I will vote!

I will vote for President Barack Obama next Tuesday.   Because inheriting a spiraling mess is a huge challenge for an incoming president, and I realize that it takes many years to slow that spiral and start an improvement.  Because I believe that President Obama deserves his 8 years to fix President Bush’s mess.  The deficit we have now came about as a result of funding two  wars and providing an economic stimulus to avoid a second great depression – which would have been MUCH worse for most of us than where we are now, recovering from recession. When I take that into account, and then add in the frustrating consequences of congressional republicans deliberately blocking bills, and then laying the blame at the President’s feet, I must, in all good conscience, give him my vote of confidence for a second term and hope that the next Congress will be more reasonable in their decision making, perhaps basing their choices on the validity of the bills, rather than the “just say no” game we’ve seen with this congress. It is a truly pathetic congress who ignores the well-being of their constituents in favor of blocking progress just to scupper a president.  

I will vote for President Obama because in spite of congress, in spite of his presidential inheritance, he has managed to move the country in the right direction. He could not wave a magic wand over the mess, but jobs are coming back, slow and steady. Manufacturing industries are beginning to thrive again. The war in Iraq is over. Troops in Afghanistan will be coming home soon.  And Osama Bin Laden is dead.

It’s actually a pretty damn good four years work.

I will vote for President Obama because I want my LGBT friends to enjoy the same rights as I do. The right to marry whomever they choose, to have children, to be at a hospital bedside without question.  I have a deep appreciation for President Obama’s consideration of the issue, and his subsequent announcement of support.  

This is progress.

I will vote for President Obama because past progress should not be wiped out.  Because Roe v. Wade should never be revisited in the Supreme Court. Because women sometimes need to have abortions, for physical reasons, emotional reasons, medical reasons and practical reasons  (NOT just reasons that are approved by a testosterone heavy and old-fashioned government!) and the potential loss of the right to make those decisions is an appalling step backward in terms of women’s rights.  Because removing funding for Planned Parenthood would be a catastrophe for women who rely on it for screening tests, advice on their own health and wellbeing and yes, abortions when necessary.   I will vote for President Obama because he is still pushing for equal pay for women, even though the senate republicans have once again blocked the bill this past June, proving that stopping progress by playing politics is more important to them than the rights of their female constituents. What other possible reason could they have had?  I will actively vote against this backward and trivial group of people, who are playing politics while women continue their age old struggles.

I will actively vote against pushing women back into the desperation of backyard abortion clinics and/or a return to homestyle gin/coathanger DIY abortions.  I will actively vote against removing rights we have, for which our female forebears fought a long and hard battle.

I will vote for President Obama because of course education is the future of the American economy.  Of course it is. Pushing for more teachers, better resources, and smaller classrooms is an investment in the next generation.

I will vote for President Obama because he is unlikely to lead us into world conflicts with an ill-chosen comment. His measured words and carefully considered actions and reactions on the world’s political stage are much less likely to endanger or embarrass us. Just in the past year, we have seen Governor Romney’s performance on that world stage.  I don’t think he’s a bad person, as such, but I have fears.  Insulting an ally is just embarrassing, but an ill-considered comment elsewhere could lead us into yet more conflict.  A careful and responsible president seems imperative in a volatile world. My money is firmly on President Obama.

He may not be a perfect president and, being human, mistakes are to be expected, but we, as a country, are coming back. Recovery is everywhere, in increased  job growth, in troops arriving home, in assembly lines producing American cars, in the reduction of foreclosures, month by month.  Possibilities are everywhere, in the potential for thousands of uninsured and underinsured Americans to be able to get medical treatment without fear of bankruptcy, to have screening tests that they’ve been putting off.  I will actively vote for “Obamacare.”  It may not be perfect, but the very idea of repealing it is repugnant. What is it with congressional republicans that they feel this need to stay where we are, wallowing in the status quo. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is a mighty step forward, in an area that needed a mighty step forward.  It will undoubtedly have teething troubles, but I will give it a chance, willingly.  I will take that mighty step forward happily, and with confidence.

I will vote for a continuation of the direction we’re going, for compassion and decency for women, and for progress.

Even staunch and vocal Romney supporter, Chris Christie (R – NJ) sang the praises of our president yesterday, as they worked hand in hand for the needs of those who have suffered in the storm. Governor Christie has, rather surprisingly, shown the way. Put politics aside and look at the man.  Hatred and nonsensical partisan politics should have no real place in decision making.  I won’t spread the hatred by jumping on the insult bandwagon, but I’ll share what I like, and dislike, about two men, and their potential for improving America.

I will be voting for President Barack Obama on Tuesday. It will be my first vote in a general election since becoming a US citizen in 2010, and I am proud and honored to contribute my vote to this country that I love.  Remember how hard those who came before us fought for that right before you decide not to bother. Ignore the bullshit, as much as possible, and look at the facts. (There are web sites for that!!)  And remember, if you don’t vote, complaining about the outcome later is not the right thing to do!

Whatever direction your political opinion take you, let it take you to the polls next Tuesday.

Vote, vote, vote!