Mister Gone (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} mistergone) wrote,@ 2008-03-21 13:55:00 |
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And now for something completely different...
Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama
Because you care, I'm telling you why I'm voting for Barack Obama. You can tell me not to in the comments, or call me a hippie fag, and that might sway me, so discussion is always welcome.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because I'm a cynic. I don't actually believe most presidents are capable of vastly changing the U.S. or making it better. I do believe most presidents are capable of making it much worse. I do believe that presidents dictate the national "discussion" as it were.
As I noted elsewhere today, GWB changed the national conversation to "Religion: Can You Really Have Enough of It?" I'm sick of that conversation. It's not productive and it is distracting. If Barack Obama's speech about race issues is an indicator, then the national conversation under Barack Obama could be far more productive.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because he understands racial tension. One remarkable thing I got from Obama's Big Race Speech (tm) was how well he understood white resentment as much as black resentment. I grew up in poor America, and poor white people are resentful of ideas like Affirmative Action because being white has never given them the entitlement they supposedly have. They never got their "White People Club" entitlement checks, they never got their "White People Club" educations, and they're kinda pissed that their own suffering as working poor is never really acknowledged. Understanding that is vital to understanding our national racial tension.
Barack Obama also understands the "immigrant experience" that my own family went through, moving here from various European nations (as well as one Middle Eastern nation), working on farms, in factories, in the military, in coal mines, in steel mills, et cetera.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because he is not the other candidates. That might not sound like a great reason, but hear me out. I am essentially displeased with the politics of the U.S. since, say, the early 80s. It started with things like the "porn rock" hearings, it goes on to "violent video games" as politics, to things like "flag burning" and "patriotism" and "same-sex marriages". If you get one thing from this post, get this - Patriotism is not a political issue. Fuck patriotism. Joe McCarthy was a patriot, and how did that affect his values?
Hillary issue fought for flag-burning amendments, she gave lip service against video games, and that stuff irritated me. Then she put a commercial on TV that was predicated on the idea that Barack Obama wouldn't know how to answer a phone call in the middle of the night. With that, she lost me. When she started her campaign of "Presidents don't just give speeches; I have tons of experience", she started to piss me off. Sure, experience can create wisdom. It can also create bitterness. It can also create ignorance. Moreover, what experience does she have? How does Senate prepare you for President? How does First Lady prepare you? She doesn't address these issues directly - rather, she repeats phrases about experience.
Barack Obama has little experience. In my mind, I like the idea of a fresh mind having a crack at the White House. That's pure fantasy, of course, and it doesn't speak to any good reason to elect him. Certainly, he admits his campaign is flawed, which is a nice thing to hear from a candidate as well. Mitt Romney can't even admit there's a flaw in our country, which I find chilling.
On the other side, John McCain, for years, seemed like the reasonable arm of the Republican Party. He seemed like the Republican that socially liberal moderates could almost get behind. He never really was that guy, but he's gone way off the deep end since then. He spent this week drumming up the idea of war with Iran, which just plain makes my brain hurt. He's a veteran, which is a huge boost for him in my book, but somehow he seems to be hawking it up now, which is more brain-hurting. He hasn't said Word One about cutting spending and withdrawing troops, so he's basically promising the same policies we have now. I have no reason to consider supporting him as a result.
Again, I'm a cynic, so I don't really believe any of these candidates will do what they say they will do. Bush was a "uniter, not a divider" and was against nation-building. Whoops. So, I consider briefly who can do the least harm in office. As the least-connected of the candidates, Barack Obama is potentially he who will do the least harm. It also depends on who he chooses as a running mate - if it's an ex-employee of Haliburton, I will not be voting for him.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because he is a member of the Democratic Party that I wish existed. We mostly inherit our political parties. My immediate family are independents that consistently vote Democrat. I've voted Green a few times in local elections. I'd consider voting Republican if they were the party they're supposed to be and not the party of Corporate Jesus.
Barack Obama, like John Edwards, talks about the social issues I care about. I'm not poor these days, but I grew up in a family that was "working poor." My mother had to take a job when I was very young, and so both of my parents worked for most of my life just to give me the opportunities that every teenager should have. I want to help the kids growing up the way I grew up. I don't want any family to be under the poverty line.
