An Open Letter To Undecided Voters
Dear Undecided Voter:
First of all, let me come clean. I’ve made fun of you in the past. I’ve wondered how you can still be undecided at this stage of the game. However, I realize that not everyone is as politically obsessed as I am, so it’s very possible that you have only begun to follow the candidates more closely at the start of the debates. If this applies to you, I can begin to understand your indecision.
You must be very confused. On the one hand, you have probably been exposed to an unprecedented number of lies against President Obama, most recently diffused through attack ads. On the other hand, you must be questioning why President Obama’s campaign has accused Governor Romney of being extreme right when at the debates he has been so reasonable, so centrist.
The answer is simple. At the debates, Governor Romney has shown more centrist positions in order to get your vote. While it is normal to tweak policies and messages in the course of a political campaign, Governor Romney has declared complete policy reversals during a debate, only to go back to his original positions after the debate is finished. This is just too cynical for my taste, and it is what has prompted me to write you this letter.
I will not list all of Governor Romney’s positions or flip-flops. There are many reliable sources on the internet where you can find this information. What I want to do is to share with you my thought process, my logic as to why I will not be voting for Governor Romney.
On Governor Romney’s Character
It is possible that his flip-flops are a result of Governor Romney trying to reconcile a GOP whose centrist Republican voices have been drowned out by Tea Party extremism at the same time that he’s trying to attract more centrist voters. But why, then, has he sometimes gone even further right than he needed to?
What does this say about his character? Can we trust a candidate that so easily changes positions at his convenience. Can we trust someone who abandons his own principles, going even against himself? After all, this is the man who is promising to repeal and replace Obamacare,which is almost entirely based on his own health care plan in Massachussetts.
On His 47% Comment
I am sure that you’ve heard about Romney’s 47% comment. At the VP debate, Paul Ryan said that this was a gaffe. But this was not an off-the-cuff comment, a quick answer to a reporter’s question. This was part of a written, rehearsed speech delivered in front of supporters who paid $50,000 per plate to hear Gov. Romney speak. This was an elitist comment from someone who has an “us vs. them” mentality. This is how he truly sees his country.
Whose interests do you think he’s going to defend first?
On The Message A Romney Win Would Send To The GOP
As I mentioned in my previous post, Why Romney Should Not, Cannot Win, even if Romney had been the most honorable candidate, if he becomes our next President, we will be rewarding the bad behavior of a party that has committed a huge disservice to our country in order to achieve their #1 priority: a one-term Obama presidency. One example is their refusal to sign the American Jobs Act, which experts estimate could have represented 2 to 4 million jobs.
If Gov. Romney wins, we will be sending the message to the GOP that their tactics worked. We will be saying that their obstruction, their worst lies, and the power plays that almost brought our country to bankruptcy are all acceptable in the political process. Then, one question remains: What will they not do next?
On The Consequences Of A Romney Win For Our Political Process & Our Country’s Future
This Presidential race is the most expensive in the history of our country. It is estimated that it will cost $2 billion, $1 billion for each candidate. While the President’s campaign has been mostly financed by individual donations, Romney’s campaign has been mostly financed by billionaires, by Karl Rove’s SuperPacs and by corporations. I have no problem with billionaires. Heck, I’d love to be one. But, I do have a problem with those billionaires whose greed supports an unbalanced system whereby they become richer every year, while our country’s middle class becomes smaller, not just because it’s unfair, but because it’s economically unsound.
I do have a problem with the involvement of Karl Rove in the 2012 political process, a man who makes Machiavelli look like Mother Theresa and whose political manipulations had so much to do with George W. Bush’s presidency.
Finally, while Gov. Romney has stated that corporations are people, they are not. Corporations’ reason for being is to make money and profits. For this to be done within a framework that is also beneficial to the public, the government has to impose regulations, not business-killing ones but those that protect the greater good. Governor Romney believes that the market is self-regulating. After the greed-induced stock market collapse of 2008, we know better.
