Dear
Sister and Brother Citizen,
I'm writing to tell you about a recent donation I made to President Obama’s 2012 campaign by going to this cite: http://www.barackobama.com/
I'm writing to tell you about a recent donation I made to President Obama’s 2012 campaign by going to this cite: http://www.barackobama.com/
It was $14. That is an amount I have given before and one I am likely to donate again.
I am retired; my wife is still working; my sons are grown and living away from home, but we still help them financially when and where we can. I say this not in bitterness, but simply to make it clear that we are not swimming in discretionary income. It takes some genuine commitment to make a donation to a political campaign when the amount one can give is absolutely small, but relatively significant in the context of one’s own situation.
I
am not complaining. I live in a good neighborhood. I have a loving wife and two
wonderful sons, five cats, and two darling Shelties who light up my life every
day with their charm, exuberance, and endearing actions. Though my purse may be
meager, my life is enriched and I have much to be happy about. I still believe
in my dreams and still look forward to progress toward a nation that has risen
up to live out the true meaning of its creed. My family and I are among the
lucky ones in America and on the planet.
But this message is not really about my family and me. It is about the 2012 election. First, it is about the presidential election and second it is about the Senate and House elections. More than any elections held in at least a decade, the 2012 elections truly matter.
But this message is not really about my family and me. It is about the 2012 election. First, it is about the presidential election and second it is about the Senate and House elections. More than any elections held in at least a decade, the 2012 elections truly matter.
Mitt
Romney, in Ohio today framed the election as a “very dramatic choice between
two competing visions for the country’s future.” He is correct although his depiction of the
choice is generally distorted and his assertion that he has offered sufficient
details for people to make an informed choice is utterly absurd. The choice is
starker than it has often been in decades not merely between the two major
presidential candidates but between the two major political parties.
President
Obama and the Democratic Party offer a vision of America based on the belief
that we are greater together than we are on our own—that this country succeeds
when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when
everyone plays by the same rules. Our party, led by President Obama, is focused
on building prosperity from the middle outward, an economy that lasts—an
economy that lifts all Americans and brings them together in the quest of a
more perfect union with liberty, equality, justice, and prosperity for all. In
this vision, all Americans count because they are Americans regardless of their
physical appearance, their ethnic heritage, their religious beliefs, their
sexual preferences, or their economic status. This vision is unifying and
inclusive. It brings us together and challenges us to tap into the better
angels of our nature and the finest moments of our heritage. The theme is
Forward and this means advancing together, leaving none behind. It does not
disparage half the populace and dismiss them as unworthy of consideration or
incapable of real contribution to our common destiny.
The
Democratic Party has led the fight for civil rights, health care, Social
Security, workers' rights, and women's rights. It is the party of John F.
Kennedy, FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Bobby Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama as
well as countless everyday Americans, who work each day to build a more perfect
union, establish justice, bind up the nation’s wounds, promote the general
well-being, provide a vigorous national defense and extend the blessings of
liberty to every citizen. Barack Obama is firmly within this proud tradition
and he is leading our party to a greater realization of the nation’s cherished
ideals and fulfillment of its core promises.
As
FDR made clear the Democratic Party understands and has long understood:
“The basic things expected by our people of their political and
economic systems are simple. They are:
Equality of opportunity for youth and for others,
Jobs for those who can work,
Security for those who need it,
The ending of special privilege for the few,
The preservation of civil liberties for all, and
The
prospect of truly enjoying -- the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and
constantly rising standard of living
Furthermore
the Democratic Party is the party of the Four Freedoms.
As described by FDR: we
seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential
human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the
world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship
God in his own way -- everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated
into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every
nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated
into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and
in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an
act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
This is not some vision tailored to the demands of
the 2012 election. It is the enduring commitment of the oldest surviving
political party in the world. Though the Democratic Party has not always
perfectly pursued and never has completely realized its vision, it has never
abandoned it. This is a vision to which the brave and honest can repair. It is
worthy of our dedication and our donations.
The Republican candidate and the Republican Party
have long opposed various elements of the Democratic vision. They fought
against Social Security and Medicare and they have tried to privatize both. In
the face of the worst economic crisis in American history other than the Great
Depression, Republicans in Congress have waged unrelenting opposition to every
initiative by President Obama and the Democrats to take ameliorative action.
