This is probably the wrong time to write this as it's generally in poor taste to kick someone when they are down, but I guess you could say I feel compelled. I've been a member here for awhile, but I mostly lurk. I'll give you a brief background on myself. I grew up in a small town in Pennsyltucky. My parents voted Republican. I'm a 37-year-old white male with a bachelor's degree. I'm also Bi-Polar and at times have problems with substance abuse. I have lived in the triangle region of North Carolina since 2004. I don't make much money as criminal charges in my early adult life prevent me from doing so despite having a degree. I married when I was 21 and my wife later committed suicide during our divorce proceedings. I have been the sole caregiver of my now 15-year-old daughter since then and the only reason I have any standard of living is due to the Social Security survivor benefits I receive on a monthly basis. I know much more about foreign and national affairs than most people but I don't live, breathe and sleep it like many of you do. I have never voted for a Republican. I sometimes vote third party (hello Nadir) but it's usually a straight Democrat ticket.
I almost didn't vote yesterday. While I realize that Democrats are infinitely better than Republicans on most issues, I'm just so sick of this shit. The truth is my personal life hasn't been much better or worse dating back though those evil Bush years or during the hope and change Obama years. I don't own stock or even a house. I simply seem to continually exist. My station in life does not change. In the end though, I headed out to the polls because Thom Tillis is a world class creep and local/state elections seem to still matter, as those of us that live in NC can tell you.
I don't comment on here often because it's like one big circle jerk. It seems if you express a thought outside of strict liberal dogma, you're a Republican plant. I also am not in love with my own thoughts and voices that exist in my head so I rarely have an interest with sharing them with the world.
Intellectually I understand that Obama has been dealing with a just say no house during most of his presidency and that he may have staved off a depression and all that. I'm glad that gay issues are being addressed, both myself and my daughter are bi-sexual so I can relate. I have major complaints though and they are not all necessarily the ones I see voiced here on a regular basis. The ACA for starters has been terrible for me. While I am glad that pre-existing conditions are covered, it has made a bad situation worse for me. I've only had health insurance for 2 out of the 19 years I've been an adult. My daughter currently has no health insurance. We make just smidge over the economic line that would entitle her to NC's health choice program. I already have medical expenses that run me about $150 a month that I barely can afford. Now I'm being forced (or pay a costly fine) to buy a product that has no protections against me being gouged. I want Medicaid for all but did Dem's have to pass a piece of shit bill just so they could claim to get something done? And now we're heading back to a war in the middle east that will probably escalate into boots on the ground. Great!
Like clockwork, the drum for woman's issues, gays, minorities, etc began to bang in the last few months. I understand that Republicans may do awful things to those types of groups if they are in power, but I never felt like I was being courted. In actuality, some things like immigration upset me. Let me preface this by being a typical white male and stating some street cred so I don't look like a complete racist or bigot. My daughters boyfriend is an illegal Mexican. I have no problems with any race at all. I hate most of those rich, white douche bags as much as any Black Panther ever did. White people in general are no prize-believe me. I hate almost all of the ones that I know. But I don't understand how anyone can tell me with a straight face that immigration (whether the immigrants are skilled or unskilled) is good for average Americans. Many come with little more than the clothes on their back and will need help from the government treasury to live for at least one generation. In the process, the employment market becomes more flooded and wages go down. I have read studies that stated immigration is a net positive somehow but I can't wrap my head around it. While I realize it's a nice thing to do and all and I certainly don't believe in suddenly kicking people that have lived in America for many years out of the country, don't expect me to be happy about it.
All of that isn't really my big issue though. I primarily care about most of the population earning a pittance while the top 10-.01% hoard all of the wealth. Believe me, if somehow the Republican platform changed and they started going after these bankers, CEO's, and all of those other fuckers and fought for us I would change parties in a millisecond (providing Democrats acted as they do right now). Until either party changes the way they deal with wealth inequality I will feel like little more than a useful idiot.
I've written this to perhaps give you a glimpse into the mind of someone who's a little different than your average Kos contributor. Oh, and also to inform you of how hopeless I feel about the future. It seems most of the Democratic party is banking the future on Hillary, a centrist at best. I know she's been hollering some populist rhetoric as of late but this woman couldn't be more of a big business stooge. She seems to have no problem at all with going to war. And even other issues like gay marriage; she came out in favor of it a whopping 2 months before the first REPUBLICAN senator did. Yeah, I feel shitty this morning, but not for the same reasons most of you do.