Why You HAVE to Vote for Obama

Okay, for those former Hillary supporters who say they will vote for John McCain…have you not been paying attention for the past decade? Do you know what this man stands for? Look, I have some issues with Obama, too. But my disagreements with him pale by comparison with McCain. Here are just a few reasons why I refuse to let John McCain occupy the Oval Office:

Civil/Human/Workers' Rights

• McCain: He didn't like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would allow employees who have been discriminated against take their cases to court...because he said it would "open us up for lawsuits...." You think? He's also against raising the minimum wage. The man's misogyny is legendary. He is in favor of adding legislation to the Constitution that discriminates—that is, to take away the civil rights of a minority. He has been outspoken about his views on same-sex marriage. "As president [John McCain] would nominate judges who understand that the role of the Court is not to subvert the rights of the people by legislating from the bench." Why not? Bush did. According to McCain, if I want to marry my girlfriend, I am endangering "the foundation of Western Civilization." Riiiiiiight. I should have such power.
  
  
• Obama: He intends to enforce civil rights and combat employment discrimination. He would extend the Family and Medical Leave Act, and raise the minimum wage. Now here's one place I think I may have a bone to pick with the kid: marriage equality. I think I looked over every inch of Obama's website, and could not find a single mention of the issue. But a little research shows that while he is against adding discriminatory language to the Constitution, he opposes same-sex marriage. We will just have to work harder to change his mind.

Safe, Legal Abortion

• McCain: He wants Roe v. Wade overturned (and will stack every court possible to get that moving). He also voted to ban late-term (read: life threatening) abortions. Obviously a pre-term fetus (that is, a fetus not yet viable), is "worth" more than a living woman. More misogyny from the crotchety old man.
• Obama: Believes in a woman's right to choose.

Climate Change

• McCain: At least he doesn't pooh-pooh global climate change, and both candidates support a cap-and-trade system on emissions. But McCain thinks that "market forces" will clean things up. Hello? Isn't that how we got here in the first place. Oh, and he wants a "global effort that would include developing countries to reduce greenhouse gases." Yes, I'm sure that those countries will make the difference between 30 years and 300... He did not vote for the Energy Policy Act of 2003, which would have mandated 40mpg by 2015. What's with the "market forces" that they can't engineer something better in 7 years? The League of Conservation Voters gave McCain a score of zero (24% lifetime) in its 0-100-point scale for those voting in favor of 15 different environmental votes during 2008. Why? Because he missed every vote. That's right. All 15.
  
  
• Obama: He voted FOR the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (35mpg "between 2011 and 2020," whatever THAT means). The League of Conservation Voters gave Obama a score of 67% (86% lifetime); it may have been higher had he not been absent for 4 of the 15 votes.

Taxes

• McCain: Wants to make the reward-the-rich Bush tax cuts permanent.
• Obama: repeal Bush tax cuts for those over $250,000. Note: the average American earns about $75,00. (That's not per person, but per family.).

Health Care

• McCain: Ah, more "market-based" solutions. Again, isn't that what we have now? It's clearly not working. He thinks we should pay doctors based on their performance, which sounds good until you really start thinking about it. It sounds to me like it will keep doctors from disclosing information to their patients, cause a rise in unnecessary (and expensive) tests "just to cover all the bases," and lead to a lot of bribery and corruption. Who will rate the performance? If one doctor has 2 out of 3 patients die, and another has only 1 out of 3 patients die, do we really know that the second doc is better? Maybe the second doc's patients were not as sick, had a less virulent form of whatever, or responded better to treatment.
  
  
• Obama: He would require coverage for all children (the money will come from the repealed Bush tax cuts), though he would subsidize health insurance for low-income families. He would also prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to or charging extra for people with health problems (in other words, the people who really NEED health insurance).

Iran

• McCain: He says we should "form a European alliance" that would put economic and political pressure on Iran. In other words, if you are afraid of a bully, send in your big brother to beat him up. He also wants to "bolster [our] regional military posture to make clear to Iran our determination to protect our forces in Iraq and deter Iranian intervention in that country." That's rich. You see, bin Laden is a bad, bad guy. But the origin of his complaints with the U.S.—the sliver in his foot that infected his brain—was the fact that the U.S. built a military base in holy land, and despite promises that it was only temporary, continues to maintain a presence there. Now, if someone from another country built a military base in the middle of Arlington Cemetery or on the lawn of the National Cathedral, don't you think people here might get a little upset? Especially if that base was supposed to be a jumping off spot for attacks on neighboring countries? And I guess I don't see how engaging the military against Iran to protect the military engaged in Iraq makes much sense.
  
  
• Obama: He would engage in direct diplomacy. You know, talk to him face-to-face. Hear that? How many times do we say to our kids when they're pitching a fit and turning purple (as McCain often does), "Use your words"? Maybe McCain is just a victim of bad parenting. Hitting the mean kid just because you don't like what he says is not a good family value.
  

Iraq

• McCain: He is perhaps the one person in the country who still believes absolutely that we were right to attack a sovereign nation without provocation, that things are going great, and that we should stay there for 100 years if necessary. Voted to send more troops over there, and says there should be no timetable for bringing them home...although they "should" all be home by 2013. Unless, of course, they are in Iran. Or North Korea. Or Venezuela. Or Afghanistan. Or...

• Obama: He opposed the war from the very start, but of course he couldn't vote for or against it because he wasn't even in office then. He IS what's called a "junior Senator," which is another way of saying newbie. He voted against sending more troops, and says we should bring them home one or two brigades per month, which would have everyone home in 16 months. If he started on Day One, that sounds like the summer of 2010 to me.

Hold Your Nose or Hold Your Tongue

We have a "presumptive nominee." I don't need to repeat what a hard-fought battle it was—and battle IS the right word considering that their strategies relied almost exclusively on attacking each other—nor do I have to express surprise. the numbers were not in Hillary's favor, and the reasons why can be debated evermore, but not here. She's out, he's in, and just as we did when Bush stole the first election, it's time to Move On.

What I will say is that my pragmatic view of the results is at odds with many ardent Hillary supporters, mostly women, who have said publicly that they would rather vote for John McCain than Barack Obama, or that they will just stay home on election day. Words can barely express how angry this makes me, so instead I'll just lay out the positions side-by-side.

Let's take the second one first since it's the "easiest." (See the next post for #2) To those voters who would stay home out of pique I say , "How DARE you?" You cannot possibly have been supporting Hillary for the right reasons if you would abdicate your Constitutional right to make your voice heard when it counts most.

• What's that? You say one voice doesn't make a difference, especially with out outdated electoral college rigamarole? Wrong-o. If the 2000 election had been decided fairly, Al Gore would have won—on the basis of the popular vote. That means YOU.
  
  
• Okay, so your conscience won't allow you to vote for someone with whom you have ideological differences. Even assuming the next-to-impossible odds that you have ever agreed with everything—that is, 100%—a candidate says and does, how will your conscience feel if John McCain wins because all the rational people stayed home? Make no mistake: John McCain is Bush III—and potentially much, much worse.
  
  
• If you don't vote, you have no right to bitch. So what would you rather do—hold your nose for thirty seconds and vote (for Obama), or hold your tongue for four years