Vote for McCain!

As I begin writing this, I know just about everyone that visits our blog has already rolled their eyes, quit reading, and wondered to themselves: “Why did Melissa let Doug get control of their blog?”. So, I would just like to say that Melissa asked me to write this post. And if you are still reading this, you can scroll to the bottom of the post and see what Dallin thinks. Anyway…the Hansen Family hereby announces that we are endorsing John McCain for President.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments or e-mail us. Before you do, though, let me explain that this is intended to be my explanation of our support for McCain (it’s our blog, so we make the rules). I am not debating the merits of any past presidents, political parties, or other candidates. So, any comment pointing out that I failed to mention what a great president Bill Clinton was, how awesome the Republican Party is, or how one should vote for Biden because his hair plugs are hardly noticeable will not get much of a response.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I’ve been a McCain fan for a long time. A friend recently reminded me that he and I were about the only two people in Utah supporting McCain back in 1999 while everyone else was drinking the Bush Kool-Aid. I still maintain that McCain would have been a better President over the last 8 years than Bush, but then again, I think a lot of people agree with that now. Hindsight is 20/20.

We have selected 6 specific issues that illustrate why we feel John McCain is the best candidate to become our next President.

Issue 1: The Economy. Polling shows that the economy has risen to the top of voters’ lists of concerns, so I’ll address it first. There are two basic ways to deal with the economy. One is to adjust how much of the overall pie everyone gets through welfare programs and the redistribution of income. The other is to increase the size of the pie so that everyone has a chance to get more than they already have. I think it makes more sense to make the pie bigger. John McCain is proposing sensible tax cuts to allow all tax payers to keep more of their money. Cutting taxes for small businesses and other corporations will free up capital, enabling them to expand their companies and thereby create more jobs. McCain’s energy policy (see issue 3) will also create jobs by greatly expanding the most important sector of the economy. These will be good paying jobs that cannot be outsourced. McCain is the only candidate who is proposing a tax policy that will increase the number of jobs. It is only through job creation, not government handouts, that families will be able to lift themselves out of poverty. Given the choice between the two, I’ll take a job every time. I believe most Americans feel the same way.

Issue 2: National Security. John McCain has been a leader in the Senate when it comes to issues regarding national security. I think his experience gives him a great edge here. He will not back down to our enemies, but he will also take a reasoned, cautious approach to keeping America safe. For those who doubt his ability to be cautious when it comes to military action, I would point to his statements as a rookie Congressman when he opposed President Reagan’s decision to deploy Marines to Lebanon (which, unfortunately for those troops, proved to be disastrous). He understands how the military and intelligence community work. He will not allow the Democrats to cut defense spending by 25% (as was recently suggested by Rep. Barney Frank). I believe he will make the right decision, even if not always the popular decision, when it comes to issues of national security and is the candidate best suited to keep America safe.

Issue 3: Energy. Many of the world’s leading oil producers are antagonistic toward the United States. The availability of energy sources is closely tied to our national security, and permitting these nations to continue to control our energy resources is unacceptable. John McCain is proposing an ambitious plan that will enable America to achieve energy independence in the shortest time possible. He is the only candidate willing to explore all possible options, including building nuclear power plants, increasing the availability of alternative forms of energy (such as solar, wind, natural gas, geothermal, biofuels), improving clean coal technology, and off-shore drilling. His “Lexington Project” will put the country on track to achieve strategic energy independence by 2025.

Issue 4: Healthcare. The healthcare system in our country is clearly not meeting everyone’s needs. However, as I lived in Germany for two years I saw firsthand some of the deficiencies of socialized healthcare. I do not believe that government control of the healthcare system is the answer. John McCain is proposing a $5,000 tax credit to help people pay for their health insurance. A lot has been made about the accompanying change that employer offered healthcare benefits will now be taxed. It is important to note that the $5,000 tax credit will more than offset any tax generated by including benefits in taxable income. For example, if your employer provided health insurance costs as much as the coverage that members of Congress give themselves ($12,000/year) and your marginal tax rate is 25%, then you will have a net $2,000 tax break. Another example would be someone in our situation. Private health insurance for our family of three runs right about $5,000 a year. Under McCain’s plan, we would have no new taxes (because we buy our own insurance), but would receive $5,000 in the form of a tax credit, meaning that our net cost for health insurance is $0. Unlike government funded Medicaid, though, we would still be able to take Dallin to his same pediatrician and Melissa could have still had her surgery at Duke. Another important component of McCain’s healthcare plan is to enable you to buy health insurance in any state. This means that if you live in New York but find cheaper health insurance in New Mexico, you will be able to buy the NM insurance. This will increase competition among insurance companies, which will in turn drive down insurance costs. In short, under McCain’s proposals healthcare will be more affordable and we will have more money with which to pay for it.

