Winning Progressive

By Josh Marks

Did someone kill the hope and change? If so, that’s news to me and the millions of patriotic Americans who know in their hearts and minds that President Barack Obama saved us from another Great Depression and set us on the long, hard course to an economy built to last.

If Obama only pulled us from the edge of the cliff we were about to fall from, that would be enough to earn reelection. But he has done so much more to push the United States of America into the 21st century. The list of Obama’s accomplishments is too long for this post, but here is just a sampling of the foundation for a new America: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act, Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 and the Veteran Skills to Jobs Act. There was also the successful auto industry rescue that Mitt Romney opposed.

Democrats, progressives and especially the White House should not be running away from these accomplishments, but should instead be embracing them and standing up for them every chance they get. All of these laws are already bettering our lives and are proving that good government is not only an American tradition, but vital to our success moving forward.

But the media is sending the message that Obama has disappointed the people that elected him and that there is an enthusiasm gap that favors the Republicans. The Huffington Post and Washington Post both published widely read feature pieces on Sunday that criticize Obama for not engaging his followers while governing the way he did while campaigning. That some Obama 2008 supporters feel slighted and betrayed by the administration is very real, and should be addressed…after Obama is reelected. Now is not the time for criticism and disappointment in Obama’s first term. That is exactly what the right-wing Republican leadership is hoping for as Mitt Romney is eagerly preparing to move into the White House in January.

Which brings us to documentary filmmaker Michael Moore’s dire prediction that money will win this election and Mitt has more of it so he will win. That is, unless Obama supporters get more people to turn out at the voting booths on November 6th. So this is where you, me, your friends, your family, your coworkers, your Twitter followers and your mailman come into play. Because it is up to all of us, just like in 2008, to make sure that President Obama is reelected. And we all need to redouble our efforts because there are more cynics and critics out there now that Obama is an incumbent with an actual record, plus the anti-democracy Republicans have been passing voter suppression laws at a rapid pace in the hopes of stealing another election.

So, now is the time to put aside your disappointments and criticism of Obama for another day, because the alternative is President Romney and Vice President Ryan. How does that sound? Exactly. If you haven’t made phone calls for the Obama campaign, what are you waiting for? It’s easy and you get to meet likeminded people and feel good about making a difference. I’ve participated in many phone banks — in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and New York City. You will be recruiting volunteers or calling swing states like Pennsylvania or Virginia to make sure that residents are registered to vote, know about the different forms of ID they will need, where their polling place is located, information about early voting, and transportation options to the polling location.

Click here if you need to register to vote. Click here to sign up to volunteer for the Obama campaign. Click here to volunteer with MoveOn.org.

Just like in 2008, if enough of us get fired up and make enough phone calls and knock on enough doors and contribute what we can, we will win this election.

Tags: Biden, change, election, hope, Obama, phone calls, phonebank, reelection, Romney, Ryan, volunteer, volunteering, vote, voter registration

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 2nd, 2012 at 11:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.