Woman of Liberty
I think I have been silent far too long. For the last several days, I have watched Morning Joe on MSNBC and put up with the hogwash about Mitt Romney and what a great debater he is. I say, “Enough already.” What is hard for me to understand is the lack of substance in his debate performance. It appears at least according to the pundits, that telling numerous lies and changing positions at the drop of a hat is exactly what it takes to be a great debater at the presidential level. However, I wonder how it could possibly make one appear presidential. I frankly, just don’t get it. I did not see much about Mitt that appealed to me as a woman. I know that when I watched the debate I found him rude, obnoxious, desperate, and overbearing. I found his eyes to be annoying, as they appeared as if they were frozen in some crazy stare. I kept thinking about deer and headlights. The president appeared reserved. He did not have the energy that Romney had and he did not throw any zingers. However, he did say some substantial things that I heard. He has now said that maybe he was too polite. We all know that politics and politeness are not usually used in the same sentence, so maybe he is right.
Anyone that is familiar with my blog knows that I have had contempt for both major parties these past few years. It seems the only winners in politics have been corporations and rich people. During the 2008 Democratic Primary, I was a supporter of John Edwards. Do not get all bent out of shape about this with over moralizing the good and bad in politics. Be real. I do not look to politicians for my morality code. Of course, when I supported him Elizabeth and John seemed like a great couple. Regardless of his personal problems, the message he spoke about is one that is lost today. Unfortunately, with John out of the picture, the message has died. John always talked about giving a “voice” to the voiceless. I never hear anyone today talking about giving a voice to the millions of people that do not have the money and power to speak for themselves in politics. Poverty has become a silent, deadly killer of our hopes and dreams for our future. We all know money talks. People in poverty do not have money and sometimes don’t even vote in their own best interests if they vote at all. Mitt Romney talked about the 47 million people that he didn’t need to woo to become president. He called them President Obama’s supporters and implied that they believed in a “trickle down” government. He actually thinks that people want to be taken care of by the government. His thought process is so off from what we, as Americans, are really all about that it is difficult for me to take him seriously. Does anyone really think it is the rich that fight these wars? The rich prosper from war. The poor and the middle class fight them. The poor and the middle class take care of people like Mitt Romney so he can live comfortably in his many homes, so he can travel easily, so he can feel safe and protected from harm. The poor and the middle class really have built and continue to build this country. No building was ever built without the sweat of real people. No road ever was created by the sweat of the wealthy. Mitt depends on the very people that he simply cannot relate to or understand. They take care of him in every way possible yet he only sees what money can buy. He doesn’t see what the American spirit is really made from. We all have benefited from our ancestors hard work, even Mitt Romney. Yet, he is a self-made man in his own self-made mind. I find him ridiculous.
However, what I really wanted to write about tonight is why I am voting for President Obama. It has taken me a long time to come to this decision. I have been so outrageously mad at the Democratic Party since the 2008 Primary that I have joked about having DDS (Democratic Deranged Syndrome). I was driven to exasperation by my own party with their made up rules for the Michigan Primary and what they ended up doing to Hillary Clinton in the process. Enter Mitt Romney and the Republican Party. If there is one thing, I can see clearly the way women have been treated by the Republican Party and flip flopper Mitt.
I believe in the capability of women to make their own decisions about their lives whether it is about their bodies or their minds. Women don’t need men making medical decisions for them and they certainly don’t need to be taken back to the fifties with political and religious monkey business. President Obama made two early decisions that were extremely important to me as a woman. He chose two women to be on the Supreme Court. With President Obama’s decision, I have better representation on the Supreme Court than I do at any other government level. We have far too few women in politics. One of the first things the president did was sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. He basically said that my value as an employee was equal to any man’s value. The president also chose Hillary Clinton to become Secretary of State. Hillary has done a great job tirelessly working for our country. I’ve watched her with great interest as she travels almost non-stop around the globe working for the good of our country. She has brought great strength to President Obama’s foreign policy with her work ethic.
There are other decisions President Obama has made that I think have been good. The auto bailout has really helped our country. I even bought a vehicle this year when my brother-in-law let me use his GM discount. I can only imagine the domino effect that would have happened if the auto bailout hadn’t happened. It would have been devastating to our state, Ohio, and many other states. While the economy is still not where it needs to be I feel we are on the road to recovery. My son bought a condominium and was motivated by the special tax incentive program back in 2010. It was a good incentive for selling homes and getting buyers for those homes. The Affordable Care Act has really been given a bad rap. Mitt Romney says he will repeal it and Republicans will come up with something better. I can truthfully say that health care has never been a Republican issue. If it were, we would have had health care under Reagan, Bush, or Bush. It just didn’t happen and they even degraded Hillary when she tried to do something with health care when Bill was president. Don’t believe the lies and truthfully, when Mitt is speaking he is lying. I cannot believe that any politician can take so many different sides on the same issue in such a short time. There is video proof of Romney changing positions one day and staffers changing back for him the next. What he says really depends on the crowd he is with that day!
I have grown to appreciate President Obama. While he is still a flawed person, I can say he is a far better choice than Mitt Romney. “Race to the Top” is too much like “No Child Left Behind” with its heavy emphasis on standardized testing and tying teacher’s evaluations to those tests. However, he is still much better than Mitt and the Republicans. Democrats will fund the programs that they expect schools to create. When things were getting tough President Obama sent money to the states to keep teachers and police officers employed. We cannot forget some of the stimulus programs that people have benefited from. The Democrats got unemployment extended for people that were out of work! I am sure there is more that I could say but I know that there are clear reasons to vote for President Obama and not just against Mitt Romney.
I, as a woman, would rather have a President that I trust can make a positive decision for another choice for the Supreme Court should it become necessary. I feel I have that with President Obama. As I said before, I do not want to go back to the fifties. I was born in the fifties. I have ten brothers. I grew up in a male dominated world. I live in a male dominated world. I want women to continue to move forward and make their own decisions in the world. I want women to have the freedom to be whatever they desire to be. I am proud to be a woman that takes her vote seriously. I value my freedom. I value my liberties. I am proud of my heritage and I embrace a future in America where all people are equal regardless of race, color, creed, or monetary value. The poor and the middle class need to vote. You may not have much money but your vote is your power!
