minds, bodies and barracks of our soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors we call our heroes. There are so many people living below the poverty level it floors me. We've spent over 500 billion on this so-called accomplished mission (that's eleven zeroes!) and we've quite nearly ruined the perception the world views the U.S., much less made the homeland safe.
And don't get me started on the GI Bill. I owe most of my education to the GI Bill and Army college fund. Don't even think about it. The presumptive Republican nominee only wants those who continue to fight his "50-100 year" occupation to benefit; essentially, it's a screw-you if you end your time in service.
And, at this point, I think we can safely say both candidates are christians! Personally, I don't think it's anyone's business but there are those out there that feel a candidate's religious upbringing dictates the way he or she will make decisions. Well, they do go to church, dammit! What I'd really like to tell the Americans that feel your either a Christian or you're the devil is: Go back and read the first amendment of the United States Constitution. Even if a candidate was something other than Christian, would he or she love this country less or serve without the fortitude or a Christian-fearing president?!
While I am still learning about politics in general, I have to say I'll not allow myself to be so uninformed as to not know the right thing to say the next time someone challenges my choice for a presidential candidate. From what I learned through precinct captain training in Austin, rather than trying to change minds so other's views follow your own, and, as long as you can express your support in a personal way you really can't go wrong. In this way, relating my support in a personal way, I feel I know my candidate.
<additional thoughts> I think it all comes down to the candidate that represents where you want America to be in future and within the world community. We've all heard and read this 127,000 times over the past year+ and I think it's more true now than ever. It doesn't matter if the candidate is a woman, black, or a lunatic former POW/same-ol'-news candidate, look past the hype and do a little research. The world will thank you. </additional thoughts>
Kossacks Under 35 is a weekly diary series designed to create a community within DailyKos that focuses on young people. Our overall goals are to work on increasing young voters' Democratic majority, and to raise awareness about issues that particularly affect young people, with a potential eye to policy solutions. Kossacks of all ages are welcome to participate (and do!), but the overall framework of each diary will likely be on or from a younger person's perspective. If you would like more information or want to contribute a diary, please email kath25 at kossacksunder35 (at) gmail dot com