Closing Arguments – Why I Continue to Support Barack Obama, Civil Rights
I just saw a commercial from the Crossroads PAC. Basically, the gist of the commercial was that Obama has really done nothing for us, so why would we need another four years? As I mentioned yesterday, Barack Obama prevented a second Great Depression. The fact that the economy was actually in free fall seems to escape the folks at Crossroads. The fact that Republicans proposed little or nothing that would’ve helped get us out of the free fall is not addressed in the commercial. Tax cuts, the Republican knee-jerk answer to almost any question, would not have gotten us out of the depression. Fixing the deficit by decreasing government spending and cuts to GDP would’ve worsened our economic situation. This is exactly what Herbert Hoover did in 1930 and ’31. It doesn’t work to fix the economy.
Sorry, I got off on a tangent. Back to my original thought – Barack Obama has stood up and strongly supported women and women’s rights. Basically, he has said that women should be able to decide what is best for their bodies. Now, I wish I could say something positive about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. I simply can’t. Mitt Romney has been a supporter of women’s choice in the past. That was back when he was a moderate, reasonable Republican. Those days are long gone. Now, Mitt Romney, who is trying to appeal to the tea party, does not believe that a woman should have the right to abortion – under any circumstances.
Do you remember when Sandra Fluke testified in front of Congress (well, not Congress because Republicans held a “health” forum and not one woman spoke, remember? So Ms. Fluke spoke in front of a Democratic House forum)? That was an opportunity for Rush Limbaugh to personally attack her. What did Mitt Romney do? Did he stand up for Sandra Fluke’s right to express herself? Did he stand up to Rush Limbaugh and and other conservatives who called Sandra Fluke a whore? Instead, it was Barack Obama who personally called her and encouraged her to speak out. The president didn’t have to do that, but this type of action is in his character. It is in his makeup.
For some reason, conservatives have acted as if the Lilly Ledbetter bill was no big deal. On the contrary, the Lilly Ledbetter Act is a big deal. The simple concept of equal pay for equal work seems to be foreign to Republicans. They say that they want to stand up for individuality. Not so much. Equal pay for equal work. Simple concept.
For all these reasons and more I voted for Barack Obama. He has stood up for the civil rights of all Americans.
