I received an email from my brother-in-law, a Delphi retiree whose pension is being cut. He blames the President's auto bailout deal, writing, "I don't like Romney, but Mr. "Nice Guy" is screwing me."
He had received an email from the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association praising Michelle Malkin "for keeping injustice done to Delphi salaried retirees out in the media".
He knows my leftist beliefs and probably thought that I would reply with some meaningless pro-Obama political rhetoric.
I thought about my reply for quite a while, especially since I have always seen the President as centrist, almost to the point of being a DLC Clintonesque Democrat. As an educator I realize the President doesn't have my back, nor is he likely to have it in his second term.
So how to respond? He didn't like Dubya, he voted for Obama, and really doesn't care for Romney. On the other hand he really has not seen the Obama Administration as a significant agent of change.
I concluded that the best thing to do was to be honest, an approach which had been effective with other conservative acquaintances.
The following was my reply.
First of all, I don't consider anything written by Michelle Malkin to be credible. She writers for sites such as VDARE, a site that posts white-nationalist and eugenics tripe. She is in the same league as Limbaugh and Beck, a hate-spewing spokesperson for the wealthy. In one article, she defended the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. She cherry-picks her facts in her anti-Obama screeds. Believe me, she is not on the side of working people.
Next, I am not about to defend everything that President Obama does. I am an educator and believe me I understand that his administration is far from perfect. Arne Duncan has been nothing short of a disaster and Obama's former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has gone after teachers as Mayor of Chicago. Neither will I defend Geithner or Summers. Hiring foxes to guard the chicken coop IMO.
Nonetheless, we need to be reasonable. Despite the allegations of his supporters who praise him for it ("GM is Alive; Bin Laden is Dead"), or his detractors who blame him for it (Malkin), the auto bailout was originally created by George W Bush. President Obama significantly increased the amount of money, put in more conditions, required more industry concessions (Bush had made it basically a handout), and more guarantees that the money would be repaid.
In the end, was the auto bailout a positive? As a resident of Michigan, a state depends on the industry for it's economic health, I would have to say yes. It was not perfect, but the alternative would have been disastrous. Despite all the verbal contortions and half-truths coming from the Romney team, he opposed the assisting the auto industry. He would have let the industry go belly up. Any resident of Michigan who votes for that man doesn't have the sense to come in out of the rain.
Since the Reagan Presidency, working people have seen their standard of living decrease. Vulture capitalism has created a selfish society and Romney is a vulture capitalist. Republicans no longer even attempt to hide their agenda. They openly admit that they favor the continued enrichment of the wealthiest. Newt Gingrich stated that he wanted to end child labor laws and no Republican called him out on that stupidity. They want it all. To their shame, when Democrats are in power, they do very little to curb this trend.
I wish there was a true viable alternative that actually supports and defends the interest of working men and women. Perhaps someday there will be, but it doesn't exist today. We are stuck with the Corporate Party and the Batshit Crazy Corporate Party.
Despite the fact that he has undermined me as an educator and despite the fact that he doesn't have my back, I will vote for Obama. The alternative is much, much worse. I was conscious from 2001 through 2008. The Republicans led us into two wars, one based totally on lies. They created the worst economic disaster in our lifetime. They eroded civil liberties and undermined the Constitution. Why would anyone want to return power to them?
And I haven't even addressed social issues. Birth control? I can not believe that there is even a debate about the pill in 2012. 98% of Catholic women use contraceptives. This is an issue? For the Republicans it apparently is. Their attitude toward women is contemptible.
And their attitude toward minorities? While it is not true that all Republicans are racists, it is equally true that the most virulent racists are Republicans. I listen to them and I read what they write. For some of them, racism fairly oozes out of their pores. They hate that Obama is more intelligent than Bush or any of the 2012 Republican candidates. They hate that he has more class and dignity. They hate that he is more respected than Bush.
I guess that's my bottom line. My wife, your sister, is 100% Latina. My son is also Hispanic - obviously. I look at my beautiful great granddaughter. She has a African-American father and a Puerto Rican mother. I look at our extended family with it's wonderful diversity. And then I look at the hate-spewing people who infest today's Republican Party. I can't let them win. In the end it isn't even about Obama. It's about what type of country I want our children and grandchildren to inherit.
In the end I believe my brother-in-law will see that there is no benefit in voting for the Thugs and that their racism makes them a danger to our family. He will end up voting for the President. He won't be enthusiastic, but then neither am I. That is probably as good as it's going to get this year.