For God’s sake, can we get a few things straight here? All Kerry supporters are not “liberal” and all Bush supporters are not “conservative.” While there may be many liberals on the Kerry side and many people considered conservative on Bush’s side, there is an ample mix of people on both sides that are a mixture. In fact, I would guess that on both sides there are a solid mixture of people representing a variety of views supported by one or the other party.

It pains me because by some definitions, I’m a liberal, mostly on social policies like gay marriage, death penalty, etc. In a lot of other ways, though, you could call me conservative, mostly on economic, fiscal, and foreign policy issues. I’ve been a registered Republican in the past. I’m now a registered Democrat. I’ve voted across party lines. So what am I? Conservative? Liberal? It’s frustrating to me to read things that paint all Kerry supporters as liberal or pacifist or whatever.

The fact of the matter is that a great many Kerry supporters are with this candidate for many reasons. This even extends to foreign policy and combatting terrorists. I support Kerry because his foreign policy team is made up of people who have experience in foreign service. Some key members, when faced with the poor decisions made by the Bush administration, resigned rather than remaining quiet. Beyond that, the Bush foreign policy team’s successes are so few and far between that they absolutely do not deserve a second chance at screwing up another four years.

I also believe, quite strongly, that Congress has a role in this process. We are not a monarchy, nor should we resemble one even in times of war. While Kerry’s stated positions may not be perfect for me, I believe that Congress can help guide a new administration’s policy. I believe that a Kerry administration will be more receptive to collaboration with politicians across the aisle.

I don’t think that banning the Bible is a good thing. I don’t hate America. I don’t believe that America is at fault for everything.

What I do hate is people that paint anyone that disagrees with them as a traitor. It’s foolish and threatening to our very democracy and freedom. Give it up, and focus on the issues.

Thanks, I just needed to get that off my chest.