Many people will not vote for Barack Obama because he is black. This was true in 2008 and it feels even more salient this year. Perusing social media and noting the various reactions to the campaign make it clear that Mr. Obama faces challenges that should not even be at issue. He cannot help the color of his skin.
The fact that people are still questioning whether the President was born in the United States is unfathomable; no President has ever been under such scrutiny before. I have already said it, but will say it once more – it is only due to the fact that Barack Hussein Obama is black.
Never mind the fact that Mr. Obama champions the rights of women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community. Let us all focus on the fact that he is simply a few shades darker than his opponent, the shockingly incompetent Mitt Romney.
If any individual capable of critical thinking watched the three Presidential and only Vice Presidential debates, one thing should be terrifyingly clear: Mitt Romney does not have a plan. Romney has very little concern for issues related to women’s reproductive rights, the right for all people to marry whomever they love, the right to an affordable education. Romney’s stance on foreign policy, which appeared to impress many Republicans, was at best an attempt to simply repeat Mr. Obama’s answers while inverting particular words, all the while attempting to steer the topic back toward the economy. And never mind healthcare – Mr. Romney thinks that an emergency room is the best place to go when you fall ill. This disgusting, out-of-touch and elitist attitude is being licked up like the nectar of Dionysus by many Americans. This is terrifying. As an American, woman, and Latina, my heart weighs heavy with the thought of a Romney presidency. November 7th will either be a great day for America or one of the worst in history.
What is it that so many Americans claim to dislike about our President? Is it his policies or simply his background? As far as policies, Obama faces the most criticism for his desire to enact universal healthcare for all Americans. Obamacare, as it is called, is the new red herring of our time. Senator Joseph McCarthy would be having a field day if he lived in these times, surely calling every politician in favor of universal healthcare a Communist Pinko. However, universal healthcare is a standard in most other leading nations in the world, including Canada, England, France, Spain, and Argentina, among many more. Otto von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of the German Empire, is credited with establishing a universal healthcare system in Germany in 1883 with the passage of the Health Insurance Bill. For those unfamiliar with German history, Adolf Hitler is often incorrectly pointed to as the source of such programs by the GOP, simply because he was a fascist. And let us not forget how the Republicans adore comparing Democrats (incorrectly, natch) to fascists. How simple it is for them.
Perhaps if education were up to appropriate standards, defining communism would not be difficult for many Americans. Let us not forget that the United States ranks 31st in the world in K-12 education, 31st in mathematics, and 23rd in science. China is first in both science and mathematics. For people who seem so concerned with the encroaching power of China, this country continually lacks the interest in upping the standards for education, and funding for schools and the salaries of teachers continues to vaporize. Currently, Great Britain, Japan, and Germany are the top-ranked nations in the world for education. Is it not fascinating how the country we once rebelled against continues to outperform us in this way? Barack Obama believes in the power of education to allow any American to achieve great things. Mr. Obama supports the continuation of Pell grants (Mr. Romney does not), which allow for the poorest students to receive education funding, the continuation of low-interest Federal student loans for millions of students who need them, and increasing standards in all American classrooms. Mr. Obama is a product of what a good education can do for any American. What is truly sad is when people like Donald Trump demand to see Mr. Obama’s college transcripts. Not only would this prove that Mr. Obama was an excellent scholar, but it would also show the stupidity leading the GOP. I am sure if Mr. Obama’s transcripts revealed an “A” in a topic like World History that he’d be deemed a communist for even knowing about other countries. This is a society where ignorance is a celebrated quality and intellectuals face criticism for beng “elitists”.
What of women and their rights? Mitt Romney guarantees that he will dismantle Planned Parenthood. Millions of women depend on Planned Parenthood not only for reproductive health, but for basic healthcare needs. Women without insurance are able to go to Planned Parenthood for physicals and checkups if need be. And what of the right to an abortion, especially in cases of rape? Essentially, if the Romney/Ryan ticket wins, women will face the dangers of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court. Romney and Ryan have been consistently inconsistent with their opinions on the reproductive rights of women, and the fact that some Republican politicians are even questioning how one defines rape is disgusting. As President Obama accurately and admirably stated, rape is rape. Women have fought for years in this nation for valuable rights that could disappear in an instant next week. If you are a woman, your vote will count toward your physical autonomy and well-being – please choose wisely. Women should also consider the magnitude of President Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law in 2009. This historic act shows President Obama’s interest in the plight of women in the U.S. Mr. Obama will continue to place the interests of women in a high spot. Do not discount this when you step into the voting booth.
