8 reasons I can't vote for Obama and 3 reasons I wish I could.
by Jason Stout
Lately, and in certain circles, if you don't profess total support for Barak Obama, you are labeled as a closet racist or a Rove-ian clone. I'd love to talk about why I support John McCain, but no one seems to care. Instead all they want to know is why the heck I'm not voting for Barak Obama. Well, here's why:
8 reasons I can't vote for Barak Obama:
1. The Employee Free Choice Act. This law will strip employees of their right to a secret ballot election when it comes to whether to choose to be represented by a union. Instead of secret ballots we will have backdoor intimidation and coercion. The law also takes away employers' ability to openly campaign against unionization and to state their case positively as to why a particular union situation would be bad for the employers and the employees. Obama has said this will be one of the first things he signs.
2. Healthy Families Act. This law, on its face, is not such a bad thing. Under the HFA, employers would be required to provide seven paid days a year for employees to use for sick days. I have no particular beef with that. The problem I have is that the law penalizes employers who already provide such days. Under the law as proposed by Obama and Senator Kenney, if an employer already provides 20 paid sick days a year, the employer must provide 27. If the employer provides none, the employer must provide 7. While a 7-day minimum is OK - I think mandating a 7-day increase is bad for employers and ultimately for employees.
3. ADA Restoration Act. This proposed law will overturn recent supreme court cases so that employees who have completely treatable conditions will now be considered "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So, for example, someone who would be legally blind without glasses (but is fine with glasses), would now be disabled and employers would have to "accommodate" that disability. This takes the ADA much further than originally intended by Congress and is an overall bad idea.
4. Abortion. I don't buy the argument that Obama "supports infanticide" by virtue of his votes in the Illinois Senate. But I don't think he has done enough to show his support for the unborn. Unborn babies are the absolute closest thing we have to another human being and yet they don't have the protection they deserve. Yes, we will always have reasons why killing is acceptable or excusable: war, self-defense, defense of others, mistake. Convenience or as a back-up to birth control shouldn't be one of them.
5. Supreme Court Justices. John Roberts is about the most perfect Supreme Court nominee I've ever seen. And Obama voted against him. That says a lot to me about what he would do with the Supreme Court. I don't want any more Ruth Bader Ginsburgs on the court.
6. Education. I like what he has to say about education in many respects and I appreciate that he speaks out sometimes against teachers unions. But he does not strongly enough support school choice. Our education system is broken and he's a "change" candidate - well let's change something. I don't think he actually will.
7. Taxes and Social Security. I personally (according to the various on-line calculators, even those put out by Obama supports) will do worse under Obama's tax plan. My family has a single earner and 7 members - I realize we are not the norm. Still, on pure self-interest, I don't like Obama's "tax the rich" mentality. Moreover, the bottom 50% of wage earners don't pay any income tax. On the other hand, the top 15% of wage earners pay about 90% of the income tax collected. Finally, I will never see - even if I live to be 125 - a decent return on investment for the amount of money I will have to contribute into social security. Under Obama's plan (even with the social security doughnut idea), I will have to pay even more.
8. Iraq/Terrorism/National Security. I don't believe Obama is a secret Islamic jihadist or that he'll invite Ahmadinejad over for a slumber party. But what I don't like is his total disregard for how the surge worked in Iraq. I also think he has a bit of an Afghanistan-fetish. Yes, Afghanistan is important. Obviously. But Obama talks about it like it's the only thing out there. I feel from him a little bit of the 9/10 mindset.
Now, with all of that being said, there are some things I really do like about Obama. Sometimes I wish I could vote for him. So as not to sound too warped, I figured I would include this:
3 reasons I wish I could vote for Barak Obama:
1. I like the way he talks about faith. I think he "gets it" in ways that many politicians don't - Republicans and Democrats. He doesn't pander and he doesn't ignore. He's comfortable speaking the language because I think he knows the language. He has a healthy regard for the wonder and mystery of faith, but ultimately understands the Presidency isn't a religious position.
2. He's popular world-wide. Many conservatives think this is a bad thing. I don't think it should be a litmus test and there are plenty of times I want to say "to heck with the whole U.N. anyway." Still, I get the sense that Obama would help restore trust among our allies.
3. The history of it all. I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime an African American raised mostly by a single mother be the leading candidate for President. He genuinely seems to want to help heal some of our country's ugly racial divide. He doesn't demonize whites, while still recognizing that we've got a lot of work to do.
If you agree or disagree, let me know why.
7 Comments
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#1
. . . faith in the redemptive power of suffering?
** Welcome to Dominatrix Sarah’s little world of pain **
McCain is a doddering dupe. Now he’s just along for a ride into an all-American abyss of fundamentalist political ideology, Dominionism.
Dom Sarah comes "wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." She is exactly the gender traitor dominionists need to jumpstart their wet dreams of a xian tyranny.