They made this pact of balls to the wall obstruction on the night of the
President’s inauguration and they have carried it out for forty-five months.
Although the Republicans now loudly complain about
spending, debt, and deficits, they seek to obscure their responsibility for the
dire situation. Additionally, the budget plan they so proudly unveiled and
their Presidential candidate called marvelous is a hoax or at best a truly
tasteless joke. As Henry Blodget and Eric Platt observed
on Sep. 17, 2012, “Based on our analysis, though, the idea that the Romney plan
will ease our debt and deficit problem is laughable. Under almost any realistic
scenario, it will make the problem worse.” [http://www.businessinsider.com/how-romney-plan-will-affect-debt-2012-9?op=1#
ixzz27b754858] So even their most constant refrain, turns out to
be a blatant falsehood or at best a proposition of dubious validity.
Although the Republican candidate and his party
are funded by huge donations from a cabal of millionaires and billionaires with
occasional contributions from ordinary Americans, neither the candidate nor the
party are inclusive. If there is any doubt as to the veracity of this
statement, consider these statements. Mitt Romney says, "There are 47
percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what." Those
voters, "are dependent upon government," and "believe that
government has a responsibility to care for them." He went on to say that
his job "is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they
should take personal responsibility and care for their lives." These are
not sentiments alleged by President Obama or the Democratic Party. They are
Mitt Romney’s candid comments to a room full of $50,000 a plate supporters. In
Pennsylvania, state representative Daryl Metcalfe, agreed with Mitt Romney’s ‘47 Percent’
comments, said low-income earners are “living off the public dole,” and called
those who cannot obtain ID for voting “lazy.” Finally, “according to audio recordings made
at a Tea Party event on Monday... Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted divulged
plans by state Republican lawmakers to further restrict voting access by
imposing more burdensome voter ID requirements in future elections.”
Despite decades of study showing virtually no use
of false identification in U.S. elections or voting by non-citizens. New voting
laws in 23 of the 50 states, enacted by Republican-led state legislatures since
the party won sweeping victories in state and local elections in 2010, .could
keep more than 10 million Hispanic U.S. citizens from registering and voting, a
new study said on Sunday. This number is so large it could affect the outcome
of the November 6 election. Given their disparaging statements and their
discriminatory actions, the Republicans are clearly not a party committed to
bringing Americans together and responsibly governing in the common good.
As Michelle Obama, FLOTUS, reminded us:
“And
who's responsible for selecting those public servants? Who is ultimately responsible for the
decisions they make -- or don't make? We
are. That’s our job. As citizens of this great country, that is
our most fundamental right, our most solemn obligation -- to cast our ballots
and have our say in the laws that shape our lives.
“Congressman
Lewis understood the importance of that right. That's why he faced down that
row of billy clubs on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, risking his life so we could
one day cast our ballots. As he put it,
"…your vote is precious, almost
sacred. It is the most powerful
nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union."
“And
make no mistake about it; this is the
march of our time -- marching door to door, registering people to
vote. Marching everyone you know to the
polls every single election. See, this
is the sit-in of our day -- sitting in a phone bank, sitting in your living
room, calling everyone you know -- your
friends, your neighbors, that nephew you haven’t seen in a while, that
classmate you haven’t spoken to in years -- making sure they all know how to
register, where to vote -- every year, in every election.”
It is also a cause and a march that deserves our
dollars as well as our time and effort. We do not have to give huge sums of
money, but we should give the little we can. Right now enormously wealthy
people are largely contributing massive amounts to Romney and the Republicans.
Romney and the Republicans are actively working to disenfranchise millions of
Americans. There is no equivalence between either the candidates or the
parties. It is a dramatic and momentous choice. Do and give what you can, but
for the sake of the Republic and any young person entrusted to your care, do
and give something.
Let none of us run the risk that on November 7,
2012, we will have to look into the eyes of young people we love and admit that
we had the chance to make a difference but lacked the courage and the
commitment to try.
This video portrays the struggle confronting us in dramatized form. An
honorable man faces a liar and a cheat. A brave group stands up to a
well connected band who would have plunged a city into turmoil solely
for their own amusement. The movie was derived from a classic Greek tale
of heroic struggle against overwhelming odds. The spirit if not the
substance would serve us well in the 2012 elections.
