A clear choice: Forward with President Obama

A tribute-to-jazz fountain in Dutch Alley, New Orleans.

Ed. note: This is a link-laden piece, for those readers who haven't been keeping up with the news. If you don't care to view the links within my article (below), please at least read this New Yorker piece about what President Barack Obama has managed to accomplish in the face of Republican obfuscation and how a Romney presidency would stimy our nation's growth and progress. I am disappointed about several actions/inactions of Obama's presidency, but the alternative is simply unthinkable.

 

We've come too far to go back 50 years, which is where the corporate-backed Romney-Ryan presidential ticket wants to send us. The GOP's relentless assaults on women's reproductive rights, on Planned Parenthood, on equal pay, on health care, on Medicare, on Social Security, on education and the environment simply cannot stand.

The widening economic gap between the richest one percent of Americans and the middle class and the poor is deeply unjust, more and more resembling the early 20th-century years when robber barons wielded disproportionate influence over government policies.

Health insurance as a right, not a privilege

Despite Mitt Romney's claims to the contrary, Americans do die in their apartment without insurance - about 45,000 people per year!  In the richest country on earth, these unnecessary deaths are scandalous!

Going to the emergency room is not by any stretch of the imagination, preventive health care. Isn't it odd how the former Massachusetts governor boasts about getting health insurance for every citizen in his state, yet doesn't want the rest of the country to have such benefits??!!

"Obamacare," which is loosely modeled on the Massachusetts plan not only provides insurance options for all Americans, it provides coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood provides valuable services for women who cannot otherwise afford breast cancer screening, birth control advice, etc. But Mitt Romney said he will "defund" Planned Parenthood his first day in office.

Foreign policy affects us all

Mitt Romney's abysmal failure to grasp even the basics of foreign policy - he seems to think we're still living in the Cold War era, with Russia as our greatest threat - would lead only to more (futile and endless) wars, with tremendous costs of blood, treasure and our already-damaged reputation hanging in shreds on the world's stage. Romney's idea for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict? "...we'll just kick that down the road," he told wealthy benefactors at a Florida fundraiser - the same event where he disparaged 47% of Americans.

Given his many inflammatory statements on Iran, Israel and Syria - and his Bush-era advisors who already got us into two wars - the idea of Romney as president provides considerable cause for concern. Romney's willingness to jettison measured and longstanding US foreign policy (Jerusalem, Egypt, Libya, etc.) to pacify his right-wing base is particularly worrying. And for Romney not to even mention our current war in Afghanistan in his convention speech - and later dismiss the criticism, saying he didn't think the war was "important" to talk about in the speech - suggests he would not be competent as commander-in-chief.

Further, Romney's bizarre habit of making strange and undiplomatic statements and remarks wherever he goes has managed to offend even our closest allies, including Great Britain! His testy behaviour when challenged at presidential debates indicates Romney doesn't have the level-headed temperament - much less the key qualifications - to serve as president.

Jobs and the economy

As for adding jobs to the economy, Romney has no specific plans, at least not any he's willing to share with voters. Respected economists (including Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman) have dismissed Romney's vague jobs and tax proposals as unworkable. The math simply doesn't add up, no matter how many ways Romney or Ryan try to spin their magical-thinking claims.

Romney still refuses to release his tax returns, an unprecedented move for a US presidential candidate. Romney and his surrogates keep insulting our intelligence by repeating the same distortions and lies, over and over. Apparently they think voters are gullible enough to accept whatever they say at face value, without bothering to question the facts and think for themselves.

Voter suppression attempts

The Republican party also has to answer for blatant voter suppression attempts, which have sparked lawsuits and arrests. Civil liberties groups alarmed by the GOP's multiple voter suppression efforts and repeated voter harrassment have asked international observers to monitor the US election - a request usually made for Third World countries and banana republics. What does that say about our democracy? No longer quite the shining beacon of liberty and freedom, it would appear.

Apparently it's not enough that Romney's rich backers are trying to intimidate their employees to vote for Romney. In the same vein of widespread voter suppression efforts, Romney's son Tagg - using a Bain Capital subsidiary as an intermediary - has purchased 2012 voting machines in several states, including the key battleground state of Ohio! Shouldn't this be considered a conflict of interest - if not illegal - when his own father is running for president??!! Certainly, Romney family ownership of voting machines could open the door for questioning certain voting precinct results, as well as inviting potential lawsuits.

Voter protection: Your right to vote

Determine state-specific voter information here. If you face any problem when attempting to cast your ballot, please telephone Election Protection at 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Don't let misleading phone calls, erroneous billboards, careless clerical errors or noisy hecklers outside the polling station affect your right to vote!

P.S. And if you are a Romney supporter - other than rich, corporate banker types, obviously - can you give me one good reason why??!! I've asked my friends who say they're voting for him, but no one seems to have an answer (other than he's 'not Obama'). I believe President Obama deserves four more years!

Comments

[Karen@PasGrand-Chose]

"... the alternative is simply unthinkable" - this says it all.
If only the rest of the world could cast a vote in this election! See here ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20008687
Not being able to vote myself I can only pray that the majority of Americans will make the right choice.

[Leau]

As always, you have nailed it...and thinking, hopeful people will again prevail...fingers crossed! I am so outraged by so many things being said and done right now. But when a party states at the beginning of a presidential term that their ONLY goal for the next 4 years is to keep that President from being reelected, how can we as a country expect anything to be fixed/done/resolved? I am sad we have come to this, that we can't cross party lines or cooperate at all with each other. I have never missed an opportunity to vote since I became eligible and this is the worst case of childishness on the part of the GOP I have ever seen...

[Charles Robert Baker]

Dear Tara,

I took advantage of early voting yesterday and cast my ballot for the president. Bob Schieffer's mother was right when she said, "Go vote! It will make you feel big and strong."

I have the misfortune to live in Texas and the reasons given for voting against Obama that are loudly and proudly expressed here are not suitable for printing in Paris Parfait.

Thanks for all you do,
Charles

[Natalie]

The NY editorial ended up in my inbox as well. I am voting Obama, and proud to say I am doing so. Mostly, I hope people get out there and vote, vote with their hearts and minds thinking not only of themselves but of their fellow Americans, in every walk of life, and as citizens of the world.

[Christina]

wonderfully written.

[Marilyn]

Totally agree here!!!
That was a very good article in the New Yorker, one I have already posted on FB.
Thanks for your wise input.
Marilyn

[Barbara]

Excellent work as always, Tara, thank you. I wonder what you would make of a piece on Democracy Now, 10.18.12, with Greg Palast about Romney's 'Bailout Bonanza.' Daily Kos has it as his GM bonanza, and Truth-Out has it, too.

[Deborah Smith]

Hi Tara,

Such a well written and informative post. Thank you for encouraging your readers to take the time to read The New Yorker's editorial - much appreciated!

Cheers,
Deborah