Conservative Tide Turning

Yesterday, Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) announced that he would not be seeking re-election. YAY!! There are numerous reasons why some are happy about this news; I have two very distinct reasons:

1. I strongly believe in term limits. Currently the Senate seats have no term limits, and because of this we have Senators who have become career politicians, sitting in those seats for decades - I don't believe that is the best for government. I even believe we should have term limits for the SCOTUS judges. Allowing a person to sit in the same office for decades just lends itself to these people getting in routines and doing the same ole, same ole, year after year. It gets more and more difficult for them to think outside the box and to embrace new ideas. I think it would be best to have a blend of old tradition and new ideas to help stabilize our country. Using one extreme or the other is never a good thing.
   
   
2. Senator Bunning has been no friend to the gay community. He has co-sponsored, voted for, and given speeches time and again for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. I believe this is one of problems with the GOP. Instead of focusing on decreasing the size of government, government efficiency, and spending reductions, they have allowed the extreme religious right to control the party and push social agendas which actually increase the size and scope of the government. That is not being "conservative" in my opinion.

I'm certain that Senator Bunning has had some bright spots in his career, and I thank him for his public service; however, it's time (has been time) to go.

Looking to the future, I have a good feeling about Trey Grayson - our current (Republican) Secretary of State. Secretary Grayson has done an outstanding job as SOS of KY. I gave him my vote again this past election and would do so again. He has opened up the SOS services more than ever before with making so many of them available online. He has made the process of starting a new business in Kentucky almost effortless. He embraces technology and hopefully new ideas.

He does not have a current voting record. I am not sure about all his views on the social issues. I will be looking forward to hearing him speak on these topics. However, more importantly, I am hoping to hear that he plans to focus his work on reducing government size, spending, and inefficiency. While he may be for the "traditional" definition of marriage, I would be happy were he to go to DC and focus on fiscal issues instead of grand-standing on social issues. Too many politicians now use social issues as wedge issues to incite emotions in people to get them to the polls. As a conservative, I find that social issues are easily solved - do NOT involve the government. Involving government in making social decisions expands the size of government, and deteriorates our individual freedom. I realize were the issue of marriage to come up, he may have to vote based on his constituency's voice; however, I am hopeful that he does not use the issue to muddy the waters and to grand-stand to make a name for himself. If that is his path, then he won't get my vote.

We'll see how this plays out...

PS - LT. Gov. Mongiardo? I will never vote for him. I am done with back-stabbing Democrats. There may be some 'good' Dems left, but President Clinton, Rep Chandler (D-KY), President Obama, and Lt. Gov. Mongiardo have left me with a very sour taste for the Democratic party.