My post-debate reactions were unimpassioned; I felt each candidate gave a mediocre performance. Obama seemed more smooth, of course, and McCain seemed more relatable, but neither gave overly convincing arguments or seemed to capture and quell the underlying frustrations of either party. If I were an independent voter who, as of Friday night, had no idea who to vote for, I would still have no idea who to vote for.


So I’m calling it a draw.

But because most political media is still focused on trying to decide which man was the victor, it has been easy for Obama to sweep some bad press under the rug as he proves himself to be a proponent for censorship and the revocation of essential, long-standing rights.

Yesterday, Obama’s campaign caught wind of some NRA-PVF (that’s the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund) ads that were set to air in the coming weeks. The ads dug into Obama’s longstanding anti-gun voting record, which he apparently wants to keep a secret.


While I’m not wildly dedicated to maintaining the 2nd Amendment, I support it. I have an NRA sticker on the back of my car from the previous owner, and, if I’m being honest, I keep it there because it kind of makes me feel cool. I’ve always thought that if we outlaw guns, we’ll just find guns in the hands of outlaws. And then the responsible citizens who use them wisely won’t have them when they need them. The right to bear arms is one of the originals, something our founding fathers thought was absolutely essential, and I think it ill-advised to go questioning the wisdom of these men.

I think, though, that when most people debate this issue, their minds are primarily on handguns. But Obama is so liberal, so extreme, that he has voted to ban nearly all guns, including rifles, shotguns, and all the ammunition most common for hunting. My dad, my grandpa, and all my uncles hunted regularly when I was growing up, and not a single one of them ever got shot. This is in part because to obtain a hunting license, you’re required to take a gun safety course. But it’s also because hunters don’t typically use their rifles for murder. A 2006 study showed that 9 in 10 crimes involving a firearm were committed with handguns, not with hunting rifles.

So I’m not sure what Obama’s justification for his many anti-rifle votes is. Other than furthering the government’s control over our lives.

But I’m not sure what irks me more: Obama’s voting record, or his new-found love of censorship. His campaign is doing everything in its power to make sure no one ever sees these NRA ads, including threatening TV and radio stations who are considering airing them (if you want to see the most controversial, go here: http://election.newsmax.com/nra_Hunter.html). I understand that sometimes campaigns get down and dirty, divulging personal secrets or attacking a candidate’s family members or bringing up irrelevant issues just for shock value. But this series of ads is legitimate, and I see this issue as fair game. America households, nearly 40% of which report owning at least one gun, need to know about this candidate’s leftist past (and present and future) in order to cast an informed vote. And unless Obama is, for some reason, ashamed of or embarrassed by this record, he should be just fine with letting these ads air and showing the voting public where he stands.

But instead, he’s trying to control what our media is allowed to show us. He’s trying to limit free speech. He’s trying to keep us blind and defenseless.

But who knows? Maybe I’ll just ask George Orwell who I should vote for.

Whether or not you agree with or oppose extensive gun control legislation, I think we can all agree that we’d like to keep one right, that of our First Amendment, intact. And I’d like a president who’ll fight for that, not quash it. If you think I’m taking this too far, look up some of Obama’s comments about Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly. You might start to understand that this is a man who digs censorship in many forms.

I pray that none of you vote oral duct tape into our White House. Just something to think about.

When I first came to college, I kept my mouth generally shut whenever someone brought up politics, mostly because I could tell that the speakers who initiated such discussions were the overly-vocal, stubborn, uninformed members of their respective parties, and whatever I had to say, be it in support or opposition, would be discounted. I then quietly staked my claim as a proud Republican, and, as many of you know, I got a decent amount of flack for it (on a side note, my beliefs remain unaffected).

Things quieted down after people started to realize that—what a shocker—I might actually know what I’m talking about. They didn’t start agreeing with me, and I didn’t expect them to, but they at least respected my opinions and noted that they were all backed with factual support and logic. But I am not by any means the only Republican in history to have substantiated my platform. For some reason, though, we have been conditioned to think that we’re wrong, to think that we should be ashamed of ourselves for sporting elephants and red, to think that we shouldn’t speak because someone else will attack. We have, therefore, been silenced, and have thus lost touch with our comrades.

