You know by now that I'm terrified by this year's election.
I have friends (literally) shouting the praises of Obama but can't explain why he is their choice to run this country.
They say, "We just don't want more of the same!" but their research is thin and flimsy.
They say, "I want change!" but they can't tell me why.
They say, "Palin is a joke and I don't want her to be one heartbeat away from the presidency!" but not one single person I spoke to could tell me about her voting or leadership record.
(They could, however, recite recent SNL skits nearly word for word.)
One very smart, dear friend, a schoolteacher, told me she can't support McCain because he doesn't support teachers. I couldn't find any evidence of this so I asked her to show me where she saw this (there is NO WAY I would support a candidate that doesn't support teachers) or to send documentation. I haven't heard from her in nearly 2 weeks.
I have friends that believe McCain will raise taxes for the poor (he won't) and that he will keep the war going indefinitely (he has said he won't) so they want Obama in office so he can "CHANGE" things.
Not one single person has been able to tell me what that "CHANGE" is.
And now it just got much scarier.
My mother-in-law is a pollworker in Miami. Yesterday she wrote this to me:
I have been working at the early voting polls for this past 10 days, and I am watching busloads of the elderly, blind, homeless brought in to vote for Obama.
I have had to help people who cannot read English; I have watched the Creole interpreters (whose language I cannot understand – so I do not know if these interpreters are telling the blind, and those who seem to have no awareness of where they are, how to vote); I have watched while the interpreters have filled in the ballot with their own hands while the “voter” stands by with a cane or wheelchair and says nothing much that is intelligible. Is this even legal? A barely alive body with a”maybe” legal card having their ballot filled out by an openly biased interpreter?
I have seen VERY few voters who know what is going on – who have given thought to the issues and who are voting with their intellect.
I HAVE seen thousands ( literally-since we process about a thousand per day) of voters come in just to vote for Obama and say they do not care about the rest - and make loud remarks about it to the crowd. These voters are not voting for the issues –it is for racial reasons.
There is an assumption that voting for Obama is what black people MUST do - no matter if they understand what is at stake or not! Someone has relieved them of the responsibility to think about the issues and told them they will be “taken care of” it they vote for Obama!
It is appalling to watch how the voting is being manipulated.
I am not sure how these people who are barely alive – coming in to vote in a country where they have not bothered to learn English, or to learn about how the government works, and who would not be otherwise voting - [would be voting] were it not an issue of RACE!
I am sick to my stomach.
My worst fears are coming true. This is firsthand info from someone I know very well. Not from a second or third party. She saw this with her own eyes.
More than a few people I know are excited about Making History. They are preserving thoughts and memories so that if Obama is elected they can share that monumental moment with their children when they get older.
Unfortunately, for many of us, this election may go down in history as a moment when someone was voted into office for the color of their skin not for ideals, morals, values or experience. It will be known as a time when the presidency was a "Popularity Contest", when the popular candidate won over the best candidate.
It will be known as a time when the fabric of our country was ripped to shreds.
Racism will get worse. It will. The resentment in this country will grow to epic proportions.
It's a slippery slope and I'm not ready for the ride.
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3 comments :
Since I work for a school district, I can tell you why teachers are against McCain:
1) McCain repeatedly voted against fully funding NCLB, leaving schools with strict requirements but without the resources to meet them.
2) McCain has proposed a “one-year pause” in discretionary spending that would result in drastic cuts to our most important education programs.
3) McCain made private school vouchers the centerpiece of his education platform. Private school vouchers divert public education funds to private schools instead of building a system that benefits all students.
4) McCain voted against additional funding for after-school programs.
5) McCain has voted repeatedly against funding for Head Start programs.
6) McCain voted against school construction funding to repair the most dilapidated school buildings.
7) McCain voted against allowing an amendment to increase funding for special education and against funding for education and health programs.
8) McCain opposed increasing Pell Grants and restoring cuts to student aid while supporting restricted eligibility for student aid.
9) McCain voted against the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which increased access to Pell Grants, lowered interest rates for Stafford loans, provided funding for Upward Bound programs and provided grants for people entering the teaching profession.
10) McCain voted against a measure that would have helped reduce class sizes across the country by authorizing funds to help local school districts recruit, hire and train 100,000 new teachers.
11) McCain voted against additional funding for teacher quality programs, Mathematics and Science Partnerships and school leadership programs.
Okay, now you know I love you, right? And by posting this comment, I am not in ANY WAY, SHAPE, or FORM trying to change anyone's mind. That's the great thing about our country is that you can vote whichever way you want. I wish more people could discuss the issue, their hopes, their fears, etc without one side trying to convince the other side that they are right.
Here are my thoughts on this election ... I was undecided for a LONG time. Why? Because I LOVED John McCain -- heck, I even voted for him in the 2000 primary.
I did a TON of research before I voted. C'mon -- you know me. I'm Type A, OCD ... I don't do anything without tons of planning and forethought.
I loved the old John McCain who stood up for his convictions and beliefs and did fight for what was right, not what was popular. The new John McCain is a completely different man than the John McCain I voted for eight years ago.
IMHO, he sold his soul to the ubber-conservative right wing to win the primary. And unfortunately, I find myself not having the same principles as he now holds.
1) He’s for off shore drilling, after being against it for 26 years.
