Webzine editor Gary Becker, who you voting for?
October 26, 2008 at 12:00 pm by Wayne GarciaToday’s installment, and don’t forget to vote in the online presidential survey after the jump.
Gary Becker, former St. Petersburg police officer and editor of T.I. Beach Bums webzine
He’s voting for: John McCain. “Being a lifelong Republican, I will vote for McCain.”
Why? “I am not in love with McCain and feel the Republicans may regret not choosing someone else as their candidate. While McCain certainly has the credentials to be president, his Washington ties and the Bush hangover, who has been a disappointment not only to most of the country but also to those of us who supported him, may be too much for McCain to overcome. The Republicans would have been much better off choosing one of the former governors that were available other than McCain. I think we got a taste of that regret when they chose Palin as McCain’s running mate. Having said that, McCain more closely echoes my political beliefs of less federal government, a more aggressive energy program while having the foreign policy experience to deal with the international threats that pose a much greater danger to this nation than a bus load of CEO’s ripping off Wall Street. It’s one thing to watch the Dow go dow,n but a totally different matter watching a skyscraper go down after some terrorists flies an airliner full of people into the building.”
What he would say to an Obama supporter: “The one thing I would say to an Obama supporter is, ‘Do you really think that taxing both small and large business is going to solve all our problems?’ When you raise taxes and remove tax breaks to business, you increase the cost of doing business. When business increases costs it will increase the price of their product, which means you and I pay more for everything, which leads to inflation. It is very simple. When you tax business, you tax the consumer. The only thing any tax increase does is gives Washington more of our money to waste and less money for our economy.
“I have done the math on McCain’s health care program. It would cut my health care costs by about 40 percent, while Obama’s plan would burden me with not only my family’s current health care costs but the eventual cost to provide everyone else with health care. I wish we could provide health care to all, but the nation cannot afford to do so at this time. As far as the economy goes, all of Washington created this mess, fed off the good years and got caught with their pants down when the bottom fell out. I am against the bailout without more accountability from those who were most involved both in Washington and Wall Street. The lending crisis has been 30 years in the making. Add the rise in energy costs, which again is the result of Washington doing nothing for 30 years, and you have the recipe for recession. I am disappointed in the reaction of both candidates. Neither has a clue what to do.”
Local candidate that most interests him: “As far as the local or state elections, the one issue that I am watching is the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, which would make only male-female unions legal. Though I believe ‘marriage’ should be between a woman and a man, this amendment also states that no other legal union or substantial equivalent shall be valid or recognized. I believe this amendment goes too far and that there should be legal options for those who want to live an alternate lifestyle and want a legal union. It will be very interesting how Florida votes on this amendment. I am very surprised there has been no campaign waged from either side of this issue.”
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