Obama Is My Man, Warts And All. Why?

I support Obama with a vengeance. He's far from perfect, and part of my enthusiasm for him does come from fear of his potential opponent (Gingrich, Romney, et al). There is nothing wrong with supporting the "lesser evil," and my progressive friends need to understand that. Simply put, if a Republican gets into the White House it will be devastating for tens of millions of Americans, and for America herself. It would worsen economic injustice and the most unfair tax system we've ever had in this country. America will be turned into a banana republic, with no middle class to speak of and a chasm between the small amount of very, very wealthy and the vast majority of people who will live in poverty. This issue alone compels me to support Obama, with vigor.

An analysis of Gingrich's plan (similar to every other Republican presidential candidate) by the Tax Policy Center says households making more than $1 million a year would see their taxes drop by an average of 62%. Federal revenue would drop by an estimated $850 billion by 2014, a figure that would dramatically worsen the budget deficit unless it is offset by unprecedented cuts in virtually every program designed to help the poor, disabled, seniors, and fix our crumbling infrastructure. Why? Just so 0.5% of the population can get away with not paying taxes. A bunch of bums with a spine of spit and sawdust, for whom no amount of money is ever enough.

Republicans would greatly reduce or even eliminate taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest, and reduce the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 0 - 12.5 percent. This "trickle down" economic policy has been shown, again and again, to be a fraud. It's a grift. There are no data to support Supply Side economics, what even George Bush the First once called, "Voodoo economics." Large corporations, those with the most lobbying power, are making more profit than ever before, but they are not hiring in this country. The "trickle down" theory is total, absolute and complete bullshit. For the Republican clowns, however, it's canon. The laissez-faire approach to economics, with an invisible hand of the marketplace maintaining a modicum of fairness, has been shown to be unworkable, undesirable and pure bunk. An unregulated marketplace self-destructs faster than Amy Winehouse with a full liquor cabinet.

Republicans would make it even more difficult for Congress to reduce the federal budget deficit, which was $1.3 trillion in the budget year that ended in September, according to the study. The deficit is not the real target for these greedy, spineless people, social programs are...they are social Darwinists, pure and simple.

Slashing the top tax rate and eliminating taxes on investments would provide a huge windfall to the top 1%, according to the study. To quote the study, which analyzes Ginghrich's plan specifically (again, all the Republican plans are similar):

A household making between $40,000 and $50,000 would get an average tax cut of 12.1 percent, while a family making between $200,000 and $500,000 would get a tax cut of 27.3 percent. Households making more than $1 million would see their federal income taxes reduced by an average of $607,000 the study said.

The Republican approach is stupid, irresponsible, and amounts to class warfare. President Obama, despite his many flaws, has the moral scruples and intellect to understand that this money grab by the very wealthy can't be allowed to happen, and that the debt needs to be paid down by everyone with as little an impact on needed social programs as possible.

Also consider that chicken-hawk Republicans are enthusiastic about a possible war with Iran, but are too cowardly to openly consider a draft or raise taxes to actually pay for the costs of it (including keeping up funding of TRI-Care for veterans). They would be happy to see a small number of professional soldiers and their families carry the burden yet again. A profile in courage may be difficult to find in the Democratic Party, but they are non-existent in the GOP. These yellow war-profiteers make me wretch.

Gingrich made a fool out of himself and stoked the fires already burning in the Middle East by stating that, "The Palestinians are not a people, they're just Arabs living inside an invented border." This is painfully ignorant talk by a self-described, "scholar and intellectual." John McCain, back in 2008, declared, "We are all [Soviet] Georgians now!" after violence broke out between the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Georgia. Within a few months, Georgia did withdraw from the CIS. If John McCain had his way, we would have been involved in that skirmish against Russia, Ukraine, et al. Republicans love unfunded and undeclared wars, tax inequality, social injustice, class warfare, and bowing to their corporate masters. The Democrats are almost as bad, but if there are any politicians who understand the need for social programs, economic justice, health care for all, and less war, you can be sure that he or she is a Democrat. I'm thinking of Bernie Sanders of Vermont (who caucuses with the Democrats and has begun the fight for an amendment to eliminate "corporate personhood" and the terrible "Citizen's United" Supreme Court decision), Al Franken, Debbie Stabenow, Barney Frank, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Dennis Kucinich, and the late Robert Byrd, who passionately spoke against the pointless Iraq War in his final days:


Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. (Senator Robert Byrd, March 19, 2003)


Republicans, to a one, stand in lock step behind the elephant and the hawk. They obey, and they are wrong on virtually every issue. Their only principles are about principal. They shape-shift to get elected in a way that at least some Democrats never have .

One last thing, about Ron Paul. He is supposedly a Libertarian, but he is opposed to a woman's right to choose. Many of my friends are Libertarians (and in the Libertarian Party) and find that absurd and ridiculous, as I do. The big defender of freedom, Ron Paul, just cares about lowering taxes and is full of shit on civil liberties. Yes, he is against the wars, and that wonderful. But he is, too, a spineless clown. His "supporters" need to spend a little more time reading about him. If you feel that taxation is theft and that the government has no right to establish a fire department with tax money, how the fuck can you argue that abortion should be illegal. It's nonsense.

These are just a few of the reasons that this Red is not going to pull the lever for a 3rd party candidate this year. Obama is my man, warts and all.