In the wake of a devastating superstorm fueled by climate change; at a time when Republican senators cannot seem to stop engaging in foot-in-mouth discussions about rape; while Tea Party members and toupeed billionaires attempt to degrade, shame and attack the President of the United States via thinly veiled racism; as popular conservative pundits prove to be more outwardly hateful and racist by repeatedly playing songs like, “Barack the Magic Negro” on their radio show as well as calling the sitting President a “retard”: I can’t fathom how any Republican can embrace their current party.
As a woman, as a mother, as a human being I must ask: where do you draw the line? What values are you teaching your children? What kind of price are you willing to pay for a tiny tax cut?
Sacrificing your reproductive rights?
Denying people their basic civil rights?
Really?
I am a Democrat.
I am a Democrat because I would be willing to pay a bit more in taxes to fund government programs like Medicaid, The Affordable Care Act and Food Stamps which help disadvantaged Americans.
I am a Democrat because I am compassionate and respect the rights of others, and those are the responsibilities and values I am instilling in my daughter.
Naturally, I’m voting for Barack Obama this week, and for many reasons. Here they are, in no particular order of importance:
I’m voting for Obama because he believes reproductive choices should be made between a woman and her doctor.
I’m voting for Obama because the Republican Platform is calling for a constitutional ban on abortion.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney wants to overturn Roe v Wade.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney said he will appoint supreme court justices who would overturn Roe v Wade, and five of the current justices are over seventy years of age.
I’m voting for Obama because he repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Before that repeal, “More than 13,000 service members had been discharged since DADT went into effect in 1993” (LA Times, July 23, 2011). That means 13,000 military members were discharged simply for being openly gay.
I’m voting for Obama because he was the first Democratic President to come out in support of gay marriage.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney supports the passing of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as “the union of one man and one woman.”
I’m voting for Obama because he supports labor unions.
I’m voting for Obama because he wants to reinstate the ban on assault weapons. No citizen needs an assault weapon. Period.
I’m voting for Obama because he stopped the unnecessary war in Iraq and wants to end our presence in Afghanistan.
I’m voting for Obama because he stopped us from stumbling into a depression, we avoided a complete meltdown, and all signs show us heading in the right direction. Anyone who thinks more could have been done in only four years with the task he inherited is delusional. Seriously.
I’m voting for Obama because of the Affordable Care Act.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney and Ryan’s healthcare plan would NOT prohibit discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
I’m voting for Obama because of his student loan reforms that would enable more people to get a college education.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney wants to nullify the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gases under The Clean Air Act.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney would cut all funding for Planned Parenthood, an organization which provides life-saving medical preventative care for millions of women.
I’m voting for Obama because he approved one of the largest funding increases for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in decades.
I’m voting for Obama because his Job Corps Act would put veterans to work as police officers, firefighters, and rangers in our National Parks.
I’m voting for Obama because Mitt Romney doesn’t have a plan to address unemployment among veterans, or at least not one that I’ve seen through my research.
I’m voting for Obama because he supports stem cell research.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney wants to uphold No Child Left Behind, which, as any teacher knows, is a NIGHTMARE.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney wants to start drilling in federally protected areas, discontinue wind and solar energy development and is against carbon emissions regulations.
I’m voting for Obama because he wants to cut military funding and use more sanctions and diplomacy.
I’m voting for Obama because Romney wants to increase the strength of armed forces as well as the military budget.
I’m voting for Obama because the Romney plan suggests taxes would decrease for the wealthy but rise for the middle class, according to the Tax Policy Center.
I’m voting for Obama because I believe in science.
I’m voting for Obama because I believe in climate change, and it’s certainly not a joke.
I’m voting for Obama because of THIS:
What a dick.
#Obama2012
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52 Comments
Boom! All solid points! Great job! I totally agree with you and I think it’s important to explain the differences between the two candidates in case you have some readers who are undecided. Four More Years!!!!!
I can’t fathom how people can be undecided between these 2 very opposite candidates.
