Political Junkie: Confessions of a Previously Undecided Voter

Wow… I have a very good reason for not having written in a long time. This post that I’m writing right now has been in the works since the end of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, in September, which happened just 30 miles away from my adopted home town of Rockford. Ever since that time, however, I have been too glued to the TV, talk radio, and the Internet, sucking in every ounce of information that I possibly could about the state of our nation. Not just the political election, but our economy, foreign affairs, the national deficit, etc.

And I have to say that the overall tone of what I was going to write in this post has completely changed. “Political Junkie” was its original name, and I was going to talk about how much of an undecided voter I was. I was going to talk about how even though I’ve hated how the Republican party has ground our nation into the ground over the past 8 to 10 years, I wasn’t particularly happy with how the Democratic party was handling itself either. It was going to be about how once again, we’re voting for the lesser of two evils and not one current candidate is worthy of running a country. It was going to be about how regardless of who won the presidential election, I was going to be disappointed and apprehensive about the future of the U.S., its citizens at home, and its reputation abroad. I no longer have that attitude, and as you can see by the title, I am no longer an undecided voter.

I proudly say that I feel I am one of the most informed “average Jane” citizens you could find outside of the political sector or other related fields. I’m not a journalist, I’m not a pundit, I’m not a lobbyist, nothing. Because I’m a freelance copywriter working out of my home, I have complete control over my working environment, and it has been filled with CNN, MSNBC, Headline News, even FOX News. When I’m in the car, I’m listening to either local conservative radio station KTLK or the more liberal-leaning Minnesota Public Radio / NPR. I read news from local, regional, national, and international sources with reputations for reporting the truth. I also read those underground “left wing” and “right wing” conspiracy theory web sources, just to cover all of my bases (conspiracy theories are sometimes found to be reality). I’ve seen nearly every televised speech Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, or Sarah Palin has given in the past two months. I watched the debates and the analysis. In my search for knowledge, I have used every resource available at my disposal.

With every spin of a story, negative attack ad, and campaign strength or blunder, my decision has incrementally moved more in the same direction consistently. That would be towards Barack Obama. When my conservative friends have found out this independent was voting democrat and why, they said it’s because of media bias. I’m not sure how that could be, considering half of my resources have intimate ties to Republicans. I was no less disgusted with Republicans and their conservative dogma regardless of the spin accompanying it or the source reporting it.

Additionally, most of my decisions were based on real-time statements and actions. Like I said, I watched nearly every speech and saw all of the debates for the last two months. I saw what they said, in the context it was meant, before the media re-cap, before their words were picked apart until what the candidates said was no longer recognizable. At a basic level, Obama has shown himself to me to be worthy of the presidency, “inadequate experience” and all. I have more faith in Obama’s ability to follow-through with his promises.

Half of my decision has been based on Obama’s behaviour, and so likewise, the other half of my decision was based on McCain’s behaviour. I feel more that McCain is saying anything and doing anything he possibly can to try and gain the presidency, with little chance for follow-through on issues that I deem to be important. Additionally, not once have I seen Obama fear monger in the way that McCain has. Ask a democrat how they feel about McCain winning the presidency and they say something along the lines of “4 more years of this non-sense we’ve already had for 8 years.” When you ask a Republican how they feel about Obama winning the presidency, you hear “I’m scared, I’m afraid, this country will fall into ruin if he wins.” Have they not been paying attention for nearly a decade? Our position as a world power has been severely compromised by policies enacted by (or eroded by) a Republican president, Republican senators, and Republican congressmen.

All of this is forgotten by conservative loyalists when you use the Republican Party’s #1 weapon of choice: FEAR. A few months ago, the fear weapon wasn’t out, conservatives were so sure they were going to win. Then when Obama started pulling ahead, labels like “socialist” and “communist” and “terrorist” were being passed around like candy from the Right. Now you have a whole section of people terrified of someone they will have to give their trust to if he wins the presidency. Tell me, is fear of our leaders good for our country? Not in the least.

I hope against hope that this section of people who make their decisions on fear like this is small. I truly hope that when people cast their ballots this year it is based on what the candidates stand for, not what their opponent or the media says about them. With the media, it is all about ratings.

We’ve been fear mongered for 8 years already. It is time for real change.

Dewmocracy: The Revolution Has Passed

I don't even know why I'm writing this. Maybe to blow off steam, maybe for attention, maybe because I'm an addict. I don't know... I guess I should back up a little bit.

I used to love Mountain Dew. I say "used to" with emphasis. I did love it, and now I don't. Like a past relationship, every once and a while I think of Mountain Dew and wonder what its doing. But also like a past relationship, that's where the wondering stopped. I didn't visit Mountain Dew for literally years. Probably 5.

Then a friend coming over for a gathering at our house brought three twelve packs of funny colored Mountain Dew. Two shades of blue, one shade of pink: Voltage, Revolution, and SuperNova. I still didn't bite, at first.

But then my curiosity got the best of me. I tried all three. The SuperNova was strawberry-melon flavored, which didn't impress me at all. Melon has got to be the worst idea for a soda flavor ever and strawberry pop has been sooooooo overdone. Yes, overdone. The Voltage tasted a little flat to me, but was okay. Sort of like blue cotton candy flavored pop. It was the Revlution which really got me. It had such a crisp taste (mixed berry with a splash of lemon) I couldn't just drink a sip, I grabbed myself a whole can.

And that's where it started. That was some time in May or early, early June. Ever since, I have drank at least a can or 20 ounce bottle of Revolution every day, sometimes two. It has been a requirement for me to be able to make it through my day.

I was devastated in August when it was annonuced that Voltage won the Dewmocracy vote. That meant whatever was left of Revolution on the shelves and in the warehouses was all that was to be manufactured. I told myself that it was bound to happen. Just like the Democracy of America, the candidate you want to win never does. I told myself I would get over it and soon my life without Mountain Dew would be back to normal.

Yeah, right. I went out and bought every 12 pack and 20 ounce bottle of Monutain Dew Revolution that I could. At one point, I had half a dozen 12 packs in my living room closet, hidden so no one else could drink them. If that seems small, it would have been more if I could find them! But they disappeared. If I liked SuperNova or Voltage, I could have had my fill. Revolution sold out of stores so much faster than the other two flavors, I still don't understand how Voltage won.

Anyways, I bought as much Mountain Dew Revolution as I could, trying to grab on to every last shred of it that I could. I rationed myself, no more than 2 cans per day. Yesterday, October 2, I drank the last can. I rationalized that today would be my first Revolution-free days in months. I was wrong.

Today, I drove around and found a gas station that still had 20 ounce bottles of Revolution left and I bought what I could find. I have no idea what I'm really going to do when I actually run out, which will probably be very, very soon.

I like the new and improved Mountain Dew. Its sweet, bubbly, and refreshing in a way that old Mountain Dew hasn't been in a long time. I kicked it to the curb at one time and in my absence, Mountain Dew found a whole new life of its own, changed, evolved. Then it strolled back into my life, teased me for a bit, and then left me wanting more, just like an old boyfriend might do.

Does that mean eventually I will get over Mountain Dew Revolution? Perhaps with the passing of time. Will I find a new drink to replace it? Probably. But it could take a little while before I'm ready to start a new relationship.