Shining City Upon a Hill

Reagan once describe our Republic by saying, "after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home"

What has happened to Reagan's vision? What has happened to American's stellar example? Who has turned out the lights on that "Shining City Upon a Hill?"

American has long been admired as the leader of the free world. We held the moral high ground on issues such as human rights, the rule of law, the importance of individual rights. This country, this Republic, held to a higher standard. We stood with the oppressed and helped the little guy. We were admired for our cause and convictions. It was unfathomable to thing that our government, this Republic, would ever sanction the use of torture, kidnappings, indefinite detentions of alleged enemies, wire-tappings of our own citizens, without some sort of due process and oversight.

What has happened? Those high standards are no more. We are no longer considered the shining beacon but viewed as dark and sinister. This election I will be voting for a lot of Democrats. However, I am not a Democrat. 8 times out of 10 times I normally vote for Republicans. I am a registered Republican. I have long considered myself a Republican, but recently I have become more moderate than my party. (Or my party has moved much farther to the right than I am). I now consider myself an Independent. I am voting for change, congressional oversight and White House accountability. I am voting against Republican corruption and out-of-control spending. If that takes putting Democrats in charge of Congress, then so be it. So how did I get to this point? How did we as a Republic lose the respect of the free world and get here?

--Unfortunately, the Republicans have proved to the nation that they are ineffective lawmakers. They have the Presidency, the House, and the Senate and they still could not get anything done. Instead of trimming government they have built the largest government in 60 years.

--This administration has decided that the Geneva Conventions, the rules of warfare are open to interpretation and optional if we see fit.

--Congressional oversight has been non-existed. The Republican Congress has failed to provide the historic checks and balances and essential oversight that Congress has traditionally performed in the past in keeping the executive branch honest and above aboard. Instead they have stood at a safe distance and nodded their approval at the blank-check policies of the Bush Administration.

--The Republicans saw fit to deprive Americans of their "certain inalienable rights" such as negating Habeus Corpus. The cornerstone of human rights has been thrown away like trash. Additionally, the Patriot Act is the single largest invasion of individual rights in modern history.

--NSA wiretapping of domestic phone calls without a court order or court scrutiny.

--Hurricane Katrina debacle. We provide more help to foreign countries than we provide in the days and weeks after our countries greatest natural disaster ever. The President did nothing. "Old Brownie" was doing a good job, just like Rumsfeld is. Right?

--The War in Iraq. It is going very badly. Worse than could have been imagined. Nothing else needs to be said about this issue.

--The fact that this administration has used the grounds of the White House--America's House--to advance discrimination against its own citizens is an insult to millions of fair minded Americans from all walks of life.

--The current administration is full of hypocrisy from the Abramoff and Delay Scandals to Mark Foley to Ted Haggard to name a few.

One or two of these examples could possibly be forgiven and moved past. Taken together it represents a government that is out of control and dangerous.

So I may be naive for voting for Democrats. However, I believe I am doing the only thing that can be done in 2006. Right now, at this moment, we need to get the "far right" out of Washington.

Being a member of a party means more than following every member of a party even when they do wrong. Being an American means placing country ahead of your party or politics.

President Bush has betrayed the values of the party of Lincoln and Reagan. More importantly he has let down the American people. It is important to make a change now so that the next leaders and nominees of the Republican party can start to think about the future and articulate a vision for 2008 and beyond. America needs to return to being that "Shining City Upon a Hill."