I don’t mean to single you out with this, but you’re the first person who’s ever made a blatant anti-Democrat comment on my blog, and I seem to remember that you told me a decade ago when we first met that I was the first Democrat you had ever met in real life. (I hope that’s not still the case?) So, on this saddest of days, and since this is still the GBC’s politics/candidates/issues week, I would like to give my little post-mortem about why I thought it was so important to vote for John Kerry.

First of all, as the owner of a uterus, I could not possibly bring myself to vote for Bush. During the next 4 years, at least 2 or 3 Supreme Court justices will be retiring (possibly 4, now the Rehnquist has thyroid cancer), and whoever is President will appoint the replacements. The last time that Roe v. Wade came up to the Supreme Court to possibly be overturned and make abortion illegal, it passed only by a vote of 5-4. All Bush needs to do is appoint one conservative judge and he’ll tip the scales in his favor. And before anyone gets on a moral high horse about abortion being murder, blah blah blah, let me say that I agree. I personally would never have an abortion, I know that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did. However, I also don’t think that it should be up to the government to decide whether or not it should be an available option for me. I have several girlfriends who’ve had abortions, and even considering the psychological trauma that abortion brings with it, their lives would be way more screwed up now if they hadn’t had the abortions, to say nothing for how screwed up those children would be. Let’s also not forget that Bush wants abortion illegal under all circumstances – including cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s own health is at risk. Even the Catholic church doesn’t dare to go that far.

In fact, last night when I was watching the election coverage with Dave and things were starting to look like Bush was going to win, I told him that if it happens, and Roe v. Wade goes back to the Supreme Court after the new justices are appointed, you know that there’s going to be a huge Pro-Choice rally in Washington, D.C. I have already decided that if/when that happens, I will be there. I’ve never been passionate enough about anything to march on Washington, but I’ll be damned if some old gray-haired Senator or Supreme Court justice is going to tell me what I can or cannot do with my body. Besides, Bush making it illegal isn’t going to mean that women will stop having abortions – it just means that more women will be dying from having abortions in unsafe, unhygienic environments.

Next topic: Iraq. What the hell are we doing there? If we’re going after people who potentially have a weapons capability that can kill us all, why aren’t we in North Korea? Or if we’re just going after evil dictators who torture and murder their own people, why aren’t we doing anything about Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe? Perhaps it has something to do with there being no oil in either Zimbabwe or North Korea. Oh, and remember Afghanistan, the country that we supposedly saved from the evil Taliban? It’s more hosed now than ever. Instead of one widespread Taliban regime, there are now warlords popping up all over the country, threatening the lives of those who register to vote and try to participate in the elections. In most parts of Afghanistan (basically everywhere outside of Kabul), women have gone back to wearing the burqa. One final note on the whole Middle East subject: Iran actually supported Bush for President. Go figure.

Third topic: the economy. Remember in the third debate between Kerry and Bush, when Bush was asked what his plan was for people whose jobs had been outsourced overseas? He started talking about how he’d give Pell grants and other financial aid for people so they could get an education that would then get them a better job. Hmm, ok. What about people in the technology field, such as myself, who all seem to have at least a bachelor’s degree (many have higher degrees), and who still find our jobs being shipped over to India? Should we go back to school and start from scratch in a whole new industry? Then what happens when America stops being the most innovative in technology, and India produces the next Microsoft? Kerry at least had a well-defined plan to stop giving tax breaks to employers who outsource their jobs overseas.

Now, all that said, was Kerry the best candidate for President? Maybe not. I thought Howard Dean had some pretty good ideas about the economy. Wesley Clark was probably the best option to solve the whole Iraq mess. And John Edwards is very well-spoken and has the whole charisma/likability factor down pat. I don’t really know why Kerry was our guy, except that maybe he seemed Most Likely to Get Elected. But it doesn’t really matter, I didn’t vote for Kerry as much as I voted against Bush.