I am not Sarah Palin - for which I thank ALL the Gods - but I am a pretty ferocious campaigner for what I believe is right and good in this life and Senators Obama and Biden fall into that category for me. They are two very bright, committed, good men who have committed their lives to public service. You may not like one or either of them, but the truth is that they both walk the talk. Hence men like Senator Obama and Senator Biden will always develop powerful enemies.
They are both strong family men, introspective and compassionate and both believers in doing the right thing, not what is merely expeditious or convenient. Hmmmm. How would I describe that characteristic? Truthful, honest, honorable? Yes, all that and more.
Examining the character and resumes of these two good men is an exercise in feeling good about America and the type of individuals it produces. They love their wives and their kids and they have both suffered during childhoods with hardships and in lives that were anything but easy. Both men grew up to be exemplary individuals and they share a concern for all Americans, but particularly for those most vulnerable.
The middle class. Hey, I am not joking. There are some programs for the poor and the rich don't need our help. It is the middle class that is struggling and the middle class that will make or break this country with its votes in November.
John McCain is the son and grandson of Navy Admirals, and certainly admired for his service as a pilot during the Vietnam war as well as his POW credentials. Sarah Palin is a backwoods woman with grand ambition who seems to have it all - a great job, a supportive husband, five children, and a grandkid on the way.
What do McCain and Palin have in common? A complete lust for political advantage and power and an unending ambition that borders on the creepy. Oh, I know everybody has their ambitious moments. That makes the world go around, but when one gives up their very integrity and honor and lets the end justify the means, I get irritable.
But how else can the conservative interests in this country hope to retain control if the conversation is ever about the real, critical issues facing this country? If we point out to the average American voter how our jobs, lives, retirement plans, kids' educations, health care system, military, privacy and now even our homes are all in jeopardy after almost eight years of a Republican agenda, we will vote for Obama.
When we do vote Obama into office it will signal the end of the theft of American and global resources by the corporate masterminds who have been greedily raking in the bucks while the rest of us struggle to pay our bills or hold onto the tiniest bit of real estate. I won't even talk about the speculators who are grabbing up foreclosures all over the country, or waiting in line until they think they see the bottom of the market.
We all hear about the Depression and how terrible it was from our grandparents, but did you know almost 1 out of every 10 homeowners in this country is late or their home is in foreclosure? The current figure is higher than any time DURING the Depression! The only reason we are not all there is that some of us still have available credit and others were merely lucky. That's right, some of us were born into wealthier homes, hit the stock markets just right, became a rock star, inherited money, got college paid for, married well or divorced even better.
Credit availability, even at 24% and 25% interest won't go on forever, of course, and paying that minimum payment ad infinitum is not a winning financial strategy. But none of us need a lecture on how we are clinging to the 'American Ship Named Hope' as the Neo-cons whack our fingers with none other than Halliburton-Produced Oars.
Yes, I hear a certain segment of the Obama/Biden people groaning and proclaiming defeat a full two months before the election. To you I say, SUCK IT UP!
Nobody ever won a race by lying down in the middle of the road, crying or asking an opponent not to run them over. Grow some bigger hoozies, ovaries or whatever you need to stand up for what's right. If we give into the negative, evil propaganda spewing from the Republicans and directly from McCain's campaign? We won't need Sarah Palin to get us in her sights. We might as well just shoot ourselves.
The beauty of the American psyche, of course, is our willingness to drink that same Koolaid over and over again, voting against our own self-interests. We just refuse to accept that there are some liars and cheats out there, and they are not just on Wall Street or Pennsylvania Avenue. Some of them are from Arizona and some of them are from Alaska and some of them are from every other place in this great country.
I feel enraged every time I see some out-and-out lie, deception or misrepresentation flown by the deceitful McCain/Palin crew and their surrogates. Who would want to put up with the crap the Republicans have been slinging? As I said in the first part of my diatribe, this is pure dung, but I am not going to bend over just because this race is hard. I am going to work more, better, longer, harder and with more passion to help elect Senators Obama and Biden. That is the only way I can thank them for their sacrifice and the only way I can save my beautiful country.