It’s just what smart people do.
Agree.
hear hear!
Can you file an absentee ballot, my lady?
Love this, and that you’re posting it – in a day when not so many stand for their beliefs. My public opinion on the election is that tomorrow {probably Wednesday} all of the commercials, calls, rants will be over
I just wish everyone was really educated about these issues. They matter.
Beautifully stated!!
Thanks, katie! Hope your family on S.I. is okay. Thinking about them…
Amen. (there’s a statement the republicans are sure to understand)
I just tried to “like” that comment.
You do realize that video was weeks BEFORE Sandy right? I guess if Obama is supposed to stop the swells of the Ocean Romney should have predicted Sandy.
Huh? That video was from the republican national convention, and it simply shows how Romney thinks climate change is something to scoff at.
Thank you for breaking the blogging rules. However, I think one of the premises of blogging I most treasure is the idea of having an honest voice.
I agree, 100%. It’s just funny that I have recently read a few blog posts where writers claimed that if you want to be a successful blogger and work with companies, avoid all political discussion! Meh. Being a feisty liberal is a huge part of who I am.
He is SUCH a dick. Great post! xo
Thanks, Allison!
Absolutely love this. I wish that every.single.one of my conservative friends would just read this.
Thank you! Unfortunately I feel like my conservative friends are WILLING to sacrifice people’s civil rights and widen the inequality gap if it means they can pay a smidge less in taxes. It sucks.
But you’re willing to sacrifice people’s civil rights and widen the inequality gap (hallmarks of this Presidency) if it means you can be a smidge more condescending about your own total lack of perspective or practical education.
At least you aren’t half-stepping on the hypocrisy.
Oh look! A conservative calling a liberal “condescending” for stating facts! My stars, I have never seen THAT before! Snooze. Best of luck tomorrow.
I respect your position but I don’t agree with you. That’s the great thing about America. We don’t have to agree, and we each get to vote. I don’t agree with the Healthcare bill. I’ve read it and reread it. The cost is astronomical. It’s going to do more harm than good. The idea is great. The implementation is not. And the burden it will add to smaller businesses, like the one I work in, will put many of them out of business in the coming years ahead. I know, I’ve crunched the numbers. My job is on the chopping block as a result. That alone is enough reason for me to vote Obama out. It’s a disastrous plan.
Obama is full of ideas. But when you break his plans apart, they fall apart. So I choose to vote the other way.
Does that make me a bad mother? No. That makes me an informed voter. Suggesting I’m a bad mother for being informed and having an opinion is sort of unfair. But again, that’s what makes this nation great. We all get to have our opinions. And because I like having an opinion and I like that others get to have an opinion, I respect that you have yours. And in return, I hope that you can learn to respect that other people are entitled to theirs, as well as as they are entitle to their vote.
You are absolutely entitled to your vote and your opinion- no where in my post did I state otherwise, nor did I insinuate that you’re a bad mother.
I will say, though, I’m curious about these numbers you have crunched and precisely where you gleaned your facts. I would hate to think that your job is on the chopping block, but I also hate to think of the millions of uninsured children this bill would help. Personally, I would take a hit in taxes if it means more people have access to affordable care. Happy healthy workers make a better economy (although big pharma would probably disagree).
Also- how do you explain the success of the universal healthcare plan in MA, created by Romney?
Big ‘Romneycare’ secret: It didn’t rein in costs
It’s nice that you clarified what you meant. From her perspective, I can see how she might have thought you were insinuating “bad mother”, etc. from this: “As a woman, as a mother, as a human being I must ask: where do you draw the line? What values are you teaching your children? What kind of price are you willing to pay for a tiny tax cut? Sacrificing your reproductive rights? Denying people their basic civil rights? Really?”
I can’t understand some of the stats in that article. 45 days to wait to see a doctor? In what imaginary town in MA?! Between my primary care, my ob/gyn, my husband’s primary care and our kid’s pediatrician- we’ve all gotten nothing less than next day appointments, if not SAME day. That’s four different drs from 4 different towns and practices- so that 45 days wait average HAS to be way, way off. In fact, it took longer to see a dr in NY by leaps and bounds.
