Platform 10 backs Obama for President
January 8th, 2008 | This post was written by Matt StockwellVoting today will go along way to decide the two main candidates for the 44thpresident. McCain and Obama are narrowly the favourites in their races. With George Bush’s terrible poll ratings Republican candidates will have a hard time to win the White House and with the Democratic race creating more of the buzz it will be easier for Obama or Hillary to “be the change”.
The Republicans are a shadow of their former coalition because of a mishandled war and intellectual exhaustion on domestic issues.
There are three touchstone issues with their respective wings in the party; Iraq/Iran – Neoconservatives; abortion – religious-conservatives and tax cuts – fiscal-conservatives.
Frustratingly the Republican shadow is what matters in the primaries and the candidates have rushed to the right. The main candidates all have similar policies on the touchstone issues.
These issues has led to Bush’s unpopularity. Yet what would be the repercussions of another Republican presidency? A Middle East or terrorist “incident” that led to a Republican candidate scaring American’s into thinking a Democrat will not protect them (not so far fetched when either a black man or woman will be nominated) could lead to a Republican president.
Why do all the candidates support “strict constructionalist” judges which will overturnRoe V Wade given the declining influence of the religious right? Why do all the candidates support the war in Iraq given it and the neoconservatives has been discredited and made America more vulnerable? Why do all the candidates support (income) tax cuts when the argument could be made for budget deficit reduction?
Parties always pander during the primaries and tack back for the election. But after eight long years of George Bush “the change”, long overdue, looks like it will have to be a Democrat. John McCain, my preferred candidate, has agreed to make Bush’s tax cuts permanent – after being an eloquent opponent. Still the other options are less promising, Romney has flip flopped Kerry style, Giuliani has a dubious judge of character and Huckabee’s moral beliefs are unpalatable. McCain with his foreign policy experience is the most formidable candidate. His bold stance on immigration offers hope that he can make the tough calls which are right.
But I hope Obama wins today and in November and if he does I think President Bartlett and President Palmer will have played a part in the final result. Obama anti-war from the start can bury Vietnam once and for all. His unifying stance and relentless focus on hope, optimism and change even when flagging in the polls shows he has the mettle and hopefully the vision thing. Finally a black man with a Muslim (agnostic) father who spent four years growing up in Indonesia is the only plausible candidate who could win hearts and minds on the “war on terror”.
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January 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Couldn’t agree more – if he sticks to it he will do more for America and America’s belief in itself than anyone or anything else.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Have you checked with George Osborne about your new ‘anti’ position on the Iraq War? He won’t be very pleased with you. In fact, he’ll find himelf agreeing with ConHome and disagreeing with you bunch of Lib Dem wanabees! Seriously, why don’t you join Clegg? It’s becoming increasingly obvious that you’re not Tory modernisers, you’re just rather conventional centre-left liberals.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
“relentless focus on hope, optimism and change” a meaningless cliche that I’ve heard somewhere before…
January 8th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
“Why do all the candidates support the war in Iraq given it and the neoconservatives has been discredited and made America more vulnerable?” Really? Did I miss a terrorist attack in America somewhere between September 11th and the present day? So far the only Americans who are ‘more vulnerable’ are the soldiers fighting in Iraq. As for neoconservatism being ‘discredited’, it may pain many to hear it but with the success of the surge last year we are actually winning. That’s not the same as ‘won’, but a remarkable feat nonetheless.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I’m a Conservative in the UK but I’d love to see Obama win. I see absolutely no contradiction in that. All the Republicans are political dwarves and Hillary is desperate – I’m an ‘Anyone but Hillary’ kinda guy! Too right about the West Wing. Not just with the comparisons between Obama and Bartlet, but also especially Obama and Santos. Obama & Santos – both religious but socially left-of-centre, both viewed with suspicion by their own ethnic minority until late into the campaign, both not as leftist as some of the hardcore Democrats would want them to be. Santos won the general election by a few thousand votes. I think Obama will win by a lot more.
January 8th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
It’s one thing to be a modernising Tory, another to be a leftie. Just one example (this article sneers at so many conservative positions there is hardly a shortage): apparently the choice is between tax cuts and deficit reduction. What our socialist friend ignores is the possibility of spending cuts. McCain, a moderate, supports clamping down on spending, yet a British moderate ‘conservative’ seems to want to close off this option. In his eyes it appear the federal government is meant to take the people’s money but not protect them from foreign militants, illegal immigrants or being aborted.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:19 am
God help us all if the Global Warm-monger Obama, or any of the Democraps, or McCain, Romney, or Guiliani get in. Because we’d be finished. Go Ron Paul!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Remember people the West Wing was fiction. Obama has been very coy about his policy positions and until he’s spelled them out I’m pretty stunned that a supposedly Conservative blog would choose to back him. Guliani and McCain may be inferior speakers to Obama but both have demonstrated that they are both men of their word and competent. To write them off this early seems to me the height of folly. I do not think this thread will do much for the fortunes of Platform 10 within the Conservative community of bloggers. Malcolm Dunn
January 9th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Glad to find this site and discover I’m not the only liberal Conservative. Tories shouldn’t automatically support the Republicans. The GOP is no longer the party of history it has been taken over by a cabal of ultra religious, deficit spending, neo-con, imperialists. McCain is at least anti-torture but he says he is for gun control but has voted against gun control bills. He voted against tax cuts until 2005 when he started voted for them (eyeing 08?). He is for campaign financing reform but is the business/industry/lobbyist’s favourite candidate. He is close to Jerry Falwall which is just appalling. He is pro-Iraq and therefore pre-emptive war and hasn’t learnt from Bush’s folly. Republicans talk about tax cuts but historically they’ve never got around to the spending cuts leading to huge deficits (par for the course for Republicans). There is no point sacrificing the public’s finances for sake of vote pleasing tax cuts. This sounds more reminiscent of Labour fiscal mismanagement. How on Earth has Giuliani been a man of his word or competent? Ask the NYPD and FDNY what they think about his performance before, during and after 9/11 at Real Rudy. Or read the 9/11 Commission Report. He inherited a $2bn deficit, cut several taxes and left Bloomberg a $5bn deficit – typical Republican.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I agree it’s reassuring to have a liberal Conservative voice
January 10th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Conservative MP Simon Burns has been helping Clinton’s campaign which IMO is good thing. Any Democrat is better than the modern mutated monstrosity that is the Republican party. I long for the day when the Republicans rediscover their roots.
January 11th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
It should be noted that though Clinton won the popular vote Obama actually won the state based on delegates in the electoral college 12-11. They both got 9 each based on the result and the superdelegates split 3-2 in favour of Obama. Crucially Clinton will get 156 delegates in Michigan because Edwards and Obama boycotted the state at the behest of the Democratic party because Michigan broke the party rules about when primaries are scheduled. Those may be critical electoral college votes and shows that Clinton is quite happy to go against her own party leadership to secure the nomination. Anything to win.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
A Democratic president would offer the Republican Party time to rejuvinate. During this campaign the Republicans might well develop liberal conservative policies such as on climate change but they need a more fundamental review after George Bush has remodeled them in his own image. Well done Platform 10 for a brave call.
February 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
All those shocked that UK Conservatives might support Democrats should read more – or visit the other side of the pond more. Politics is vey different in our two nations. Majority / centre Democrats are extremely close to the UK Con Party… Many Republicans are well beyond (ie more extreme) the Conservatives in terms of both social and economic policy.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 pm
All you tories are selfish arseholes. I cant stand you people