The following is from a venture capitalist and stalwart Republican in New Jersey. His nephew – a financial advisor friend of ours – had asked in an e-mail if his uncle was nervous about the possibility that Obama might win in November. Here is his answer (emphasis ours).
I believe in the two party system. I also believe that power corrupts; and the longer one party stays in power, the more corrupt it gets.
So I think that after 8 disastrous years of the Republicans, it is time for a change. We have seen 9/11 used as an excuse for all sorts of government abuses of power, wasteful spending, and the huge run-up in our national debt. Do we really want to be the nation that tortures prisoners?
Interestingly, Republicans — traditionally the party of less government and fiscal responsibility — have been exactly the opposite. Under Reagan and Bush 2, the deficits have soared. I think the boom in the 90s had a lot to do with Bush 1 and Clinton raising taxes and eliminating the deficit, which brought real interest rates down. But now we have built a mountain of debt that will take a long time to eradicate. I don’t like paying more taxes, but I think we are going to have to, and we need to cut government spending. It’s hard to see how that is going to happen after the Feds take over Fannie and Freddie.
The big change we need is to start rebuilding our country and not swaggering around the world.
We are spending $10B per month in Iraq. We all know it was a mistake, but we keep borrowing from the Chinese to build a democratic society there. We seem to have gotten it to a reasonably stable place. Let’s get out as quickly as possible. It makes me nervous when McCain says we are staying until we win. And why are we sending $1B to Georgia after their president decided to be a rogue and attack the Russians? We can’t be the world’s cop.
Clearly, we need to start investing in building renewable energy. By borrowing billions from the Chinese and giving it to the Arabs, we are involved in perhaps the greatest transfer of wealth ever known. We need to start now. I’m not against doing some more drilling in the U.S., but that has to take second priority to creating renewable sources of energy. The Republicans are running a scam by telling us that drilling in the U.S. will solve the problems. And do you think that Russia and the Middle Eastern countries would be so belligerent if oil were $20 per barrel?
McCain seems like a good guy, but he seems to be too reactive and likes to make decisions without all the facts. Sarah Palin is a good example of this. To have the 2-year governor of our biggest welfare state a heartbeat away doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. And while McCain calls himself a maverick who bucks his party, he hasn’t led a change in the party. It seems like he is changing his positions to those of the right wing.
I just don’t see McCain challenging the country to do things differently. And I hate the gimmicks, like calling for a suspension of the gas tax for the summer.
Is Obama any good? Probably not the best. He seems like a decent guy who hasn’t stooped to the mud slinging that usually goes on, but of course that may change in the next 2 months. I think he has run a good campaign. It seemed very well organized. I like that he understands new ways to reach people through the modern forms of communication and has built his fundraising base from lots of small donors. I’m sure there are the big ones as well.
I also like that he has inspired young people to get involved. He seems to listen to people – and take the facts seriously — and then makes decisions.
I don’t like all his positions — like foreign trade, some of the tax proposals, his pro-choice position. But my sense is that some of these will get modified before anything is enacted, which is what usually happens. On abortion, the Republicans have been in office for 20 of the last 28 years. Has there been a constitutional amendment proposed to change Roe v. Wade? I may be cynical, but I think the Republicans just drag this out every 4 years to rally their base but then do nothing in the intervening time. W. probably did the most by appointing the judges he did. But frankly, their views on other things scare me.
We are not going to continue to be a superpower and maintain a high standard of living if we don’t pour resources into innovation, which starts with educating more kids in science and technology. The Republicans have cut spending in research and in innovative programs that help small companies to grow.
Some of our friends worry that Obama will socialize medicine. Perhaps, but I think the damage is already done there. Wall Street is the big draw for kids coming out of college these days. We need to make medicine, science, and engineering the hot careers of the future.