As for the “bad mother” comment, I can see how one might insinuate that. You know what, though? If you’re a mother and you’re voting against gay marriage, against a woman’s right to choose, against healthcare for millions of children and people who otherwise couldn’t afford it, well, what kind of values ARE you teaching your kid? To guard their wallets while people suffer all around them? That seems shitty to me. Sorry. Not the lesson I want to teach my children- not the morals we guide out life by, and if you’re a Christian, is it actually VERY opposite of what Christian beliefs entail. Jesus wouldn’t leave his neighbor’s suffering. So maybe you’re right. I can’t FATHOM how someone can vote to move backwards and hurt so many groups of people, be they immigrants, women, veterans, the disadvantaged or the LGBT community, all for a teeny tax break. Seems crappy.
Massachusetts Patients Face Long Wait Times For Doctor Appointments
It looks like the studies have focused on New Patients and doctors who accept MassHealth (Medicaid). Were you a new patient or on Medicaid?
So you actually are calling Golden a bad mother for voting for Romney?
@Linear Yes. My entire family were new patients. Brand, spanking new and at 4 different practices.
Voting against affordable healthcare for millions of children; voting against breast cancer screenings for millions of women; voting to take away my reproductive rights; voting for some disaffected man, completely out of touch with the needs of the middle class; voting for someone who scoffs at global warming and is overturning laws that regulate greenhouse gases so our kids can live on a healthy planet; voting against the right of millions of individuals to marry whomever they please; voting AGAINST equal pay for women? Well…that doesn’t seem like a very compassionate human being, much less mother, now does it?
I would happily pay MORE taxes to help the disadvantaged. Someone this morning said it best on Twitter:
“I vote not as if I might someday be rich, I vote as if I might someday be poor.”.
It’s something to think about. I think about the future. I think about my daughter running into hard times one day as a grown-up, if my husband and I are no longer around. I want her to have health-care. I want her to have a country that will embrace her and help her, not shit all over her. As a parent, THAT seems like a no-brainer to me.
You get what you give, and if you only look out for your own wallet, well…oh, wait, don’t worry about it. We (the democrats) will take care of you.
Then perhaps you live in a good county. From the pdf linked in “Big ‘Romneycare’ secret: It didn’t rein in costs“:
“There is wide variation in average wait times by county for family medicine offices. Plymouth County has the shortest average wait time at 19 days. In Franklin County, where just one office was accepting new patients (17% acceptance rate), there was the longest single wait time among all the counties at 205 days. Suffolk and Essex counties each have the lowest single wait time at one day. Half of family medicine offices in the state are accepting new patients. Family medicine offices in Hampden County are most likely to accept new patients with 71% of the offices there saying they are currently open to taking on new patients.”
GO ROMNEY! NObama will NOT be getting my vote, period. 4 more years with this joker? No way.
Good luck with that.
You could have saved a bunch of time by saying “I’m voting for Obama because I have no intellectual curiosity or integrity”.
Barack Obama think states should be able to deny marriage benefits to homosexuals, and that the federal government has the right to discriminate against homosexuals in hiring. He is to the right of Dick Cheney when it comes to gay rights.
Barack Obama tried to extend the Iraq War, and now lies that he ended it.
Barack Obama wants and plans for us to stay in Afghanistan until AT LEAST 2024, and lies that he is leaving in 2014.
Barack Obama has been the worst enemy medical cannabis users and providers have ever known.
Barack Obama is a war criminal who has murdered women and children, the innocent and the guilty, American citizen and innocent foreigner. Not only does he not apologize for this murder, he claims that everyone he kills deserves it, because HE SAYS SO. He has also claimed that his discretion alone suffices as “due process”.
Barack Obama has deported more foreign workers in 4 years than Bush did in 8, tearing apart thousands to millions of families.