If you try to tell me that Palin has really shaken up the Election and the miracle of Senator Obama's campaign? I don't care if you are a republican, an independent or a democrat, this is JUST MORE OF THE SAME. My fellow Americans? Keep up that crappy thinking and they will win. Me? I'm filled with hope and I intend to fill everybody else up with it too. Then our country can get back to the real work of being a super power. With integrity, compassion, intelligence and two great leaders at the helm.
In spite of the republicans' attempts to shut down my very intelligent but politics-weary brain, I am not gonna fall for it. No way, no how, no more of the same. No more McShame and (here I will sincerely pray from my knees) God please save us from Governor Palin. We've lost so many freedoms over the past eight years my hair falls out when I think about it.
No matter how often the McCain/Palin operatives try to keep the conversation away from the issues and make it about abortion, religion, partisanship and faux patriotism, I will persevere. I will continue to remind people that these two are a pair of liars. Something nobody wants to say even though there are mountains of video-taped evidence, congressional records, Alaskan state records, and independent eyewitness testimony documenting their multiple lies, exaggerations and other falsehoods.
Of course, I know that I am not going to inspire anyone to vote for Obama/Biden who is racist, uninformed, naive, embittered, or religiously fanatical. Those people don't understand that the farther we all are from the truth, the farther we are from each other. I do believe, however, that my voice is a powerful one and if others will raise their voices with mine... we will have a chorus of truth that is undefeatable.
I call on all of you who care about our country, our children, or anybody else's children, to volunteer for the Obama campaign. Go to the website and you will find many, many ways to get involved from telephoning to door-knocking. I am willing to fight for this country until I drop. Not just for me and mine, but for all Americans now and in the future. Please join me and make an Obama/Biden administration a reality.
Yes, I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. I have volunteered for Obama's campaign throughout, but today I am committing to help win both Oregon and Washington. I am going to do my part in whatever it takes to get Senators Obama and Biden elected. And you know what? I back the winners.
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Comments: 38
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Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, 'I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?' When asked about Iraq, she said, 'I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq.'
She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income or sales tax.
John McCain is a maverick...he prides himself with that statement to assure others he is the better choice....that very nature is what I feel prompted him to select Palin. I believe his main motive was to please right wing ideologues...the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom.
McCain had some really capable, experienced women to select with in his party - one who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; Several that come to mind are: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. I read the comment the other day..." McCain could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions, right down to opposing the Violence Against Women Act."
She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality.
She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming;
she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs;
she opposes stem cell research but approves 'abstinence-only' programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions;
she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation;
she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska;
she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling.
How can she support Polar Bears, and not Global Warming concerns...
WAY TO MANY CONTRADICTIONS HERE BETWEEN THESE TWO...ONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE A MAVERICK AND THE OTHER A PIT BULL WITHOUT LIPSTICK...SOUNDS LIKE TROUBLE WITH A CAPTIAL "T"
GOOD FOR YOU ELIZABETH....YOU ROCK GIRL!!!!!
And this kind of man is NOT the one with the winning personality? Sometimes I think that Koolaid is in the coffee or the municipal water supplies.
Obama's main issue is that he will not lower himself to be a lying, cheating, offensive BSer. That is his real weakness. He is to refined and polite and dignified. God only knows we don't want somebody like THAT in the White House. (Obviously facetiously intended.)
:)
Your article is Featured in the Triple Name Club.
Let's hope it is the DEMS.
What is this 'Obama is a socialist' crap? He is a man with a vision for the MAJORITY of Americans. That is what creates my passion. I want a leader who cares about all the people, not just his 'buddies and business partners'. I have to ask what is wrong with someone who doesn't think caring for our citizenry is reasonable and a good thing for the country.
And: ROMNEY instigated Universal Health Care in MASSACHUSETTS.
So, Gareth. Get your facts straight.
Well said. Count me in. Until this year I never really got too passionate about politics. This election is different. The Bush Administration has done more to damage the American ideal than all the other worst Presidents put together. And McCain has proven in his campaign that he wants the crown from Bush. The abject lying is amazing.
I too will work to get Obama/Biden elected. And we will have to work. People say they want change but almost always balk at voting for it out of fear. It's time to get past the fear of the future and keep ourselves from continuing the fear of the past.
