If you are one of this site’s treasured Republican or Libertarian voters, please forgive the next sentiment.
I just wanted to say that never before has an infomercial brought tears to my eyes. Twice! Miraculously, Obama inspires me to believe in America again. Holy god, let’s elect this man.
Secondly, who picks out these families to profile? Whose job is it to sift through millions of Americans to select the ones raised to national prominence for dramatic effect? I find it very strange.
To non-Obama supporters, I’m sorry you were inundated with his image on all the networks last night. I’m sure that was very annoying. To others of us, let’s all keep doing what we can to make sure our candidate wins next week.
And either way, soon this will all be over and we can start focusing on issues instead of politics. Yay!
19 comments:
Also with sincere respect to all who disagree-
Every time I listen to him I get a very bad feeling. This is very serious. Electing Obama is the worst thing any American could possibly consider. He reminds me of other wolf in sheep's clothing world leaders of the past. He is charismatic, popular with and able to motivate well-meaning young people with lofty platitudes, but has a background, ideas, and a history of statements and intentions that are dangerously close to forms of government that we have fought wars to keep from spreading. He would strip freedoms, grow government spending, damage the economy severely, and smother us with big brother. We need the opposite. We need to slash the size and overreaching power of the federal government and pull back the suffocating effect it has on business and prosperity in this country. Again, I get a very bad feeling when I hear Obama speak and always have, because it is obvious he is going to fool so many people. This is incredibly dangerous for everyone. We have one last chance to avert terrible damage to our country, government, economy, freedoms, and quality of life. Vote NO on Obama.
P.S There was no name calling involved. Just a sincere and adult disagreement. Good day, all.
Perfectly valid concerns.
With which I simply happen to disagree.
:)
Thanks for the thoughts!
Hey man,
I agree - this is serious. Your feelings may be sincere, but that does not mean they can't be unfounded.
Sorry you get a "bad feeling," man. I get a bad feeling with McCain "guaranteeing" there will be more wars (which means bigger government. What's the military budget?) and Palin mocking science. We don't need more guns and less brains. We don't need burning books and militarization...which past government does that sound like to you?
Would love to know which "freedoms" you're worried Obama will take away. Are you referring to abortion? Maybe gay rights? Or maybe a Patriot Act to spy on Americans?
Obama is not "dangerous." If you'd like to talk history, or economics, do it, with examples. But please stop repeating right-wing propaganda without evidence to support your claims.
PS.
The real question is, when Obama wins the Presidency, and your life improves because you get better health care and pay less taxes, will you still get a bad feeling about him?
Social democracies tend to have a much higher standard of living than the U.S. Going to the doctor without worrying about impending personal financial disaster sounds like a good idea. Check out France, for example. Taxes are high, but they go towards necessary, worthwhile expenses, like national healthcare.
Eric, you need to keep in mind that there are plenty of reasons why I will not vote for a Republican either. I have no love for the Christian right and don't want them forcing their morals on others any more than you do.
Obama makes me cry, too, but I agree with Steven. I have tried very hard to stay out of this here, because nothing I say will change any one's mind at this point. If you listen to what he says closely, and not just the surface "change" crap, it is obvious he is a socialist. From those that have to those who won't. Socialism.
Thank you to my mother for speaking up. The term totalitarianism also comes to mind. I have tried to be gentle here so as not to offend anyone, but I see no chance of my business expenses going down with Democrats in charge. Does no one remember what happened when Carter tried similar policies during an economic decline? How about Hoover? We are supposed to learn from history, not repeat it.
Also, to respond to the points about how we don't need a strong military and should be more like France, I would like to point out that if we hadn't had a strong military there would BE no France.
I also find it alarming that so many people take any disagreement with Obama's ideas as a deeply unacceptable personal insult. It reminds me of only one analogy, insulting a religious deity someone worships. I have never seen anything like it in American politics before. There is something disturbing about that. We need to calm down and read between the lines and behind the glamorous speeches, just as my mom has said here.
Socialism is the ideal.
I simply don't understand this business about Obama's supposed socialism. As I understand it, this somehow refers to Obama (rather tepid) support of progressive taxation, which is hardly socialistic and is in fact the sort of thing we've long believe in and taught in high school civics classes everywhere. However, if anyone has a serious argument in support of this accusation, I'd like to hear it.
I'm also skeptical of the cult of personality that surrounds Obama. And Palin, for that matter. Any time a politician inspires as much fervor as a rock star, it doesn’t end well.