Barack Obama has prosecuted more whistle blowers with the Espionage Act than all other Presidents combined, and has vigorously fought in court for the right to avoid any and all accountability and transparency for his Administration.
Barack Obama illegally circumvented bankruptcy law to take investment money from private citizens and give it to his political supporters.
Barack Obama made illegal recess appointments while Congress was not in recess.
Barack Obama illegally used the military in Lybia without approval or notification of Congress, in blatant violation of the War Powers Act.
Barack Obama extended the PATRIOT ACT.
Barack Obama has expanded the use of, and fought to maintain access to, illegal warrant-less wiretaps.
Barack Obama has continued the policy of extraordinary rendition, sending our prisoners to other, less law-abiding, nations for questioning.
Barack Obama extended the Bush tax cuts.
Barack Obama restarted secret military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay.
Barack Obama signed off on the act that allows him to detain any American citizen indefinitely without trial or formal charges, again at his discretion alone. He claimed that he would never use the power, and that he completely disagreed with the power, and then sued to save the power in court.
Barack Obama allowed lobbyists to write his health care bill, sold it off by piece to ram it through on a partisan vote the nation did not support, knowingly lied about the bill’s cost, and in the process created a new tax for the poor, one where the unwealthy are mandated to buy a service from the private wealthy. Short version – Barack Obama sold out meaningful and efficient health care reform for the next several generations even further to the big monied interests who have run his Presidency to date.
Barack Obama has done nothing to curb the excesses that caused the 2009 collapse. His solution to every issue so far seems to be “print more money and give it to the banks as interest-free loans and giveaways”.
Barack Obama has prosecuted over 200 providers of medical cannabis who were operating within the confines of state law, despite claiming (even to the current day) that he would not prosecute anyone operating within state law. Meanwhile, he has prosecuted ZERO of the people responsible for the collapse of 2009.
Again, be honest and save yourself some time. You’re a Democrat, and you’re voting for Barack Obama because you care more about cultural perception than you do actual policy. It is only a cult of personality, the foundation of both of the major parties, that could convince a nation of illiterates that Mitt Romney is an anti-woman bigot, or the Barack Obama is a champion of the little man.
When you’re ready to value reality more than partisan sound bites, we’ll welcome you here in the rational, empirical world. Meanwhile, I hope that you understand that you don’t actually believe in “science”. Like most Democrats, you believe in science where it creates a distinction between you and your antagonist, but you clearly refuse to apply the scientific method to anything in politics.
Oh man, I could have a field day dissecting each of these absurd falsehoods bit by bit. A field day. A festival of fact checking and calling bullshit on every point, but I won’t. Again, best of luck tomorrow Jeremy Hurtt. May compassionate intellectualism prevail. If Romney wins, well, I sure hope you’re a super wealthy white guy, because if not? You’re fucked.
Thank you. All very valid points and reasons. Including your final statement.
Thanks, Mary.
well said!
Let’s do this!
I am so depressed about this election. I don’t understand why it’s not 99% Obama, .01% Romney (with the rest undecided).
Great post.
Yep. I know. I’m having a hard time thinking about living in a nation where half the people think this ticket is a remotely reasonable choice. It’s scary and sad as hell.
What a dick sums it up perfectly
Arrogant condescending dick.
Sigh. I just don’t get it.
Your “What a dick” comment negates your “I am a Democrat because I am compassionate and respect the rights of others, and those are the responsibilities and values I am instilling in my daughter.”
It’s ok to disagree with someone’s vision, but calling someone a dick is not being respectful…. but hey, that’s the democratic way right? Point fingers and name call.
You know what I find disrespectful? A man trying to take away my reproductive rights, and denying my LGBT friends a right to marriage.
perfectly valid statement…. those two points are the only things I disagree with regarding Romney’s vision. A woman’s right to choose should not be governed, as well as whom someone can love.
