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Monday, November 22, 2004 - 04:12 PM
A selection of responses from our readers...
November Letters
What’s at stake with the Drake?
Response to “Defining the Issues: Issue 43 The Drake Center Renewal”
In regards to what a “For” vote and an “Against” vote means for Issue 43, if a majority of Hamilton County voters cast an “Against” ballot, Drake Center will not receive any property tax subsidy in the levy period of 2005-2009. Obviously, this would prove to be difficult for the institution.
The replacement levy only allows for continued funding, at a reduced rate, if a majority votes “For” issue 43.
Rob F.
Licking the Wounds
On the election...
The most disappointing aspect of John Kerry's defeat was not that George Bush won the popular vote, or that he won at all. I think everyone knew that electing a liberal, Catholic Senator from Massachusetts would be difficult. But even while it seemed like a long shot, Kerry just missed winning Ohio, and if my peers had voted with a sizable turnout, he would have won Ohio decidedly, and therefore the White house.
What is truly sad, is that America voted on issues that do not matter. The polltakers call it moral values, but I intend to call it what it is; abortion and gays. The term "moral values" can mean many things. It could be a term used to describe the moral implications of our country's military invading a country that did not attack the U.S. The term could be used to call into question whether or not it was morally justified that the Iraq-based U.S. military personnel, Iraqi military, and innocent civilians have lost their lives.
But instead of applying moral values to all of the issues that were important in the election, conservative voters decided to apply them to only two: abortion and gays. George Bush is decidedly pro-Life, and there was an underground get out the vote effort throughout churches in the Midwest and South to ensure that the staunch pro-life president was re-elected. The anti same-sex marriage amendment proposals were strategically located in states where those same conservatives would feel strongly enough to show up in huge numbers and vote for the initiatives.
Bill Clinton put it best when he said that abortion should be safe, legal and rare. I could not agree more, and I wish John Kerry would have better articulated this point. As for the gay marriage issue, I'll quote Howard Dean. "We have got to stop having the campaigns run in this country based on abortion, guns, God and gays--and start talking about education, jobs and health care."
That's my take anyway, I don't know if it's right. It's just sad that in this day and age, this is what turned the election.
Eric L.
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