This was the question posed in one of the latest ads from the Romney campaign. As disgusting and disturbing as it is to write Romney and Presidency in the same sentence, I think the stakes for this election have to be laid out and I would like to take some time to answer that question. The stakes for this election are literally deadly serious. We have the choice between progressing forward into the future or a radical shift back into the 19th century or even worse. A shorter answer to this question is quite simply: why President Obama must be reelected.
Despite the attempts by his campaign and the media to say otherwise, Mitt Romney is not even remotely a moderate. He is one of the most far-right candidates we have ever seen in a general election for the presidency. To pair him with a possible Republican Congress would unleash one of the most right-wing governments this country has ever had. And make no mistake about it, they would run both Houses of Congress on strict majority party-line votes. A Republican Senate would nuke the filibuster without hesitation. If you think Romney would go against some of the most abhorrent legislation that would come out of said Congress, you are either deluded or just haven't been paying attention.
This diary may seem dystopic and fear-instilling, but these are the very real stakes that we are facing this election. This election is far from a sure thing and there is a real chance, whatever the exact odds may be, that we could lose this year. For some, this is what it takes to get motivated enough. The prospect of losing this election terrifies me. With that said, I'll answer the posed question.
Under this scenario, I absolutely believe Congress would be running the show, with Romney all too happy to rubber-stamp legislation into law. The Ryan budget (or possibly something even worse) would become law. Even in a closely divided Republican Senate, they would conjure up the votes. We have already seen how easily it would pass the House. Medicare and Medicaid as we know them will be dead. Senior citizens and the neediest among us will be left to fend for themselves, at best under the mercy of the private insurance companies for those fortunate enough to afford it. Food stamps would be eviscerated for the poor. Higher education assistance would be wiped out. Transportation funding would face the axe, leading to further decay to an already vastly aged infrastructure. I would venture to guess that Social Security would be a target as well. This would be the first major assault on the American people. It would further continue as the tax burden would shift onto the backs of the middle and working classes. The richest Americans would reap enormous windfalls, while everyone else would be forced to pay higher taxes as payment for this. At this point, targeting the unions would just be for sport and I have no doubt that they would do everything in their power to destroy organized labor in this country. Corporations would be free to do whatever they want with virtually no restrictions. If you doubt any of this can and would happen, I would direct you to look at the state of affairs in far too many states with entirely Republican governments. It is brutal and would be far worse with a federal government under a similar ideology. They do not and would not hold back.
All we have gained over the past three years or so would be in enormous jeopardy. The Affordable Care Act would be gone, assuming the Supreme Court doesn't get to it first. I don't think I need to discuss the profound and deadly ramifications of that here. Wall Street will be able to go back to its pre-financial crisis ways. Arizona's SB1070 may very well become federal law. I don't even think the repeal of DADT would be safe, despite Romney's statements to the contrary. All of the advancements we have made under the Obama Administration would be at substantial risk, namely the significant advancements made under the 111th Congress. Ultimately, we would be facing the final death of the New Deal and the Great Society.
If that isn't enough for you, we could very well be facing a fifth ultraconservative vote on the Supreme Court. Even if all of the liberal Justices stay on, Justice Kennedy is no guarantee. A true 5-4 conservative Court would be disastrous. The liberal side would lose every case. Nationwide marriage equality would be guaranteed a set back upwards of 30 years. Roe v. Wade would be overturned. All of the civil liberties and rights recognized under the Warren Court would be at severe risk. The Court could very well return to a pre-1937 mindset. There would be no recourse under the courts left at all. Cases such as Citizens United would be nothing compared to what the new Court would do. Indeed, the issue of the Court is a diary in and of itself and reason alone to ensure a Democratic president.
While I focused on domestic policy here, I believe that a loss in this election would trigger a fundamental and transformative shift in American politics and governance to one that is unrecognizable in today's society. The choice in this election is one between President Obama and his vision for the future and the Tea Party (under which Mitt Romney would affirm their every demand) regressing this country into a dystopia in which corporations crush the individual economically and the government intrudes upon basic and fundamental civil liberties and rights. I did not focus on any particular issue because I believe the far-right will attack and attempt to dismantle everything our side of the aisle has mad possible over the years. They have no shame and will not limit themselves to discouragement from the left. Ultimately, we on the left face losing everything we have gained as a movement since the era of the New Deal.
I'm not saying that this is likely to happen in that we lose, but there is a chance. We can and must reelect President Obama. We must also do all that we can to ensure that come January 2013 that we also have Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. As progressives and more broadly as Democrats, we cannot take this election for granted. Losing is a very real possibility, one that cannot be allowed to happen. I am reminded of LBJ's campaign ads and I'd like to end with a twist upon them:
Vote for President Obama on November 6. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.