2) He was against torture, now he’s for it.
3) Against warrantless wiretapping now he’s for it.
4) Against tax cuts, now is for tax cuts.
5) Against privitizing social security and now he’s for it.
6) For protecting abortion rights now he’s against it.
7) Against storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain now he’s for it.
8) Against engaging in diplomacy with Hamas now he’s for it.
9) Against diplomacy in Syria now he’s for it.
10) Against going after Al Qaeda in Pakistan now he’s for it.
11) Against talking to Iran and now he’s for it.
12) Against talking to North Korea and now he’s for it.
13) For Liberman-Warner to curb Global Warming now he’s against it.
14) For disclosure of campaign donations, now he’s against it.
15) For the Iraq War because it would be quick and easy, and now against anyone who said Iraq would be quick and easy.
16) Thought we were on the RIGHT COURSE in Iraq in 2004 now says he’s always been against Rumsfelds strategy in Iraq.
17) For gay marriage now he’s against it.
18) For Affirmative Action now he's against it.
19) Against a timetable for withdrawal until he was for it.
Still, even after all this research, I was STILL voting McCain. I had faith that maybe the real McCain would come back once in power.
And then ... he choose Palin as a running mate. Done deal -- she turned the Straight Talk Express into a clown car.
Seriously ... you are for abstience education but you can't even teach it in your own house? You are good with foreign policy because Russia is close to Alaska -- and you don't even know what the Bush Doctrine is? You are an expert on energy when only 3.5% of the nation's total energy comes from your state? You didn't build the bridge to nowhere, but you certainly kept the money and then asked for more to build a road to nowhere. You are found responsible for abuse of power in office by a republican-lead investigation committee, but you still say you have good executive experience? You don't even know what the vice president does -- in charge of the senate ... open a history book.
So, I did not -- could not -- vote for McCain.
I did not vote they way I did because it was the popular thing to do (in my state -- it was the UNpopular thing to do), or because I wanted to make history, or because I really think change is possible no matter what person takes office in January (we are so far down the rabbit hole that I don't even see light at the end of the tunnel anymore).
I know this is a long and probably boring post ... and you may not want to keep it on your blog. I will not be offended if you want to delete it after you read it.
I welcome all comments (I love you too) and I'm happy to see that there are signs of intelligent signs of life in the universe. :) You are the ONLY Obama supporter that has bothered to explain their stance. Thank you.
As you can counterpoint all my points so can I yours but I'm wondering if it's all mute now. We can drill deeply into an issue and still see different sides. (I know why he voted no on many of the school programs. Did you read the actual proposals? Often the language was deceptive and often the bill included other factors that were either unrelated or not aligned with the same values. Must shoot down ALL parts of the issue even the good ones. And on and on and on...)
Let's be clear: I do not love John McCain. I was only a supporter b/c I considered him the lesser of two evils. It's that simple.
As for doing the popular thing, in Atlanta voting for Obama *was* the popular thing to do. People were called "stupid" and "misguided" and "racist" for supporting McCain. (Which was percieved more as voting *against* Obama as *for* McCain.) I had friends question my sanity. It got nasty. I'm sad to say that I had to "unfriend" at least 3 people from Facebook due to the awful, vitriolic comments. People ceased to have an edit function or any social decorum. They told me that if I didn't vote for Obama then I didn't care about the country... and didn't want "change." (These are the same people that still can't tell me what "change" is.)
Another important note: The racial climate here in Georgia/Atlanta is tense at best. It's sad and obvious. I can't speak for Ohio. I know people that voted for Obama simply because they needed to "represent" and because he is black. (Atlanta is over 60% black.) The pendulum has swung and it's wiping out any hope of fairness and equality - for anyone. People here celebrated in the streets not because a smart, decisive leader won the election but because a black man won the election.
As for your comments about Sarah Palin, I will respectfully disagree. On all counts.
It's times like this that I wish we lived closer to one another so we could go grab a beer and discuss our passions and views. I don't think they're all that different.
Give the kiddos big smooches for me. :)
That sucks that people go so mean about the election with you. Why, why, why can't we just find common ground? And why can't people respect other people's opinions? If you want to vote for McCain, then great! If I want to vote Obama, then great! It's called a democracy -- if you don't like it, shut your mouth and don't participate in one of the greatest freedoms we have.
And if people were voting for Obama because he's black or voting for McCain because Palin is a women, then shame on them. I truly hope that is not what got him elected. How sad that people are considered racist for voting for McCain. How sad that you could freely talk to your friends about your hopes, fears, and dreams for our country without being slammed down as a racist. You a racist? -- dang, that makes me laugh.
As for the education bills, yeah, they stuff those things full of other crap. I don't necessarily agree with the agrument teachers had against McCain, but I certainly heard an ear-full here at work every day and I wanted to answer your question. KWIM?
BTW, I don't think we've seen the last of Sarah Palin. I liked her -- oh, I so liked her ... as a person, a mom, a woman, a wife. She'd be a kick-butt friend to do a girl's night out with! I just didn't think she ready to be a veep, or president, yet. I honest think if she gets her act together, she'll be in Washington sooner than we think.
As for us getting together for a beer -- I think that would be wicked! Together we could do alot of serious damage (and I mean that in a good way). Truly, great minds think alike!
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