If Gov. Romney wins the election, he will be answerable to those billionaires (a hodgepodge of economic and social conservatives), to Karl Rove, and to those corporations that put him in power. We have already seen how easily he accommodates those that support him.
Can you imagine the consequences that this will have for our country for years to come? If you cannot, just think back to George W. Bush’s 8-year presidency.
These four points are at the core of why I will not vote for Governor Romney. As to why I’m voting for President Obama, I was planning to write you an open letter as well, but I think that nothing could explain my position better than The Choice, The New Yorker’s editorial supporting his re-election. If you read nothing else, please read this editorial before you cast your vote.
President Obama says that there are two visions in this election. I agree. However, there is only one choice. The future of our country rests in our hands, and we must not squander it.
Sincerely,
The Opinionista
image: pastorpresnell.wordpress.com
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This open letter clearly addresses all of the important issues of this election. It lays out in detail for the undecided voter why President Obama can be the only choice & the best choice for this country. Thanks!
Thank you. I wanted to lay out what I think are the most important reasons not to vote for Romney and those most important to vote for the President. But I soon realized the post would be too long if I did both. So I decided to just write about Romney. I hope I can convince some undecided voters. The pro-Obama editorial by The New Yorker is excellent. That one should definitely convince them. Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comment.
Bill, #69, ha ha ha. Running a country, and all the caiebnt level departments, especially the really important ones, is far more complicated and a whole nuther animal, than a political campaign.The _team_ I was talking about was not necessarily his campaign team, but all his appointments for his administration, from his chief-of-staff on down, and the caiebnt level appointments, and all their people they are going to put in position.There are hundreds of people that a new president has to put into place, and those people are then in charge of hiring/appointment many more who are still outside of the civil-service positions.In other words, who are going to be his Cheneys, Rices, etc?And , Obama is _not_ that smart. He’s got charisma, and a good campaign manager and _campaign_ staff, but smarts, in terms of intellect and knowledge, no.And Hillary is not all that bad-looking or fat for a woman her age. She’s better looking than most single women her age that I know. Most single women in the church who are her age are fatter.I’m really really torn. I’m a die-hard conservative, and I’m seriously tempted to vote democrat in the general election, just so Republicans don’t get the blame for the mess we’re going to have in the next 4 years.Wouldn’t be ironic if many democrats voted republican for same reasoning?Hmmm, would it be too morbid to hope that Romney is McCain’s running mate, they win the general election, and then McCain soon throws one of his temper-trantrums and pops a blood-vessel in his brain?
Thank you for this. My thoughts exactly! The thought of Romney in office is scary to me mostly because of his flip-flopping. As far as I can tell, he’s a loose cannon controlled by everyone but himself.
Gigi recently posted..Be My Escape
Whatever the reason for his flip-flopping, it doesn’t bode well for how he would be as a President, especially with so many money strings. In any case, I think that President Obama deserves another 4 years. We would be a lot worse if McCain had won. The GOP today is too irresponsible and power hungry. Thank you for your visit and comment.
I really thought the 47% comment would have more of an impact on people, that it would make them reconsider. I don’t really think it did at all. Romney supporters seem to staunchly find ways to defend him. I really want to see this play out for Obama. And I don’t know if it’s that I love Obama so damn much. I just can’t imagine the GOP and Romney being in the palms of the hands of the extreme right.
Kiran@Masalachica.com recently posted..Normal
I think that the 47% comment did have an impact. Remember the polls right before the 1st debate. But then the first debate happened and people forgot about it. I am very upset about that because Romney’s performance was manic, full of lies, and it stunned the President. If you read the content of the debate, PBO was more substantive than Romney, but the media also hyped up Romney because they wanted to see a close race, in order to have a more newsworthy story. That, and the fact that the media is conservative, despite the myth that the right propagates saying that the mainstream media is liberal. Right now, PBO is on the path to a win, because of the electoral votes, but, again, the media is hyping Romney’s win….Romney’s campaign is hyping Romney’s win to push Republican voters to the polls and discourage Democratic voters. I’m not looking at the polls anymore, I will look at electoral votes only. Thanks for stopping by and for your comment.