But we are not rare. We are not the minority. We are equally numbered and equally strong. We’re just not as damn loud about it.

I have two bumper stickers on my car, one that states simply “McCain for President 2008” and another that subtly reads, “No thanks, keep the change.” Driving to Boulder this past weekend, I stopped at a red light and noticed in my rear-view mirror a man and his wife reading the back of my car. They chuckled, saw that I saw them, and gave me a thumbs-up. Later, the same stickers got me flipped off, but I was still so happy about the first reaction that I didn’t care. I was glad to be a lifeline for one conservative couple stuck in a liberal town. I was glad to be a ray of hope that told them, “no, you’re not alone.”

I know you think I’m overdramatizing this, but until you’ve had your political identity stifled into a coma, you can’t understand. And in the past two days since the thumbs-up incident, I have had a girl stop by my dorm to thank me for being her fellow Republican, and another message left on my whiteboard saying, “Yay McCain! Finally!” These people have been so starved for allies, fighting so hard not to be force-fed false hope and loose change, that something as simple as a sticker can create a haven for them.

If you’re preaching coexistence, practice it. Let the Republicans of the world thrive, too, and don’t try to shame us for thinking our thoughts. We might not be the media’s favorite children or live beneath rainbows or really, really hate guns, but we have the same liberties as the Democrats next door. Grant us our rightful speaking privileges, if you would be so kind.

And, to the Republicans in the audience, quit shutting up.

Eighteen hours ago, I was the victim of a hate crime.

Ok, that’s a little extreme, but my dorm room door WAS vandalized because of my proudly displayed, conservative ideals. They weren’t obnoxious adornments or anything offensive, just a Fresh Elephant advertisement and a John McCain sticker. I’ve been choking on Obama merchandise since I got here, so I figured I’d be allowed my drop in the political bucket. But evidently contrary opinions are not entitled to free speech. As it turns out, basic courtesy and first amendment rights are reserved exclusively for people who have identical thoughts, and if anyone with ideas outside your comfort zone rears his head, it’s fully justified to lash out in irate attacks, stomping the stranger to death until he curls up like a wounded spider, spasmodically twitching his daddy-longish legs.

Sarcasm.

So here’s what happened: I’ve had my Fresh Elephant blog (freshelephant.blogspot.com, if you haven’t visited yet) advertised on my door for about a week now, but the Republican elephant symbol on it is subtle and faded, so no one really paid attention. Yesterday, my roommate stuck a John McCain sticker (a little one, mind you) below our peephole. That’s it. I strolled back from the dining hall in the evening and saw that someone had scribbled “REPUBLICANS SUCK” over our whiteboard messages and had also used the dry-erase marker to cross out McCain’s name.

Sure, whiteboards are fair game. Everyone has them hanging up and anyone can write whatever they’re motivated to. I didn’t much care for the message, but it wouldn’t have hacked me off too bad. The sticker, however, is now forever smudged with slander, and no matter how much I rub it or how much Windex I use, there is the faint outline of a thick, black squiggle through the name of a man I respect and support very much.

I do not expect everyone in this building to honor John McCain as I do. I’m in the Performing Arts hall, for crying out loud, I know we’ve got Democrats. And I’m ok with it. But if they run all over the place preaching a message of love and tolerance, they cannot turn around and alienate anyone dissimilar. I am also a believer in an almost universal acceptance, but I make an effort to practice such theories as well. If I went door-to-door down these hallways and tried to vandalize every liberal token, I would run out of ink. So I guess it’s a good thing I’m not that insolent and closed-minded.

Disagree with me; I encourage it. But have the balls to approach me, not a sticker, about it, and be prepared to show me that you know what you’re talking about. Because if your vocal arguments are as cowardly and hot-headed as your marker demonstration, you’re not going to win with me. Say it’s an oxymoron, but I am an informed Republican, and I am ready and willing to articulate my support for my party sans name-calling and defacement.

Bring it.