With any candidate, you will have pros and cons… I don’t agree with Obama’s plan going forward as he hasn’t executed his original plan so I don’t feel he’s credible. My biggest issue with Obama when he was elected was wondering if he could pull off what he promised, being that he had no experience in doing so… I see hope with Romney because of his past achievements, and that’s why I’m casting my vote for him. I feel it’s time to give someone else a chance.
Just out of curiosity, what do you think were Romney’s past achievements? Are we talking about as the head of Bain? The job his father handed him when he shipped thousands of jobs overseas and shuttered the doors of many small businesses? Or as governor of MA? When he slashed funding across the board and the state suffered? It’s telling that the people of MA are not voting for him, you know?
Just something to think about. I see a great deal of “We need Romney because he was a good businessman” talk, but I don’t actually see any proof of him being a good, fair businessman who worked hard to get to the top. I also can’t think of any successful presidents who were “good businessmen”- they were all lawyers, intellectuals, etc.
I will respectfully disagree with what you are saying. I have thought about this for several hours (overnight). You think because I teach my children to respect others, am a Christian, will not vote for Obama, homeschool and countless many other things, I am a racist and a bad mother. You are very wrong. Just because I vote according to my values, which I don’t feel that Obama supports, does not make me a racist or a bad mother. You have called many people who have disagreed with you names but we are not allowed to call others names. Really? First of all, I wouldn’t do that because it is not what the loving Jesus of the Bible would have done. Second, it is disrespectful. I believe that God doesn’t want me voting for anyone, not just president, that supports another persons right to kill a child. I was pressured when pregnant with my daughter to abort her because she ‘might’ have down syndrome or another condition that would have led to her dying shortly after birth. I don’t believe in abortion so we chose to continue the pregnancy. Guess what, I have a very healthy, intelligent almost 11 year old daughter. Have you read any follow-up on Roe in the Roe v Wade case? The woman went on to have the baby and is adamantly against abortion today. She does not support it in any case. But this election isn’t just about abortion for me. It is also about my rights to continue to homeschool my children and not just for religious beliefs. We homeschool for other reasons. One of those being that my daughter has food allergies to wheat, corn, milk and soy. Why should an educator have to monitor my child’s classroom to be sure she does not ingest or touch any of those? They are in most everything that any other child would bring to school. I couldn’t care less what race (black, white, green, pink, purple, brown or yellow)a person running for any office is because we are all the same race,human. We just have different levels of melatonin in our skin which make us different colors. Calling someone a racist for not voting for a person of a darker skin tone is wrong and in my opinion could be labeled as reverse racism. It doesn’t make me a bad mother either for standing up for my beliefs and showing my children that it is okay to have an opinion and to stand up for that opinion. And just because a woman does not vote for Obama does not necessarily mean that they are voting for Romney. They might be voting ‘none of the above’ or for another minority party. Something to keep in mind.
Whoa whoa WHOA. When on EARTH did I:
a. Call anyone racist in this thread, or
b. say one thing about homeschooling?!
I think homeschooling is awesome and current public schools are a disgrace, so you are waaaaaaaaay off base there. Like, I don’t even know how to respond to this. I’m baffled by it. I’ve considered homeschooling on more than one occasion, and I don’t believe in any religion. The two are not tied together.
Also, I respect YOUR decision to not terminate a pregnancy, but you have NO RIGHT to dictate what I do with MY pregnancy.
You religious beliefs, which i respect, should NOT have any role in the state or federal government.
Did you or did you not attack conservatives in your first paragraph and say they were ‘thinly veiled racists’ and ‘outwardly hateful and racist’? Because let’s be honest, generally when someone speaks like that they are implying that everyone in the category (conservative/Republican) are racist. Maybe you didn’t mean everyone but it came across to me as that. You also called me a ‘bad mother’ for teaching my children the values that I have because I vote what I believe the Lord would have me to vote, after much prayer. It doesn’t mean I vote strictly Republican. I can honestly say that if my former Democrat State Representative grandmother were still alive she would be appalled at the attitudes and affiliations of both parties. Neither one would still live up to what she ran for in the 60′s. If a candidate from the Democrat, Libertarian, Green, or any other part has the same values and will vote for bills that agree with what I believe, then they get my vote. Yes, I am conservative and I vote that way because those values are important to me. I research each candidate for every office, even school board. I research every bill and proposal. For months. I don’t take the privilege to vote lightly.
