Mitch McConnellI voted for Barack Obama in 2008 – not because he’s black, not because of his eloquent speaking voice, not because of his good looks. Apparently, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) thought so because he ignored the needs of the country, which I question his judgment to hold a country hostage. It seems to me that he didn't recognize that it wasn't just blacks that put President Obama in office. My frequent thought other than how sick it makes me that sitting ducks got paid and passed the blame on to Democrats. I wonder if they, like Romney thought, we are the 47% Obama voters not to worry about.
Since 2008 too
often I’ve heard that it’s a black thing and that’s why African-Americans voted
for him. Some of us may have, but nobody ever asks if white voters picked him because
he’s black. That would’ve been absurd, right? Nobody asked if we voted for Bill
Clinton because he’s white. I loved Candidate Obama’s commitment to fairness,
equality and justice for all. I embraced him because of this and his laid-out
criteria for change, for his sincerity, and for his values that represent the
basic tenets and values of America.2012 Election Day's vote won't be a black thing either. Don't insult our intelligence by suggesting or asking such nebulous insensitivity.
He demonstrated strong leadership skills, had held a Senate seat, which few African-Americans seldom win. His expertise in Constitutional Law impressed me, and I knew he was the right man for the job because he’s sincere about saving the middle class and others without economic stability. His sincerity rose like a plume of smoke. For the second term, we have unfinished business that couldn’t be completed in four years with Republicans sitting on the fence honoring their commitment to prevent a second term.
Let’s talk about that major criticism about the economy. President Roosevelt led the country through the Great Depression, and he didn’t get the country back on track in four years. President Reagan and President Clinton had economic challenges with second terms to complete the job. In his second term, Clinton ended with a surplus that skyrocketed into a fiscal crisis in Bush years, a fiscal crisis averted by President Obama's leadership.
So why does President Obama who doesn’t do magic or fly like Superman get tons of critics claiming he did nothing or “it didn’t work,” as Mitt Romney says repetitively? In this election with disgruntled and hateful voters dragging racial epithets across my Internet fan pages. some of whom turned because of untruths. Again, we’ll hear black folk voted for him because he’s black. Smart people know what's at stake and race has nothing to do with it.
When a president with a full platter puts more than half of it into the done column, shouldn’t he get a second term to complete the challenges? Count with me as we countdown to Tuesday: economic growth and five million jobs created, rescued country from falling off the cliff, health care law with pre-existing conditions and age changes for children on parents’ insurance, got Bin Laden, ended Iraq war with time line to end war in Afghanistan, equal pay for women, pro-college, fairness for all. I could go on but I’d need space in The New York Times.
Our president engages all citizens while others complain that he unilaterally made decisions without partisanship. Really? Remember Abraham Lincoln: “Government by the people, for the people, and of the people.”
Somebody remind Republicans and Tea Party folk who scream about non-partisan health care law. The people were non-partisan in efforts sanctioned by the late Ted Kennedy who worked nearly 50 years to pass this bill– a bill more than one president couldn’t get done for one reason or another. Yet when the bill passed people got angry because people get sick, and politicians campaigned with vengeance against being human with attacks all the way to the Supreme Court to prove it unconstitutional. The court disagreed.
Humans get sick but only Congress gets free health care for themselves and their family. How cavalier is that? They’re privileged to get health care, but it’s not right for ordinary Americans. By the way, Congress's health isn't anymore important than the rest of ours. We're all human. We all deserve the same opportunity at fairness and justice for all. I cannot imagine what it feels like to flee one's country expected to be treated equally with fairness in America and find it woefully lacking. We're the best but at what cost to those on the bottom rung. That's what is the choice in this election.
HOMEWORK FOR THIS VOTER
Many people get confused by negative ads and lack of clarity about what a candidate offers. Here’s how I educated myself about that 2008 election. Shortly after Candidate Obama won as Democratic nominee for president, I researched and read, followed political issues, and pulled out those values of country, race, class, women. I read both of Candidate Obama's books which gave me an insight into the person he is, and that we shared the same values, had the same caring and concerns about our country. I decided that we needed to follow our mission as Abraham Lincoln pointed out: “Government by the people, for the people, and of the people.” People power hangs by worn thread with too many not knowing that politicians aren't supposed to run the country and focus on themselves rather than people. This election is about choice, about being human and those basic rights and voices we've lost. A good economy and jobs weren't always available to people in urban areas. I know black men who've been unemployed for decades, and that was the case in every state I've lived – Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Moline and Rockford, Ill; Greenville and Fayetteville, NC; Milwaukee, Wis., where plant closings shut down the pathway to middle class growth. Other cities such as Detroit, Pittsburgh, Pa., had devastating plant closings long before President Obama ever entered politics.
After nearly four years in office, we’ve stood by and let "hater-raiders" malign him for performing too well, blaming him for a deficit that ballooned with two wars and an economic meltdown that threatened to push the economy over the cliff that started well before he took office. With his leadership, we dodged the cliff abyss; it bears repeating. And that landmark health care law is the humane thing because 45 million uninsured people include very sick people in all our families who head for emergency or suffer at home until death. What kind of society are we to allow this suffering.
I don’t assume that all African-Americans are Democrats nor do I assume that all of us will vote Democratic. Stacy Dash, a black actress, announced to 30,000 Twitter fans that she’d vote for Romney. Of course, she’s entitled to her voting choice though some Twitter fans cried “Foul.”Take your voter freedom and run with it, Stacy, same as I will.
No comments:
Post a Comment