Barack Obama chides black, Christian audiences for resenting homosexuals. That's a strong position to take. Barack Obama talks about how we, as a society, need to talk about racism. Barack Obama talks relentlessly about poverty, about corporate corruption and lobbyists. Maybe he won't do anything about them, but I like that he talks about them. I have to judge him by his actions, which are few at this point, but those actions are desirable to me.
The Democratic Party has become a shadow of the Republican Party more and more, falling for the same traps of "patriotism" and "freedom" and "homeland security" that are against the fabric of what I believe in. If the Democratic Party were anything, I wish it were the party of social justice. In small doses, it is. On local levels, it can be. As a national political party, it is not.
I find that very sad, because that means there is no Party of Social Justice, just two parties that promise to cut taxes and end up spending my money on the military and invading other countries. I'd prefer the National Guard invade this country and repair the roads and bridges, create real career opportunities and guard our borders so that American job stop getting out.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because I get to vote on whatever criteria I choose. Republics are really interesting because we don't vote on issues, we vote on representatives. And we can vote on those representatives based on whatever bullshit we want.
You can vote for Clinton because she's a woman. You can vote for Obama because he's black. You can vote for McCain because he's old. You can vote for Clinton because Obama is black. You can vote for McCain because his last name has six letters. No one can criticize your reasons for voting because there's not even a set of guidelines on why you vote for any given candidate. You can make up whatever criteria you want.
So, by my criteria, Barack Obama wins. It's useless to try and convince you because you have your own criteria, but I encourage you to vote for Obama, even if it's an uninformed choice. Why? Because your vote can be cast based on the criteria you want, including, "Because Chuck likes that guy." And I think that's a good criteria.
Anyway, that's why I'm voting for Obama. Also, Obamagirl is pretty hot, but I didn't see her until after I decided to vote for Obama, so I don't consider that amongst my criteria. Besides,martinivixen is pro-Obama, so she can be my Obamagirl anyway.
Now, enjoy the political diarrhea that will follow in the comments on this entry!
Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama
Because you care, I'm telling you why I'm voting for Barack Obama. You can tell me not to in the comments, or call me a hippie fag, and that might sway me, so discussion is always welcome.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because I'm a cynic. I don't actually believe most presidents are capable of vastly changing the U.S. or making it better. I do believe most presidents are capable of making it much worse. I do believe that presidents dictate the national "discussion" as it were.
As I noted elsewhere today, GWB changed the national conversation to "Religion: Can You Really Have Enough of It?" I'm sick of that conversation. It's not productive and it is distracting. If Barack Obama's speech about race issues is an indicator, then the national conversation under Barack Obama could be far more productive.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because he understands racial tension. One remarkable thing I got from Obama's Big Race Speech (tm) was how well he understood white resentment as much as black resentment. I grew up in poor America, and poor white people are resentful of ideas like Affirmative Action because being white has never given them the entitlement they supposedly have. They never got their "White People Club" entitlement checks, they never got their "White People Club" educations, and they're kinda pissed that their own suffering as working poor is never really acknowledged. Understanding that is vital to understanding our national racial tension.
Barack Obama also understands the "immigrant experience" that my own family went through, moving here from various European nations (as well as one Middle Eastern nation), working on farms, in factories, in the military, in coal mines, in steel mills, et cetera.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because he is not the other candidates. That might not sound like a great reason, but hear me out. I am essentially displeased with the politics of the U.S. since, say, the early 80s. It started with things like the "porn rock" hearings, it goes on to "violent video games" as politics, to things like "flag burning" and "patriotism" and "same-sex marriages". If you get one thing from this post, get this - Patriotism is not a political issue. Fuck patriotism. Joe McCarthy was a patriot, and how did that affect his values?