But the charge of socialism is all hype. It only became an issue a few weeks ago, when the McCain campaign decided to run with Obama’s comment to Joe the Plumber and take it wildly out of context. Both candidates have tax plans that would spread the wealth from certain people to others. That’s what tax plans do. The small differences in their number-crunching are hardly enough to justify the allegation that Obama is trying to destroy our capitalist society.
Socialism is not my ideal for anything. But it's interesting that we've come to use it as a synonym for communism, when the two are quite different.
Just to clarify, I wasn't actually implying that Obama as a socialist. I was just talking about socialism in general. And I know that socialism and communism are quite different.
To be more specific, it's democratic socialism that I'm in favor of: a strong welfare state, fiscal redistribution, and some nationalization.
Happy Halloween!
welcome to from peppermint political creek...
pp,
If you've got no love for the Christian right, then why not bash them on this site instead, since you know we're mostly Obama supporters?
I am glad that you at least recognize how the right attempts to invade our personal lives with laws and government.
Thanks for using examples for you points. It helps me see where you're coming from, and I do like me some history.
You gotta keep in mind though, that it's tough to argue in what-if scenarios. If Germany hadn't had a strong military, there would have been no WWII or Holocaust. A strong military = fascism and genocide. See, it's easy.
And one more point (for now): Hoover was a Republican who failed to expand government enough to stave off the financial crisis. For more on this era, check out Freedom from Fear by David Kennedy.
And one LAST LAST point for pp and mama because this "socialist" talk is literally CRAZY: I've seen Obama speak twice, read most of his positions on his website (have you?), and other places. He is not even close to a socialist. He is not even close to being labeled "very liberal." He is a moderate.
As my views are mostly left of his, believe me, I'd rather he be a strong liberal or a socialist.
Here is what he says on government, so you don't have to read between any lines.
“Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.” - Barack Obama
Does that sound radical to you? Like Brian and Matt, I say please provide specific quotes or examples that Obama has anything resembling socialist views. Or even very liberal views.
If it's just "a feeling" and acknowledged by people you talk to a common sense, believe me, I understand that can be convincing. I'm from Atwater. They do that there too. But it don't make it true. Please provide examples.
Thanks, and Happy Halloween! (I'm dressing as a pretentious grad student with too much time on his hands)
If anyone wants a copy of Freedom from Fear by David Kennedy, I'll send you one. The editor is two doors down from me.
"It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion."
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Sweet, Brian. I have "Freedom" but what about "The Oxford Companion to American Military History?"
My birthday was last week.
Seriously.
While I support Obama, let me chime in and say in response to the Adam Smith quote that even though I know the idea of taxing the wealthy is not new—and it’s also not Socialist—it has always made me uncomfortable. It strikes me as unjust that we should penalize people who have done exactly what our country’s capitalist ideals told them to do. It benefits the economy and everyone involved when people achieve the American dream, make something of themselves, and are rewarded for it monetarily. Why should we then place on them an unfair tax burden?
I was all for Steve Forbes’ flat tax idea. That seems the most equitable. But then, I’m not an economist.
And I do like me some tax cuts for people making less than $250,000. That’s me!
October 31, 2008 3:56 PM
Thanks, Anon. I don't love paying taxes, but nor do I see them as punishment. I do think progressive taxation is a fundamentally just and fair principle. If you're more able to pay, you should pay more. That our government should work for us on a sliding scale seems like a good idea for me. (To what extent is should work for us is another argument altogether, but let's say I'm not happy to lay my whole life and well-being and whole American cities at the mercy of the market.) If you make over $250,000 a year, you've still got plenty left after taxes, and there's a fair chance you are able (in part b/c of the tax code and in part b/c of your ability hire better accountants) to pay less taxes than those making less than you, despite being in a bracket that is technically taxed higher. Besides, there are so many regressive forms of taxation that, to use your term, punish people for making less. Income and property taxes (to my knowledge) are the only progressive forms of taxation we have.
Continuing on Matt's comment: try a steep sales tax rate the way Tennessee does. The official state rate is 7%, but local governments need a slice of the pie, too. That means the actual rate ranges anywhere from 9.25% (about half the state) to 9.75% (nearly the other half, including some more populated or tourist-heavy areas), with an ever-shrinking number of small towns paying 8.75%. It's the state's tradeoff for having no income tax.
But paying nearly 10% on everything except some groceries hurts a lot of people, and those who can, shop online or out of state. And every time the state gets into budget trouble, they squeeze consumers a little harder. It's not an encouragement to economic growth, in my opinion.
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