Romney vs. Obama

Eeny meeny miny mo...
It's that huge day where we all gather in some school or firehouse to elect which candidate gets to be head honcho. You all know how on the fence I was about this entire ordeal and even though I know who I'm voting for, I still have so many questions. I have been reading every single site that explains why you should be voting for 'this candidate' or 'that candidate' and I have kept in mind that all sites have their political stances: left, right and in between. After looking at all the 'extremities'  --- I then head over to read what the middle man has to say about all of this, whether it's Obama or Romney. I'm finding out that I'm not the only one that was absolutely baffled over the choice. "Pick the lesser of the evils" is a horrible way to walk into voting polls. I used to LOVE walking into our voting place and feeling so confident and proud over the candidate that I was going to choose. Today? I feel like getting drunk before going in, this way I can say, "Well I was under the influence when that idiot got into office."

I'm not looking forward to going into the place where I vote. These ladies (and yes, it's like 90 percent women who are over the age of 60) are all having bake sales and handing out refreshments while you stand in line. Back on November 2, 2004, when Bush was running against John Kerry, I was confronted by one of these ladies while standing in line to vote. She said to me, "Such an important election this term, isn't it?" I nodded my head and agreed while she looked like she wanted to get her claws into my voting decision. "My son has been in Iraq for too long and those troops need to come home. If we vote for the same disaster, we'll only get the same thing for another four years." She kept on insinuating and trying to sway my vote to John Kerry. She didn't say names, but she spoke about incidents of the past four years. I had to slink out of her grips to get away from her. Thankfully, Madelene was with me, but filling out some forms while this was going on. She came back to stand in the line with me and I immediately turned my back towards this lady.

This year I'm walking in with my iPhone in my shirt pocket with the camera pointing outwards, because this isn't the first time that's happened to me in this place. Although I'm more likely to be on their side this time, I think it's horrific that these people try to push their views on you moments before walking into those polls. I was even watching a show on LOGO with Wanda Sykes, Judy Gold and RuPaul discussing politics in a very comical way. Of course, being that they're gay and lesbian, you'll have to assume it'll be more of a leftist discussion, but I listened to them anyway. RuPaul said something important though. He said that voting starts from within, no matter who you vote for.  What's important to YOU? I have learned a lot these past couple of months, crunch time before election, and I have to say that most of what's important to me falls almost equally under each candidate. It wasn't enough -- I needed more confidence, so I picked the brains of all those passionate intellectuals, on both sides of the fence and came to a final conclusion of my own. I can't rely on media to teach me. I can't rely on the candidates themselves when both of them have flip-flopped. I have to weigh the pros and cons of what others teach me. I've read all political statements, watched the debates, and yet --- my decision is only 10% over who I would have originally voted for. To make matters worse, you have the electoral college. No one can ever explain the complications of that system to me. If you're feeling overzealous and feisty about changing someone's vote, tell me why I should even vote when the electoral college is the final decider.

I'm still voting, but this time not feeling quite enthusiastic about it. So I have a few questions for my readers or anyone who is viewing this blog for the first time.

  1. If I vote for Barack Obama, is it true that he's taking a lot of our defense away from our country, leaving us more vulnerable for more terrorist attacks? 
  2. If I vote for Mitt Romney, will this mean that he'll take away a woman's right to choose what happens over her own body? Can that law be passed under his term? 
  3. If I vote for Obama, does this mean we won't be tapping into our own resources for oil, solely relying on the middle east to supply us, while gas prices sky rocket? 
  4. Mitt Romney, who happened to be governor of MA while my wife and I married under the Bush administration stated he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. But my question is: can his religious views take away our marriage license and rights to visit one another in the hospital? Should religion be a deciding factor in politics? 

Those are my concerns.

Hope everyone is more passionate about this election than I am. Please vote for what's in your heart. My 10% overflow isn't enough for me to smile while in the voting booth.

For more of Deb's articles, please visit: www.debrapasquella.com or join her on Facebook and Twitter.