Also keep in mind that Mr. Obama is in support of the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which currently defines marriage as an institution that takes place between one man and one woman. Instead, Mr. Obama supports the Respect for Marriage Act, which would recognize the legality of same-sex marriages. Naturally, the GOP cannot stand for this, and in their eyes, Mr. Obama must be stopped. It is amazing how our nation is in conflict regarding basic civil rights that are recognized by many other nations. Mr. Obama’s forward-thinking attitude and willingness to fight for the defenseless is highly admirable.
Finally, there is the issue of the economy. Mr. Obama inherited an economy ravaged by policies passed by the GOP. If any President can be held accountable for the economy, it is George W. Bush, who enacted numerous tax cuts that benefitted all Americans yet inflated the national debt by $4.08 trillion, or approximately 40.8% from the years 2001 through 2007. Naturally, Republican supporters thought nothing of these precarious tax cuts when they continued to receive their child tax credits or other tax credits that kept them afloat in these years. However, now that the distrustful Kenyan is in office, it is all his fault that the ravaged economy is not magically fixed in four short years. In spite of inheriting one of the worst economic landscapes of all time, Mr. Obama has kept the economy afloat. In remembering that Mr. Bush advocated an Ownership Society, in which home ownership was the cornerstone for the entirety of the 2000s, one may note that the essential failure of the economy was the failure of sub-prime mortgages and the inability of the Bush administration to regulate the companies who were lending them to most everyone. These facts are conveniently lost to history, and Mr. Obama continues to bear the brunt of the blame for the flailing economy. President Obama wishes to raise taxes on the wealthy and keep them the same for the middle and lower classes, something that has never crossed the mind of Romney, whose tax policy, which has no named numbers, resembles something of Reagan’s trickle-down policies that were in effect during the Cold War. Trickle-down economics is the practice of lowering taxes for the wealthy with the belief that it will benefit poor members of society. Simply put, it does not work. Mr. Romney, who apparently paid only a paltry 13.9% in taxes on his income of $20.9 million, seems to think otherwise. This is less than the tax rate of the middle class, with those making between $36,000 and $86,000 paying 25% in taxes. How is that even legal? This fact is a major red flag that many are choosing to ignore simply due to a lack of support for Mr. Obama because he people view him as “un-American,” “communist”, and “socialist”.
What I believe truly bothers many Americans (at least those with half a brain), is how President Barack Obama stands for the interests of what is often termed the other in many a liberal arts settings; this otherness is represented in the form of loving someone of your same-sex, possessing a uterus, or appearing ethnic in any way. The problem is that what the Republicans still consider the other, is now the mainstream. The United States is diversifying at a rapid pace, and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have no use for women, homosexuals, blacks, or Latinos, among others. They do not care if you vote for them. Why? Because they possess the audacity to believe that an election may be purchased.
Do not give them the pleasure of thinking that a suitcase full of money can buy the highest office in the land; Romney and Ryan are holding a gun to the temple of Lady Liberty and threatening to pull the trigger. Do not become one of their fatalities. Why is no one questioning the supposed amazing “arithmetic” of their economic plans? Why is no one asking about their real plans for Social Security, Medicare, and countless other essential government programs? Why is no one questioning the fact that Mr. Romney appears to have no real grasp on foreign policy issues pertinent to these volatile times?
Who are Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and what do they stand for? Well, they’re just educated, upper-class, Christian, American white men. What harm could they do? Certainly no more than the formerly middle class, educated, Christian, American black man whom we call Mr. President. Racism is alive in well in America; do not let it win on November 6th.
The author of Fixed Air officially endorses Barack Obama for reelection.
Fixed Air 