Issue 5: Government Spending. With over 10 trillion dollars of national debt, it is time that government spending is reigned in. John McCain is committing to balancing the budget by the end of his first term in office. He favors sensible tax cuts, but only with corresponding cuts in the federal budget. Senator McCain will take a hard-line position on pork barrel spending, and is committed to vetoing any legislation that includes such spending. McCain’s record backs up his position, as he has consistently fought to minimize wasteful government spending. In fact, he even opposed Bush’s tax cuts because no accompanying spending cuts were offered. With families across America tightening their purse strings to make it through the economic crisis, it only makes sense that government does the same thing. This allows us to keep more of our money without running up a deficit that will only get passed on to our children.

Issue 6: Judicial Philosophy. This is one of the most important issues for me. 6 of the 9 Supreme Court justices are over 70 years old. It is highly likely that multiple Supreme Court justices will retire during the next 4 years. I would like to see justices appointed who will interpret the Constitution narrowly and honor the original intent of its drafters. It is also important that federal judges refrain from legislating and respect the role of Congress and state legislatures. I believe that John McCain is the only candidate who will nominate justices who believe that the Constitution limits the scope of the federal government and who believe that the right to deal with matters of security, safety, public welfare, and morality are reserved for individual states. A president can only serve a maximum of 8 years, but the Supreme Court appointees of the next administration could very well serve for 25+ years. Because voting for a President is the only way to have a say in who serves on the Supreme Court, I am voting for John McCain.

John McCain also holds the personal characteristics that we would like to see in our next President.

John McCain has exhibited strong leadership skills during his service in the Senate. For example, when Democratic Senate leaders were trying to stall President Bush’s judicial nominations through a filibuster, John McCain broke the impasse by organizing a group of 14 Senators from both sides of the aisle and getting them to agree to allow the nominations to come to a yes-or-no vote before the Senate. He has shown the same ability to bring together members of both parties on issues such as campaign finance, greenhouse emissions, and immigration. When the popular position was to retreat from Iraq, John McCain stood firm and called for a surge in troop levels. President Bush finally listened to McCain’s call for a surge, and the surge has now exceeded some people’s wildest expectations and is enabling peace to spread through Iraq.

Much has been made about McCain’s temperament. It is true that earlier in his career McCain was so passionate about doing what he thought was right that his emotional responses were ineffective in bringing about the right result. Rather than hold on to this trait, McCain has shown the capacity to turn a weakness into a strength. McCain’s transition into a more effective legislator came largely during his fight to reform the campaign finance system. Proponents of reform, including McCain, took an aggressive and hard-line position at first. When progress was stalled, instead of banging his head against the wall, McCain had a change of heart and resorted to diplomacy and compromise. As he learned to work with key parties, as opposed to fighting against them, the movement for reform made more and more progress. Having learned from this experience, McCain reformed himself into a negotiator and problem solver, and his even-tempered demeanor is largely responsible for his effectiveness in bringing opposing parties together on difficult issues.

Despite over two-and-a-half decades in Congress, long enough to get anyone to compromise their core values (see Senator Joe Paine in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”), John McCain has remained true to his guiding principles. For example, although he’s a Republican, John McCain has never been beholden to the positions of his party or of George Bush. He has broken with President Bush and/or Republican congressional leadership on issues such as tobacco, campaign finance, torture, greenhouse emissions, gun control, and immigration. Much has been made about McCain taking the same position as Bush 90% of the time during the past year. However, never once have I heard about a specific vote that McCain agreed with Bush on that was unwise. The 90% statistic without any context means nothing. McCain’s record consistently shows that there are substantial differences between he and Bush, and McCain does not care what President Bush or President Clinton or anyone else wants, he only cares about he thinks will help his country.

Further, John McCain would be the most prepared Commander-in-Chief since Dwight Eisenhower. He has nearly 50 years of service to his country. Following a 22 year military career, he has served in Congress for over 25 years. As stated, he’s been willing to take on tough issues. He doesn’t wait for others to tell him what position to take on issue. He has the courage to lead and the experience and judgment to make the right decision.

As I was up late with Dallin a few weeks ago I was struck by the realization that the next president will likely have even more of an impact on Dallin’s life than mine. I tried to compare the candidates in the light of who I thought would pursue policies most beneficial to Dallin. As you can imagine, I came to the same conclusion. John McCain will limit government spending so that Dallin’s generation is not stuck with my generation’s debt. McCain will pursue a comprehensive energy policy that will allow Dallin to live in a country that is energy independent by the time he is old enough to vote. McCain will implement a tax policy that allows me to put more money toward Dallin’s education. McCain will preside with a strong commitment toward keeping America safe so that Dallin can grow up without fear.

For all of these reasons and more, we have cast our votes for John McCain and encourage all of you to do the same. If you haven’t already, please vote this Tuesday.