I Didn’t Vote for Obama in 2008, but I’ll be First To Do So in 2012
(By Fay Paxton, cross-posted at The Pragmatic Pundit)
During the campaign, I was thousands of miles away, but as I watched it unfold, it was painfully obvious to me that America is nowhere near being post-racial and the southern strategy is not dead. I knew, that if elected, Barack Obama would become the object of the keenest scrutiny any President has ever been subjected to and his race, birthplace, indeed birthright and religion would dominate social concerns. America has not disappointed me.
It is sad to hear “disappointed” supporters wax naively about the President’s failures like political professionals who know everything about foreign policy, legislative bargaining and the government budgetary process. More often than not, I find they’re armed with little more than talking points, an entrenched ideology, reflections of an impossible ideal that borders close to God-like or are just plain old racists.
As I’ve watched President Obama labor against impossible odds, one thing became obvious to me, I would cast my vote for him in 2012 because his presidency calls upon all the ugliness that this nation needs to face. And there are other reasons:
1. I’ll vote for Obama because I like the idea that Wall Street has soured on the president. It tells me they didn’t get from him what they wanted and more importantly, because they’re withholding their support, he won’t be obligated to them. Besides, I have a problem with a group of grown men who have the nerve to feel sensitive after nearly toppling the entire economy.
Like the corporations that park their profits (profits they earned in America, from Americans) offshore because they want to be unregulated and untaxed, they’re holding the nation hostage. I’ll vote for Obama because I don’t want to pay the ransom.
From: CNN Money
Companies seek tax break for overseas profits
The tax holiday would lower the corporate tax rate to 5.25% for big companies such as the bill’s proponents — including Google, Oracle and Cisco — if they move their overseas profits to the United States.
Note: Generally, the U.S. corporate tax rate stands at 35%. I challenge anyone to name a corporation that pays 35% after all the tax cuts, tax credits, loopholes, deductions and subsidies. Costs are rising to do offshore business. Corporations are people…let them behave like all other American people and pay their taxes!
If you believe Obama’s policies are crippling when the stock market has reached an all-time high, you’re an idiot.
2. I’ll vote for Obama because I appreciate the distance of so many members of the 1%. They have made out like bandits and have the nerve to still be unhappy with their share. They receive all the tax cuts, tax credits and subsidies; still it isn’t enough. How much money does one person need?
Some complain that the wealthy pay 40% of the income taxes…they control 80% of the wealth, so I’m not certain they shouldn’t pay 80% of the taxes. If you live in this country, you pay taxes…buy a candybar.
3. I’ll vote for Obama to show the elite they can’t buy the government. The likes of Sheldon Adelson can give a candidate $20 million, but he still only has ONE vote. The Koch brothers can finance all the Tea Parties they desire, but in the end, they can each only submit one vote. Voters can defeat Citizens United. My vote for Obama will be a strike against corporate rule.
4. I’ll vote for Obama to uphold and celebrate the diversity that is America; to defy and deny all the racist rhetoric that has consumed the nation since his election. The divisive tactics politicians and the corporate media employ will continue as long as they know it works. I’ll vote to stop the deliberate attempts to drive a wedge between races, to stop disparage of minorities and the Gay community.
5. I’ll vote for Obama because the nation never respected his election, as if they had the right to disregard the votes of millions of Americans; to disavow their voting rights with the delegitimization of a candidate who was duly elected by the people.
Limbaugh: ‘I Hope Obama Fails’ 1/16/2009
GOP’s Anti-Obama Campaign Started Night Of Inauguration
‘If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo’ 7/20/2009
The Plot Against Barack Obama 10/28/2010
6. I’ll vote for Obama because I’ve seen this Republican playbook before; when Clinton was in office and I can’t imagine how anyone could possibly forget, they were “the party of No” then too. Republicans even accused Clinton of murder.
They have no respect for the “whole” of America; they think they are the only ones who have a right to govern and will drive America to the brink of destruction for political gain. These were the headlines then:
Daily News 1990:
Legislators Say There’s No Money.
New York Times 1995
BATTLE OVER THE BUDGET: THE PRESIDENT; Budget Crisis Jeopardizes Clinton’s Diplomatic Plans
Los Angeles Times 1997
Clinton Office, Republican Congress Near an Impasse
CNN – 1995
Americans blame GOP for budget mess
Buffalo News 1995
GOP FRESHMEN AREN’T COMPROMISING
THIS OUTRAGEOUSLY PHONY BUDGET CRISIS
7. I’ll vote for Obama because I know history. After Blacks won office in 1875, whites reacted in much the same way many reacted after Obama’s election. Like the Tea Party, opposition groups were formed. They changed the registration rules, employed gerrymandering and wrote new laws. It was called the Mississippi Plan and Jim Crow was born. History is repeating itself.
8. I’ll vote for Obama because to me he isn’t the problem. He needs a Congress that wants to govern. He needs a party that supports his platform. He needs supporters who will stay engaged. I listen to the endless declarations about “disappointment” in the president and wonder how disappointed he is in his supporters who went homeand watched their hopes drown in “tea”.
“Change doesn’t roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
9. I’ll vote for Obama because I still believe “yes we can”. The ordinary citizen can make the difference. When I think about the worldwide support his candidacy elicited, I can’t help but think that America missed the opportunity to become the exception it claims to be had it not been more focused on the destruction of Obama than on the elevation of the nation.
10. I’ll vote for Obama because I don’t hold him responsible for the economy. Not only is he the smallest spender since Eisenhower, but historytells us Republicans always “intentionally” sabotage the economy in order to extract huge sums of money from the working class.
Before the Great Depression, the U.S. Treasurer gave huge tax breaks to the wealthy. He believed, “The poor required little tax relief….they would just piss it away on food, clothing and shelter.”
For further Explanation, read #10 HERE
or read
Are Americans oblivious to History, stuck on Stupid or just ideological Idiots?
11. I’ll vote for Obama because Romney’s stint in politics as the Governor of Massachusetts proved he is incapable of transferring whatever he learned as a businessman to the management of a government economy, nor do I agree with his flippety-floppety positions; he makes it up as he goes.
Romney described himself as driven by a core economic credo, that capitalism is a form of “creative destruction.” What does that mean?
For further Explanation, read #11 HERE
and
Cory Booker and the Bain of Private Equity
12. I’ll vote for Obama because despite entrenched opposition and those who plotted against him even before he was sworn-in, he still accomplished so many things. I can only imagine what he could do with a little cooperation and support.
For further Explanation, read #12 HERE
Tags: 2012 Elections, forward, President Obama. Democratic accomplishments, Yes We Can
May 27th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
I like and agree with all your reasons for voting for him this time around but am curious as to who your choice was in ’08. As an Alaskan resident, Palin just was never going to do anything for me. Although VP choices usually don’t influence my decisions, her placement on the ticket and McCains’ reckless choice of her turned me off immediately. I was going to vote democratic regardless but his actions just confirmed my reasons. I don’t remember who any third party or independent choices were at the time.
Just found your blog and like it so far.