Let all Obama supporters reach out to help the campaign in every way we can. Talk to our friends, and their friends. Donate time and funds to both the campaign and to the state party, especially if you live in a swing state. This election will be won on election day, so volunteer now to get people registered and volunteer on election day to help get people get to the polls.
Thany you for your passion Elizabeth. Let's all do as you have and focus our energies on the activities that will help get votes to the polls.
Excellent piece and well written. Sometimes we get carried away by our emotion and tend to exaggarate things a bit, losing objectivity. But you appear to be fairly balanced in your write up. I feel like congratulating you.
You are perfectly right when you mean to say real power rests with the business corporations and not the governments.
You all have tried the Republicans for 8 years and now find your country in a very sad state of affairs. The sensible thing to do for anyone now is to give the chance to the other party, the Democrats, particularly when there appears to be a couple of promising candidates out there.
Had we known then that Bush and Cheney were using our own fears against us, would we have made a different choice? How many of us - or our representatives more precisely - would have gone to war knowing it was a bogus excuse for the Friends of Halliburton to get their hands on Corporate Welfare Funds.
I will never forgive President Bush and Vice President Cheney and their crew for all the damage they have done to this country and the world, but most of all, I cannot forgive them for the loss of human life in Iraq and the tragedy of the wounded both here and there. For some reason McCain keeps up his war talk, when everyone, even our idiot President, realizes that we cannot maintain our presence there and serve the needs of our OWN citizens.
Fear, anxiety, change, trust...
I have been afraid since the first day of kindergarten about just about everything... but I never let that hold me back. Otherwise I would still be living with my parents, I never would have gotten married or had children, flown in an airplane to Europe, lived in Mexico City, moved to Washington state, started my own business 30 years ago... and what a different, pathetic person I would be. I am not saying my choices were the best or should be yours, but fear is not wholesome or good for anyone.
We cannot let our fears control us. Believe and work toward a better solution. Volunteer for Obama! What have you got to lose? Four more years of the same!
When I went to bed last night I was TERRIFIED that McCain and Palin might win this election. I've woken up this morning and - with your encouragement - I'm going to SUCK IT UP and DO something about it. Thanks.
I am so glad to see you and others go out in the world and do battle.
My health doesn't allow me to do much, but I do what I can.
Bless you darlin.
Your claims that social programs are for the good of society are highly debatable. Claiming that something is GOD's work is even more debatable. Arguing that he represents a majority of Americans has yet to be proven and doesn't matter. All I'm saying is we've had socialist candidates before. We've seen the result of socialist governments around the world. He's not advocating anything new. There are very predictable negative consequences to socialist policies. If you think they are worth the cost then fine, but I see nothing interesting to get fired up about.
This is a huge country with great needs and as things stand now, life is VERY unequal for far too many. I do not think it is possible to create a utopia, but jeesh, Gareth. Should four-year-olds still have mouths full of cavities with all our medical might and wealth in this country?
Should old ladies - like the one I met during my own cancer treatment - have to give up their preventative anti-cancer meds because their deceased husband's $800 a month pension did not cover them when he kicked and she had $400 a month to live on? Her medicine was $500 a month. It was not even about choice. I watched that woman as she slowly died in excruciating pain. She was too ashamed to ask her single mother, struggling daughter to help her. The daughter was in agony, guilt and horrific grief as she watched her mother die because it was then too late to reverse the cancer recurrence.
I also saw a 6 year old who had endured over a year's radiation treatments for Hodgkins' disease - donated by the doctors and medical center because his mother and father, or shall I say WORKING MOTHER AND FATHER, were too poor to buy insurance. His 9 year old sister brought him to his daily radiation treatments after school as they could not leave their menial, degrading jobs or they would have been fired.
That is not the America I believe in, where one's health depends on another's charity. That is just sickening and against everything I believe in... so call me a socialist if you will. I've been called worse before. Yeah, way worse.
I think that was debunked in part I
If the Democrats do not temporally adjust their philosophy and methods for the greater good, they will loose again. As the Emperor Tiberius well understood, “When one is threatened by a large dog, it is prudent to obtain a larger dog.
"Of course, I know that I am not going to inspire anyone to vote for Obama/Biden who is racist, uninformed, naive, embittered, or religiously fanatical. Those people don't understand that the farther we all are from the truth, the farther we are from each other. I do believe, however, that my voice is a powerful one and if others will raise their voices with mine... we will have a chorus of truth that is undefeatable."
