I’m voting for Bob Schaffer. Truth be told if I had to choose between Schaffer for Senate and McCain for President, I’d choose Bob. Knowing that an Obama presidency will increase government dependence, vastly increase the federal debt, empower kook fringe groups, deepen the economic recession, weaken our national defense, and seat far-left Supreme Court justices whose opinions will damage the country for decades, I’d still take Bob in the Senate, if I had to choose but one. Don’t get me wrong, I voted McCain on my mail-in ballot, put a McCain/Palin sticker on my car, and stuck a sign in my yard. McCain will be a decent president. Bob, however, will be an exceptional senator. He is the leader America needs. I have known Bob for over a decade. My first job on Capitol Hill was sorting mail in his office. As I moved up through the office ranks, I got to know the man. Bob is incredibly bright. I never had to write a speech; Bob could speak extemporaneously about any issue with clarity and thoughtfulness. He worked late and actually read legislation before voting it. Exclusive parties and elite dinners held no interest to him; when not working he wanted to be with his family. In stark contrast to other elected leaders in Washington, Bob is egalitarian through and through. From the head of NASA to the 16-year-old page, Bob treated everyone in the same unpretentious manner.
All of these good qualities earned my respect and friendship, but Bob’s devotion to principle is what earned my loyalty and my vote. Unlike liberal Democrats like Mark Udall and even big-government Republicans, Bob understands the purpose of government. The purpose of government is to protect each American’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, otherwise known as the freedom to do what you want with what you have so long as it does not take from others’ rights. Bob knows that in order for government to give something to someone (whether a welfare check, subsidized loan, or business subsidy), it must take from the hard work of others in the form of taxes or the hard work of future generations in the form of federal debt. Bob knows that using the power of government for social engineering is an abuse of that power.
Barack Obama, Mark Udall, and other liberal Democrats and to a lesser extent big-government Republicans see government as a tool to advance various agendas, for example, turn people into homeowners (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac), lift people from poverty (Great Society welfare programs), or make kids smarter (No Child Left Behind). They promise new programs and tickle the heart of envy; “we will take from those who have and give it to you.” For their efforts we have foreclosed homes, economic turmoil, drug-ridden public housing, bureaucratized education and medicine, and generations dependent on government benefits. In taking from the responsible homeowner, the hard worker, the person who saves their money, and the successful business, to give to the delinquent homeowner, the unemployed, the bankrupt, and the insolvent enterprise, politicians have diminished the freedom and free will of both parties. Despite the miserable consequences of their actions, today’s politicians call for even more of the same.
American needs a new kind of leader. Someone who will stand up for the forgotten man and woman in this election: the person who does not want what others have, the person who wants only to keep what she has earned. We need someone who understands that government is supposed to protect our lives, our liberty and our property, not take them away. I am that forgotten American and Bob Schaffer is the one who represents me.