Why I'm Caucusing for Obama tommorrow
Hey folks - political junky that I am, I still don't send out "missives" to people I know very often. But this Saturday's primary caucus may decide who will become the next President. Anyone that knows me, knows I'm a lefty.
A perspective that rings true for me is Lakoff's definittion of
liberal: "Using the common wealth, for the common good so that individuals can meet their goals."
It's a hard time to be any kind of idealist these days and we're now down to Obama v Hillary.
I'm disturbed by a few things that Obama has done and said. I don't like his religiosity, I don't like some of the political stances he's taken
around gay marriage, even though he supports civil unions. I do like
much of what's he accomplished in his time in the Senates of both Illinois and the US Congress which is substantive compared to Hillary. I like that
he's taught Constitutional law and that he's techlogically literate. If
you have 20 minutes, Lawrence Lessig makes the argument far better than I in
the second video at http://www.lessig.org/blog/
And anyone who writes lines like "Cynics have warned us against creating a false sense of hope, but in the unlikely experiment that is
America, there has never been anything false about hope." says a lot to
me about understanding that elections are as much or more about the general direction of the country than they are about specific policies. I like that
he's been candid about his drug use in his youth. Like more than 25% of
the population, he experiemented and moved on.
And then I look at Hillary.
I like that she's female. It seems like we ought to give a woman a shot at the top job. The problem is I don't want Maggie Thatcher regardless of gender. I voted for Ferraro in 1984.
The top reasons I'm voting against Hillary:
1) Her pivitol role in the Republican-lite Democratic Leadership Council. She and guys like her husband and Joe Lieberman are the reason there is no left wing in American poltics.
They are the reason the Democratic party abandoned the working class in favor of big business and "free trade" and embraced
the show politics of "safe" selected special interest groups.
If we're going to end up with a country that has ANY sense of fairness left in it, we need to un-elect the "third way" Democrats and their version of "Republican-lite"
2) Her vote for the war in Iraq. She (with Harry Reid and Nancy
Pelosi) is a poster child for Democratic capitualtion. The woman has no integrity.
3) Her so-called "health plan" is nothing more than a bonus for profit oriented private insurances companies. It comes down to making it illegal to not pay for health insurance.
Brilliant. She wants to Thatcherize single payer, before it even
gets off the ground. We'll pay more for our insurance, but she won't
"raise taxes."
4) She's pro RIAA, copyrights for big business while screwing the artists.
5) Hillary was on the board of directors of union-busting WalMart for six years. You don't sit on the BOD that long without drinking the Koolaid.
6) She voted FOR the PATRIOT Act. TWICE.
7) She voted for the so-called bancruptcy "reform"
8) If she gets the nomination, she will unite the right wing and polarize the Democrats.
9) She "waffles" on torture.
The big question is: "Will our country be better off four years after this election?"
If McCain wins, we know we're screwed.
In my book, if Hillary wins, we know we're screwed and SHES A DEMOCRAT. I'm really tired of my party stabbing me in the back.
Obama, is the lesser of two evils AND the guy has the charisma to carry the vote.
Please go to your caucus this weekend and vote Obama. Your vote may actually make a difference this time.
Best,
Chrisb
A perspective that rings true for me is Lakoff's definittion of
liberal: "Using the common wealth, for the common good so that individuals can meet their goals."
It's a hard time to be any kind of idealist these days and we're now down to Obama v Hillary.
I'm disturbed by a few things that Obama has done and said. I don't like his religiosity, I don't like some of the political stances he's taken
around gay marriage, even though he supports civil unions. I do like
much of what's he accomplished in his time in the Senates of both Illinois and the US Congress which is substantive compared to Hillary. I like that
he's taught Constitutional law and that he's techlogically literate. If
you have 20 minutes, Lawrence Lessig makes the argument far better than I in
the second video at http://www.lessig.org/blog/
And anyone who writes lines like "Cynics have warned us against creating a false sense of hope, but in the unlikely experiment that is
America, there has never been anything false about hope." says a lot to
me about understanding that elections are as much or more about the general direction of the country than they are about specific policies. I like that
he's been candid about his drug use in his youth. Like more than 25% of
the population, he experiemented and moved on.
And then I look at Hillary.
I like that she's female. It seems like we ought to give a woman a shot at the top job. The problem is I don't want Maggie Thatcher regardless of gender. I voted for Ferraro in 1984.
The top reasons I'm voting against Hillary:
1) Her pivitol role in the Republican-lite Democratic Leadership Council. She and guys like her husband and Joe Lieberman are the reason there is no left wing in American poltics.
They are the reason the Democratic party abandoned the working class in favor of big business and "free trade" and embraced
the show politics of "safe" selected special interest groups.
If we're going to end up with a country that has ANY sense of fairness left in it, we need to un-elect the "third way" Democrats and their version of "Republican-lite"
2) Her vote for the war in Iraq. She (with Harry Reid and Nancy
Pelosi) is a poster child for Democratic capitualtion. The woman has no integrity.
3) Her so-called "health plan" is nothing more than a bonus for profit oriented private insurances companies. It comes down to making it illegal to not pay for health insurance.
Brilliant. She wants to Thatcherize single payer, before it even
gets off the ground. We'll pay more for our insurance, but she won't
"raise taxes."
4) She's pro RIAA, copyrights for big business while screwing the artists.
5) Hillary was on the board of directors of union-busting WalMart for six years. You don't sit on the BOD that long without drinking the Koolaid.
6) She voted FOR the PATRIOT Act. TWICE.
7) She voted for the so-called bancruptcy "reform"
8) If she gets the nomination, she will unite the right wing and polarize the Democrats.
9) She "waffles" on torture.
The big question is: "Will our country be better off four years after this election?"
If McCain wins, we know we're screwed.
In my book, if Hillary wins, we know we're screwed and SHES A DEMOCRAT. I'm really tired of my party stabbing me in the back.
Obama, is the lesser of two evils AND the guy has the charisma to carry the vote.
Please go to your caucus this weekend and vote Obama. Your vote may actually make a difference this time.
Best,
Chrisb