On the homeschooling, that was a wrong assumption of mine and I apologize for that wrong assumption. Most liberals view homeschooling as completely wrong. Most believe that only someone with a degree in education should and can teach. This is something I strongly disagree with and yes, the schools are in very bad shape.
As someone whose spouse is in the defense industry that does work not only for the U. S but other countries as well, reducing defense spending is a bit scary to me. If we keep reducing by the billions that will go into effect in January, there will be no defense budget for this country. There are things other countries are developing that the general public has no idea about and they are not good for us as hated as we are as a country.
While you feel that my Christian values should not have any role in federal or state government, I also feel that should my children ever attend a public school they should not be taught some things that the government feels they should be taught. For example, oral sex and what it is in kindergarten. That is taught here.
Two points: in my opening paragraph I called the members of the Tea Party, toupeed billionaire (Trump), Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter racist. Are YOU, in fact, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter or a member of the VERY RACIST Tea Party? So, you don’t think a VERY POPULAR radio show host who runs a show listened to by millions of conservatives is racist when repeatedly playing a song called, “Barack the Magic Negro”?! Because personally, I think that is the most racist shit I have every heard, and it amazes me that more republicans choose to turn their heads rather than denouncing that kind of DESPICABLE behavior. In my opening paragraph I pointed the finger VERY SPECIFICALLY at certain individuals who are always in the news representing the ideals of the GOP. I know there are sane, not racist members of the Republican Party, but I don’t see them speaking up when these racist jackasses run their mouths, so it certainly degrades their party.
Re: the defense budget. Do you HONESTLY think Obama will completely deplete the entire defense budget and leave us vulnerable to attack? I mean….really? If your husband works in defense then you must be WELL AWARE of the wasteful spending in the department of defense that can afford to be trimmed.
Re: blow jobs being taught in Kindergarten. I’m calling bullshit. Sorry. Guess what? I was a public school teacher. I know the national standards, which state that in K “sex ed” should simply be introducing kids to the fact that there are many different familial structures, and it doesn’t have to be man and woman. The. End. Your trying to tell me that they’re teaching about oral sex in Kindergarten, as if that’s the norm, is the kind of right-wing extreme nonsense that sometimes gives homeschoolers a bad name. By saying things like that you’re doing a diservice to all homeschooling parents, bc it’s ridiculous.
Regarding, the sex ed, feel free to call it whatever you want. Maybe it isn’t dictated by the federal government nor the state government but it is being taught in at least one school here. The child asked, the teacher responded. With the truth. We were homeschooling LONG before this incident occurred and I can tell you we would have taken our child out of school at that point. The teacher said she was told that if they asked a question she was to answer it truthfully. She did. She is a personal friend of mine. And yes, the principal and superintendent supported her fully. I asked another teacher at another district and she said she has been told the same thing. If a child asks they have to answer with the truth to all of the children. I am not being ridiculous. I am being protective of my children from something they do not need to know about until much older.
Regarding the republican tv personalities or whomever they are, I have no clue what they say because I choose NOT to listen to them. We watch minimal tv or listen to minimal radio here, by choice. They are the ones that will have to answer on judgment day for their actions, not me.
Regarding the defense industry. Yes there is a ton of waste. Some of which is created by unions that protect employees from being fired for napping. Yes, it happens. My husband has witnessed it. And honestly, I don’t know what President Obama’s plans are for the military. But the cuts being enacted reduce it by a very very large percentage. And I do believe that we will be vulnerable to attack. We already are.
I also consider myself to be a conservative, but not a right-wing extremist. I am NOT a member of Westboro. They are the extremists.
I am voting for Obama for so many reasons, but the most important one? My love for Paul.
I’m right there with you. xo