Hillary issue fought for flag-burning amendments, she gave lip service against video games, and that stuff irritated me. Then she put a commercial on TV that was predicated on the idea that Barack Obama wouldn't know how to answer a phone call in the middle of the night. With that, she lost me. When she started her campaign of "Presidents don't just give speeches; I have tons of experience", she started to piss me off. Sure, experience can create wisdom. It can also create bitterness. It can also create ignorance. Moreover, what experience does she have? How does Senate prepare you for President? How does First Lady prepare you? She doesn't address these issues directly - rather, she repeats phrases about experience.
Barack Obama has little experience. In my mind, I like the idea of a fresh mind having a crack at the White House. That's pure fantasy, of course, and it doesn't speak to any good reason to elect him. Certainly, he admits his campaign is flawed, which is a nice thing to hear from a candidate as well. Mitt Romney can't even admit there's a flaw in our country, which I find chilling.
On the other side, John McCain, for years, seemed like the reasonable arm of the Republican Party. He seemed like the Republican that socially liberal moderates could almost get behind. He never really was that guy, but he's gone way off the deep end since then. He spent this week drumming up the idea of war with Iran, which just plain makes my brain hurt. He's a veteran, which is a huge boost for him in my book, but somehow he seems to be hawking it up now, which is more brain-hurting. He hasn't said Word One about cutting spending and withdrawing troops, so he's basically promising the same policies we have now. I have no reason to consider supporting him as a result.
Again, I'm a cynic, so I don't really believe any of these candidates will do what they say they will do. Bush was a "uniter, not a divider" and was against nation-building. Whoops. So, I consider briefly who can do the least harm in office. As the least-connected of the candidates, Barack Obama is potentially he who will do the least harm. It also depends on who he chooses as a running mate - if it's an ex-employee of Haliburton, I will not be voting for him.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because he is a member of the Democratic Party that I wish existed. We mostly inherit our political parties. My immediate family are independents that consistently vote Democrat. I've voted Green a few times in local elections. I'd consider voting Republican if they were the party they're supposed to be and not the party of Corporate Jesus.
Barack Obama, like John Edwards, talks about the social issues I care about. I'm not poor these days, but I grew up in a family that was "working poor." My mother had to take a job when I was very young, and so both of my parents worked for most of my life just to give me the opportunities that every teenager should have. I want to help the kids growing up the way I grew up. I don't want any family to be under the poverty line.
Barack Obama chides black, Christian audiences for resenting homosexuals. That's a strong position to take. Barack Obama talks about how we, as a society, need to talk about racism. Barack Obama talks relentlessly about poverty, about corporate corruption and lobbyists. Maybe he won't do anything about them, but I like that he talks about them. I have to judge him by his actions, which are few at this point, but those actions are desirable to me.
The Democratic Party has become a shadow of the Republican Party more and more, falling for the same traps of "patriotism" and "freedom" and "homeland security" that are against the fabric of what I believe in. If the Democratic Party were anything, I wish it were the party of social justice. In small doses, it is. On local levels, it can be. As a national political party, it is not.
I find that very sad, because that means there is no Party of Social Justice, just two parties that promise to cut taxes and end up spending my money on the military and invading other countries. I'd prefer the National Guard invade this country and repair the roads and bridges, create real career opportunities and guard our borders so that American job stop getting out.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because I get to vote on whatever criteria I choose. Republics are really interesting because we don't vote on issues, we vote on representatives. And we can vote on those representatives based on whatever bullshit we want.
You can vote for Clinton because she's a woman. You can vote for Obama because he's black. You can vote for McCain because he's old. You can vote for Clinton because Obama is black. You can vote for McCain because his last name has six letters. No one can criticize your reasons for voting because there's not even a set of guidelines on why you vote for any given candidate. You can make up whatever criteria you want.
So, by my criteria, Barack Obama wins. It's useless to try and convince you because you have your own criteria, but I encourage you to vote for Obama, even if it's an uninformed choice. Why? Because your vote can be cast based on the criteria you want, including, "Because Chuck likes that guy." And I think that's a good criteria.
Anyway, that's why I'm voting for Obama. Also, Obamagirl is pretty hot, but I didn't see her until after I decided to vote for Obama, so I don't consider that amongst my criteria. Besides,
martinivixen is pro-Obama, so she can be my Obamagirl anyway.Now, enjoy the political diarrhea that will follow in the comments on this entry!
