Despite my tendencies to be loud, opinionated and unyeilding I watched the debates with as much of an open mind as I could muster. Really I think (and my opinion is the only one that matters right now) that I did a pretty good job. I'm a democrat and I voted for Obama in 2008 but that does not mean that I am perfectly content with the way things have gone over the past four years. I am willing to admit to Obama's failures. I really wanted to evaluate whether or not whether or not the Obama-Biden sticker on my car's back window deserves to be there. Here is my analysis:
- I hate vaugue fluff. It comes up most often when evaluating someone's writing but I get so irate when I read or listen to a paragraph of someone's speech and don't feel like I learned anything. I understand stylistic writing and I greatly appreciate when someone gives me background information before jumping to their point. However, the thing that bothered me the most during the debates was candidates' failures to directly answer the questions that were being asked and to do so with specificity. When someone says "Gov. Romney, what is your tax plan?" I don't want to hear about how Obama's tax plan is a fail followed by a sweeping statement about how you (Romney) want to stop squeezing the middle class. I want to hear about what exactly your plan is, and where you will find the money to support your promises. While both candidates did their fair share of avoiding the questions and answering vaguely I honestly think that Romney was the bigger culprit here.
- Obviously we all vote for the candidate that will best represent our own views and that places most emphasis on the particular topics that are most important to us. Some of us are focused most on the economy, some on health care, some on social issues and for me it's the environment (big surprise, right?). I believe in big government regulations that protect public lands, nature and endangered/threatened species. These things need the voice of big government to represent them because they cannot speak (in English) for themselves. I believe in the protection of the commons and am eager for the government to push a sustainable energy future. I don't care if I have to pay $10/gallon in gas if helps this country transition to a sustainable future. I'm not willing to bend over backwards for oil companies. It was crystal clear in the debates that President Obama's policies on sustainable energy and environmental protection come far closer to meeting my own standards than Gov. Romney's do. The way that Romney talked about wind and solar energy as an afterthought was a big turn off for me.
- I think that Mitt Romney is probably not a bad guy. I'm sure he's nice and I'm sure he really means well. I also get the feeling that he is out of touch with reality. You can study up on what it's like to be poor or middle class all you want but that won't really help you relate to people on the ground. I admire how much he believes in free enterprise and I agree that it allows some people to pull themselves out of poverty. But some people just can't succeed without more help. I think that the government should play a larger role in creating a framework for everyone to have what they need than Romney is willing to put in place. I am willing to sacrifice more so that the poor, elderly, handicapped, and children in this country can survive. I'm a little bit of a socialist (gasp!) and while Obama is not a socailist (no, he's not), his social policies align more with the "take care of everyone" side of things than Romney's do.
- Last but certainly not least. Romney's view of and policies regarding women's rights, women's health care and also gay rights are severely lacking. Whether Romney's religious institution has too deeply ingrained a sexist idea of women in his mind or he is just trying to please his constituency I do not know. I do know that he seems far more out of touch with what women actually need than Obama does. I believe that all women should have free access to contraceptives. Romney said that all women should have access to contraceptives but he left out the word "free"...pretty cruicial. Also, cutting funding for planned parenthood? Really? I won't get into all the reasons why that's a bad idea.
So the Obama-Biden sticker will remain on my car window. I could never vote for someone who's plans and policies seem so unclear and unrealistic. I can't vote for someone who cares so little for our non-human brothers and sisters. I won't vote for someone who's view of women is awkwardly midieval.
Obama-Biden 2012
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ReplyDeleteNice work Lauren! I agree with your sentiment about the unease created. I must admit, though loathe to do so, that i even have felt a tinge of sympathy for G.W. in his times of weakness. ( Cheney can still %^%&%$ and die, S'cuse me) I did feel for Romney when he stepped in it on Benghazi. ( although enjoyed seeing him eat it for trying to embarrass the president) The binder comment got way more attention than I thought it needed. However, I understand, contextually, why lots found it offensive. I agree, our incumbent did indeed not answer some direct questions, as did Romney. His smug ass attitude re the environment is a deal killer alone.
ReplyDeleteI was likewise put off on the environment question. I know that no candidate will ever say it because they want to win, but a huge way to reduce our dependency on foreign oil is to stop using so much of it. That's right people. Take the bus. Walk. Ride your bike. Carpool. Don't heat hte whole house if you're only staying in one enclosed room. Eat more local food. Don't eat so much out of season produce. I realize that i have a long long way to go there, but collective sacrifice would also make a huge difference here.
ReplyDeleteThe binder comment did get blown out of proportion, but overall I found his remarks on women off-putting. Like he said he was going to improve the economy to the point that people would want workers so badly they'd be begging to hire women. So...women workers are a last resort? Or how he assumed that the woman worker is also a mother to small children, or to children at all. While for a certain chunk of the workforce that is true, it doesn't represent ALL women. And you should be allowing flexibility to ALL workers, especially if your plan to end gun violence is to have dads at home. That means you need to be giving Dad time off for dinner and playtime with the kids. Sigh. It was excruciatingly painful to watch, and I will not be watching the last one.