Terrorism, the Executive Power Grab, and the Politics of Fear

While I think that terrorism, and terrorists are certainly a concern, I viewed the events of 9/11 as inevitable, both because of our policies of supporting oppressive regimes around the world, and because we'd (quite frankly) been quite lucky up to the tragic events of 9/11. While 9/11 demonstrates, perhaps, the pinnacle of what terrorists can do, I don't feel that it merited the life-changing reaction that the Bush administration advocated and has (largely) brought about. Declaring war on terror has only served to strengthen, not weaken the terrorists.

My belief is that the Bush Administration's real goal has been to increase (or "restore", in their words) power to the executive branch of government. 9/11 merely provided an ideal opportunity to use fear as a catalyst for their ambitions. Fear is a powerful ally, but it is generally short-lived, especially in democracies. Though the Bush Administration has inflicted as much damage as they could, their window of opportunity is closing. The politics of fear, I hope, is coming to an end.

Being socially liberal and fiscally conservative, I view the Bush Administration as the worst in the history of the United States. They have grown and centralized (federalized) big government, while attacking fundamental rights. I feel that my children will be paying for their mistakes throughout their lives.

I will vote for the candidate that I feel can start the process of undoing the damage that BushandCo have done.