Thursday, October 23, 2008

My concerns with Obama

As a fan of free markets, liberty, and limited government, I have grave concerns about Obama as president. I acknowledge his depth of intellect, and I also note that he has changed his views on a wide range of subjects in the past year, moving more to the center from the extreme left. But there are a handful of core beliefs and characteristics of his that I find quite disturbing. Karl Rove pinned this down in his WSJ column today.
Wanting to raise taxes -- anyone's taxes -- in a slowdown is a warning sign of a misguided economic philosophy. Obama's proposal to redistribute wealth is a warning of indifference or hostility to enterprise.

Three years ago, Mr. McCain called for stricter oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, warning their risky practices threatened our economy and could cost taxpayers billions. Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats ignored these signs and opposed reform.

Obama's health-care plan is a warning that government will have more, not less, to say about your health care if he has his way.

Obama's dismissal of offshore drilling and opposition to nuclear power are warning signs for an economy whose growth depends on affordable energy.

The absence of a single significant instance in which Mr. Obama cooperated in a bipartisan manner in the Senate is a warning sign. And so is his refusal to break with his party or its interest groups on any issue of substance.
To these I would add: Obama's strong belief in man-made global warming is a warning that the government will assume much broader control over economic activity (e.g., via limits on CO2 emissions). Obama's advocacy of youth corps and community service is a warning that the government will have more power to indoctrinate the young. Obama's belief in the power of government to do good is a warning that he will invariably choose more regulation and more government bureaucracy rather than less as a solution to problems that crop up.

And all of this will detract from individual liberty and free markets as it grants more power to government.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You wrote:
"I also note that he has changed his views on a wide range of subjects in the past year, moving more to the center from the extreme left."

This is normal. You go to your base during the primary, then move to the center for the general election. Clinton did it, Reagan did it, Bush did it.

That Obama did it shouldn't be a surprise, any more than McCain's recent desire to nationalize the home-mortgage industry/

Scott Grannis said...

I hope I didn't give the impression that McCain is perfect, for he has lots of flaws as well. On balance, though, I think McCain is the lesser of two evils.

Jon S. said...

Timw -- It is not normal for the Republican candidate to move all that much to the center. Some have in the past in cosmetic ways, but most of the time it's the Democrat who has to veer either leftward or, in Obama's case, far left in the primaries and then tack way back to the center.

McCain is already a centrist, and has some downright liberal views that are well known for years now, so his home-mortgage gambit isn't that surprising.

Martin Snider said...

Wow, what a fact-less critique from the mastermind of what is and will continue to be the worst Administration in the history of America. I know that at least half of his points are lies, so I really question the other half of his points.

McCain has no thoughts on anything other than pandering to whatever side of the issues that his pollsters tell him are popular today.

Let fear be your guide and you will always look to others for your beliefs.