Like some pernicious Tinkerbell, Dom Sarah would make "The Handmaid's Tale" come painfully alive. A one sentence synopsis of the film: In a polluted dystopia ruled by xian tyranny, a rebellious woman finds herself condemned to sexual slavery because she holds a rare gift, fertility. (adapted from IMDb.com/title/tt0099731)
Margaret Atwood’s novel depicts a society where women have been stripped of all rights. Gilead, a fragment of a failed America, is a small nation controlled by christo-fascists and their transnational corporate overlords.
Dom Sarah ought to energize the BDSM crowd. She is a true believer, a puritanical atavism born in Atwood’s dystopia who wants to treat America to some strict, xian discipline.
Dem-attack-PACs should buy "The Handmaid's Tale," novel and DVD, by the box load and hand copies to every media person. Get TV outlets to broadcast it. If necessary buy time to show "The Handmaid’s Tale" in critical markets.
bipolar2 -
#2
Hey Jason- kudos for writing this and being so open and honest about your thoughts! It was a well-written and thoughtful article, and I think I agree with just about everything on there (amazingly)
The problem that I have with the new income tax structure that Obama is proposing is the 'poor' not paying any income tax at all. At this point in my life, I might benefit from that, as will many people in the US. But letting an income bracket off the hook for taxes will just encourage more falsification of income, I think.
At this point, I cannot put my vote behind either major candidate. -
#3
Thanks for posting this. If I personally have ever given the impression that I think ALL McCain supporters are racist, I apologize. I do wonder about people who aren't in your tax bracket who are voting for McCain - often seems to me a vote against their self interest.
I'm also interested in the reasons you are voting for McCain.
I'm sure we won't agree. I don't want to debate or argue - I think we both know you're not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change yours. But it is interesting to read the thoughts of someone I respect especially when he expresses them clearly and rationally without getting flippant or mean. Or crazy ("someone" needs to look into meds for bipolar disorder, imo). -
#4
THANK YOU. First off I will admit that I am supporting Obama, but that's besides the point. I'm thanking you for the fact that you've proved that some citizens are at least knowledgeable about the going-ons in Washington enough to make an educated decision about who they plan on voting for. I greatly respect you for this.
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#5
I love that you posted this Jason, I really do. But, and it a big BUTT, but you strike me as somewhat of a right wing. christian conservative, right to life, ideaologue.
Each of your 8 reasons could be easily debunked and your 3 others, disingenuous, at best.
The Republican party rules by committee and it fools working people into thinking that a vote for them is a vote for their pocketbook. Plus it is no secret that many people, former Democrats, became republicans after the Civil Rights Act
I am one of those white voters who felt that he could never vote for a black candidate, yet in a choose your poison situation, which is what we now have, I'd rather vote for a man of principal, than a man who sold out his principals for blind ambition.
Yes, character does matter.
Yea, Caesar was an ambitious man, but he had the common good in mind.
Palan believes that the earth is only 5000 years old! She believes in creationism! She would ban books if she could.
This Bush administration has been the worst in history and history will bear that out.
Take the blinders off your eyes and get past your personal beliefs: you're an American, think about the good of the country and what it stands for. Democracy has nothing to do with god. Our country was founded on the separation of Church and State.
I call myself a militant atheist, I can't relate to people who believe in God. It is totally alien to me, like people who belong to a cult or who believe in astrology, or witchcraft or paganism. These belief system come out of the dark ages, when people worshiped the sun and the moon and the rain. Yes, easy answers make one comfortable, and you can convince yourself of anything. But evil is arbitrary, a product of the evolutionary process, it can come for you as easily as it came for the Jews of Europe, as easily as it comes for an antelope who falls prey to a lion.
You can't protect yourself with prayer; that is just an illusion.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, to tell someone that everything they believe is wrong, but I believe that everything you believe is wrong.
So there.
Nice try, but very disingenuous.
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#6
Hi all and thanks for the comments:
1 - bipolar. Thanks for stopping by. I'm not sure I get what you're saying, but that's probably my fault and not yours. Love Handmaid's Tale (the book anyway) - thought it was great.
2 - Sarah Jane. There have been plenty of times where I didn't particularly like either candidate - so I know where you're coming from on that one.
3 - Amy. Hi!! I'm sure we won't agree either, but thanks for being open-minded about things - as always.
4 - Allie. I try to keep things even-keeled and to be rational about everything. I'm glad you recognize that political disagreements can be civil.
5 - JMT. I wish you would go ahead and "debunk" my statements. The first 3, for example, I could possibly be wrong about - either my interpretation of the proposed laws or the impact they would have. Unfortunately, your post doesn't actually do that. And do we have different definitions of "disingenuous"? -
#7
Hiya, Jason. :) I found your post to be well thought out and fair. It's nice to hear from a fellow conservative on these matters. Conservatives tend to be, well, conservative (quiet) in expressing their views, while liberals are more. . . you know. . . verbal. Mostly arguing with emotion rather than reason, in my experience. Your views, especially those on faith, were a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the hateful rhetoric so rampant in the media. Thanks for being so smart. You always were so. Love that you have balanced your intelligence with faith. Those who do so are a rare breed. :) Take care!
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