It isn't about the man himself. I knew he was a Bill Clinton-type centrist when he ran, and I wrote a diary to that effect during the 2008 campaign. He has turned out to be much like Clinton but with a bit more class.
It isn’t out of any sense of loyalty. Especially since I am an educator and the Democrats seldom have my back. The President appointed and continues to support Arne Duncan, the failed former school chief of Chicago Public Schools who famously stated:
The best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina.
One can only imagine the response from Democrats if a member of George Bush's cabinet had said something so unbelievably stupid and heartless. Yet Arne Duncan said exactly that and remains the President's spokesperson on education. Duncan's
Race to the Top is loaded with unproven ideas such as charter schools and merit pay - ideas one would expect from the Makinac Center or other right wing “think tanks”.
A couple of weeks ago, the President reinforced RW talking points whnen he said regarding colletcive bargaining rights for public employees:
In the public sector, what is true is that some of the pension plans that have been in place and the health benefits that are in place are so out of proportion with what’s happening in the private sector that a lot of taxpayers start feeling resentful.
I
’m not interested in the weak apologia that claimed that the president was merely reiterating what he perceived to be public sentiment. He had an opportunity to defend public employees. He could have stated the truth ... public sector compensation is less than private sector compensation. He chose not to do so.
And it just isn’t the President. As a resident of Michigan I’m used to getting bashed on a regular basis by Democrats who want to appeal to the so-calleed Reagan Democrats. Jim Blanchard was an expert at lining up endorsements from educators and then giving them a shiv in the back. Granholm, another DLCer wasn’t much better. She appointed Mike Flannagan as State Superintendent of Schools. Flannagan never fails to find opportunites to bash public educators.
So I really don’t owe the President my loyalty. The idea that I should have his back … or that of most other Democratic office-holder … is laughable.
It’s just not education either. I disagree with most of the Democratic policies. I find them centrist, often center-right … neo-liberal domestic economic policy and neo-conservative foreign policy.
So why will I be voting for President Obama in 2012?
Simply stated, I'm a purist ... just as the President's supporters claim. Only this time it works in his favor.
It's about the racism. I became an activist during the Civil Rights movement back in the 60s. The fight against racism has always been a priority issue for me.
Racism manifested itself during the campaign and hasn't abated since. From my personal experience it comes not primarily from the working class or the working poor but from the upper middle class who seem to be particularly incensed that a black man could possibly be the leader of our country.
It's also quite personal. My wife is a Latino; my son is too .... obviously; my daughter-in-law is Pueto Rican.
Then there is the Most Beatiful Great-Grandaughter in the World ™ Her mother is Puerto Rican and her father is African-American. She is only five but self-identifies with dark-skinned characters in books and stories. She will undoubtedly feel the sting of bigotry eventually but I will fight to lessen the racism that she will face.
About three weeks ago I read an on-line story about Malia Obama's birthday, which falls on July Fourth. I read the comments and was stunned. Now I believe that at 64 I am somewhat jaded and I realize that we do not live the post-racial society that some predicted, but the absolute hatred and vitriol spewed toward a young girl was unbelievable. About 50% of the comments were negative. Typical (but not the worst by any means):
No matter how rich a filthy low life ni@@er is, it's still a filthy low life ni@@er.
I bet that ugly black ghetto bunny smells like shlt.
Other comments reminded me of the "Nits make lice" comment by Colonel Chivington in justifying the killing of Native-American children by his troops at the Sand Creek massacre.
As I'm reading this I look across the room and see my my great grand-daughter, who was visiting for the week. She is so sweet and so lovely ... and, just like the President's daughters, she will be a target.
I will do what I can do prevent the racist scumbags from winning. And make no mistake about it, should Obama lose it will be a win for the racists. I absolutely believe this and it is the over-riding issue for me.
And it's not like we will get a suitable alternative. We all know that there is no chance that a Bernie Sanders or Barbara Lee will win the Democratic nomination. Any alternative to President Obama will be a centrist or worse. Clinton? Schumer? Granholm? Cuomo? Get serious.
And the Republicans? As wrote above, I live in Michigan and had to put up with DLC types like Granholm and Blanchard, very similar in their approach to the President. Now we have Rick Snyder, a so-called moderate Republican, as Governor. That he could be considered a moderate just indicates how crazy the Republicans are.
So I will keep my Obama sticker on my truck ... just to piss off the racists. And I will grudgingly vote for the President in spite of his policies ... because of what I consider to be a more important cause. I will also vote for progressive Democrats down ticket. And I hope that by 2016 the mood of the country will have changed.
Having written this, I do understand why some will choose not to vote for the Democrats -especially if they are perceived as selling out on important issues such as Social Security and Medicare. Moreover, if the 2012 election turns out to be to be similar to the 2010 electoral disaster for Democrats, they and the President will have no one to blame but themselves.
And if by 2016 the Democrats still insist on using the Republican talking points and implementing Republican-lite policies, then I will likely go back to voting primarlily third-party .... as I did from 1968 through 1998. (I did vote for Shirley Chisholm in the '72 primarry, McGovern in the '72 general, and Jesse Jackson in the '84 and '88 primaries.)