Ever since hearing that story about how Mitt Romney bullied his prep school classmate for being too effeminate; ever since that tape surfaced in which the millionaire candidate expressed contempt for the 47 percent of the electorate who are not required to pay income taxes (including soldiers, teachers, the elderly, the disabled, college students, you get the picture), effectively calling them lazy moochers who won't take personal responsibility for themselves (though most pay payroll and sales taxes); ever since I understood that Mitt Romney paid 14 percent of his millions in investment income in taxes, while I pay a percentage substantially larger, agonizing down to the penny how my family will meet our bills and sock away enough by the time my children's next college tuition bills are due in December; ever since I saw how Mitt Romney rolled over moderator Jim Lehrer in the first debate, and tried to do the same to moderators in subsequent debates, acting every bit the entitled rich guy, as if the rules of engagement simply don't apply to him; ever since my visceral negative reaction to his sneering disdain for the President of the United States of America, a man I respect and believe to be a decent human being; ever since Mitt Romney chose Tea Party darling Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential candidate, an Ayn Rand devotee who parses whether rape was forcible or not; ever since Mitt Romney doubled down on lie after lie, and reversed himself on the health care plan he signed into law in Massachusetts, disavowing the very similar plan he called Obamacare, basically claiming Obama had done nothing during his presidency while at the same time vowing to repeal everything Obama had done during his presidency; ever since all that, I have been trying to fathom why such a large swath of the country seems intent on voting for the Republican candidate.
This article, which appeared on Slate.com today, goes a long way to explaining why.
Hmmm...anything you care to add ;-)
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that bothers me has been the reporting from most of the major media. They behave more like PR flaks than journalists. Everything you cite above I read bout here on the Internet. I did not get any of that from ABC, CBS, CNN, or NBC or from any of their corporate twins and triplets. Has any big-name newscaster said, "What Mr. Romney has just said is a falsehood?" (God forbid, they should use the simply word, "lie.") They are pushing a cliffhanger scenario, probably for the sake of ratings. And another thing! If Obama was white, none of this would be happening! There. I've said it.
Oh Glenn, i came back here to delete this whole post, having decided it was enough to have written it out and stared at it, it was enough and now i could let the negativity go, the way they tell you sometimes in therapy to write down all the poison in a letter and then when it's on the page and out of you, burn that sucker. But then, your comment was there waiting, and I love it. I love that you, a white man, said it. So now I won't delete the post, because then your comment wouldn't live here anymore.
DeleteSo I'll just say, i wrote my screed, and now I'm over it. I'm light and happy again, kinda thinking/ hoping/ trusting Obama will win, but knowing that whatever happens, the world will keep turning, and we will all keep waking up in the morning and living our lives.
I like that photo though. It says Hope. I was going to delete everything but that. Let's focus on that.
Love you, friend!
I'm glad you kept it up. It made me feel hopeful and excited to see him be nominated again. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!! Thank you. I have been so blue.
ReplyDeletelove,
Rebecca
Rebecca, I really miss your blog posts. I miss having a place to go and be with you. Hope you'll come back soon. Company is good when you're blue. Especially company that adores you.
DeleteGreg and I were talking about how it seems like Obama will win easily, but the 24-hour news cycle shows on TV are really pushing the point that it's an extremely close race. I don't watch tv/listen to news, other than NPR, so I'm judging that by what I hear when I walk through the breakroom at work and CNN or Fox News or MSNBC is on. Why are they so fond of polls?
ReplyDeleteI really, really HOPE Obama will win easily. As a swing state resident, I hope my hours of suffering through inescapable political ads will end in Florida's 29 votes going Democratic.
dear ellen, you swing state girl! i think it's as Glenn said, the pundits are trying to create a cliffhanger narrative to keep the entertainment going. what are you hearing from the people you talk to? that will tell you what's what, much more than any of the 24/7 news channels. so glad you're voting!!!
DeleteI voted by mail, and here in Florida you can actually go on a government website to make sure the ballot was received (it was). So that's one vote for Obama!
DeleteI am with you 100%. I with our president 100%. And let me assure you that most of the people I know here and call friends in the deep, deep south, are with you and with him too.
ReplyDeleteOf course this means nothing in the long run- obviously we choose friends who share our beliefs. Still.
Still.
Again.
We can do it! :)
ReplyDeleteI want him to get elected almost as much as I want the NDP to get elected here. We all need people who CARE about one another to represent us. In Canada we have been asked who we would vote for and Mr. Obama is the choice every single time! If it were only that easy!
ReplyDelete