YOU get a life. Just because many of us aren't deaf, dumb and blind like you Obama worshippers does not make one "racist, uninformed, naive, embittered, or religiously fanatical." Get a grip honey. It can't be all that bad for you to be running so scared. I take offense at name callers who go around thinking that they are holier than thou and calling people names because we don't have the same points of view that you have.
You keep on believing what you want and I will keep believing what I believe in. America, patriotism, the ability to defend our country, the ability to choose our doctors and healthcare, believing that someone can be of the same party and be made from a different cloth...among many other things.
It ain't over honey, til the fat lady sings. See you at the voting booth!
I don’t mean to be insulting, but it is sometimes difficult to speak truth without hurting feelings. Your comments were extremely shallow indicating that you had not thought them through before approaching the keyboard, or you are in serious need of tutoring in world history and philosophy. In particularly, you need to learn how other advanced countries do health care more cheaply and with better results than the US. You also need to learn how the US defense program is used for other purposes. You need to recognize that the most sincere patriots are those people who criticize their country’s shortcomings and work for improvement. You should also make every effort to interact with people from other advanced countries. I wish you success in your pursuit for greater knowledge.
It would have been more constructive if you had posted the contents of your pings to me here for discussion by everyone. You must understand that when you post your opinions in a public forum, you are subject to criticism. In such places you cannot ask those who read your ideas to, as you say, “...keep your unwarranted opinions to yourself.” Please recognize that I did not insult you intelligence, I only found fault with your knowledge that I found wanting.
Then again, I did not specify who I thought was "racist, uninformed, naive, embittered, or religiously fanatical", but merely said that I did not expect to convince those who had these labels to vote for Obama and Biden. If you felt I was finger-pointing.... what is that old expression? If the shoe fits, wear it? Why did you think this meant you? I'm just curious.
Honestly, there is plenty of room for difference of opinion. What I do not respect is smearing and the people who do it are disgusting in my opinion. I grew up thinking that a fair fight is just that. The bottom line, Esther, is that you did not like my calling you on your attacks on Obama. If you are not interested in my opinion, then you might consider not emailing me notices of your posts. My feelings won't be hurt.
I find it hard to understand why a Latina who is obviously intelligent, a businesswoman and successful in life would vote for someone like McCain and Sarah Palin. I do not understand why this would be in your best interest as a woman, an American or a business woman. Maybe you can educate me on that. It is certainly your business, but it might make sense if you told us why you are voting for them, and why you are fighting with McCain? Is that it? I just don't understand that viewpoint.
I hear lots of rhetoric, but all I hear is their criticisms of Obama and Biden. I don't hear anything that they are going to bring to the table but more rhetoric and more welfare for the rich.
I am not a Latina but a Hispanic if you please. Get hip on what we are called these days would you.
When I emailed you I hand picked you among others because I already knew your political agenda and felt that someone who felt as strongly about your candidate as you obviously do would be good fodder for the thread. I didn't invite you out of any great love because I have tried addressing you on many occasions in regards to some of your posts and never got one piece of acknowledgment from you so who is the rude one here?
The other day you made a statement that I was perhaps too busy with my hand in my handbag to think of voting for Obama. What the heck kind of remark was that? That was beyond uncalled for in any respect. I have never stooped so low as to call you or anyone names for choosing who you have as a candidate. Ever. What I have done is been fair in posing things (facts) from both pointa of view.
You are supposed to be a pillar of society and influence those who think differently than you yet you resort to doing that which you advocate and speak against. Hmmmm...How's that old saying go? "Whats good for the goose is good for the gander" yet that isn't really how you feel is it Elizabeth?
As for me wearing the shoe if the shoe fits ~ I won't even go there with you as I will not be pushed or bullied by you. That is simply rude and callous to say and I never said that you had pointed me out. I simply was standing up as one of those who you were judging to be on the opposition to your ideas or fantasies.
In closing just like you have your own personal reasons for doing the things that you do as this is still a free country ~ I do as well and I will vote for the reasons that I feel are best for me, my family and my country.
Let it be.
~E
GatherFest