(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Who do you want sitting in the motorcade making decisions that will affect you in every possible way for the next four years?
A leader whose mean-spirited and intolerant platform represents the face of Republican politics in 2012?
Or a leader that responds to such disgusting intolerance with this attitude: we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians – the majority of whom are men – making decisions” about women’s health.
I know the choice is obvious, and for the most part I am preaching to the choir, but while we may have agreement that may not be translating into the passion we need to stop the GOP.
This is a positive series, and we like to focus on what our party does, not so much what the other one doesn't but I have to say the last few days have made me angry and even scared. I see a story on the news taking the time to explain that yes indeed you can get pregnant after a "legitimate" rape. WTF, why would they even take a minute to explain the OBVIOUS? Somehow how these irrational and dangerous men are given respect that they do not deserve, and there are millions of people that believe them, it is so frustrating!
BUT I refuse to get swallowed by hate and anger, as easy as that would be over these last few days, because that is what they do. It is what they are all about and what allows them to survive.
This is a series about Democrats, but today I want to focus on one in particular, Barack Obama. I also want you to help me write this diary. Please. Pretty please??
90 Days, 90 reasons is a great site that began a couple of weeks ago that will give us one reason a day by famous peeps why we should be making sure President Obama stays in the White House for 4 more years. Please take a minute to read their mission, it is excellent!
90 Days 90 Reasons
This time the bumper stickers are few. The HOPE posters are hard to find. There are no songs by will.i.am.
We are three months away from the presidential election, and there is a stunning lack of energy displayed by likely Obama voters.
Some who voted for Obama are disappointed in decisions he’s made, things he hasn’t done. And so millions of voters, the same ones who campaigned so fervently for Obama in 2008—the same ones who achieved history by not only overturning eight years of disastrous Republican leadership, but by electing the first African-American president—these same voters are collectively looking at this election and thinking, “I’ll sit this one out.”
And until a few weeks ago, we were more or less in this camp, too. We had attended no rallies, donated no funds. No one we knew had. Everyone—no matter how inspired they were in 2008—was watching from the sidelines.
Then we had a revelation, which sounds less like a revelation and more like a plainly obvious reality: if this doesn’t become an all-hands-on-deck movement to re-elect President Obama, he will lose. And Mitt Romney, who has campaigned as the most conservative Republican candidate in history, will become president.
If ever there were a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, it is this. Millions of progressive Americans, who brought Obama into office on a grass-roots wave of hope and idealism and the belief in the possibility of change, are now behaving as if, because Obama hasn’t addressed their particular pet issue, that the best way to express their dissatisfaction is to allow Mitt Romney to become president.
To sum up: We plan to punish President Obama by electing an arch-conservative to rule the most powerful nation on Earth. This is the logic out there.
Recent history has provided a lesson in what happens if the Democratic base decides not to participate fully in the outcome of a presidential election. Remember 2000? Various pundits convinced millions of likely voters that there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Ralph Nader was most successful in spreading this specious philosophy, and he garnered 2.74% of the popular vote. Most of these 2.74% were likely Gore voters.
The results were cataclysmic. In a year where a few thousand votes would have swung the election, George W. Bush was elected. Within two years, he had started two wars. These wars cost 137,000 civilian lives, 6,419 American soldiers’ lives (4,488 in Iraq and 1,931 in Afghanistan), cost upwards of $4 trillion, and put the country $15,904,628,648,096 in debt. He put together the most conservative Supreme Court in American history, and the world was thrown into the worst global recession in 79 years.
These results would seem to imply that it does indeed matter who sits in the White House. There is a chasmic difference between the priorities and leadership of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. There is a chasmic difference in their outlook, in their intellect, in their ability to represent the U.S. abroad and to understand the plight of the 99% at home.
Republican leadership is not better for the economy than Democratic leadership. Bill Clinton brought the country eight years of peace and eight years of prosperity. George W. Bush brought two wars, crippling recession, and engendered a tangible, unshakeable feeling of national malaise. Two wars and a recession will do it every time.
President Obama inherited all this. And he’s done a very good job of trying to get us out of the hole Republican leadership put us in. The economy is in better shape now than it was in 2008—that is beyond debate. He ended the war in Iraq and he’s nearly finished our role in Afghanistan. And he accomplished what Bush’s two wars were meant to do: he removed the threat of Osama bin Laden. He has made great strides in access to healthcare and higher education, in protecting the environment, in gay rights and women’s rights… The list goes on. And this list is the purpose of 90 Days, 90 Reasons.
This initiative will provide daily reasons—concrete, factual, plain—to re-elect Barack Obama, and will also provide likely outcomes of a Romney presidency. Articulating these reasons will be a wide range of well-known Americans, their ranks proving that there is, indeed, a growing movement that acknowledges not only that Obama needs four more years, but that we actually need to participate to make it happen. Romney’s poll numbers are neck and neck with Obama’s, and the Republican party has raised and will continue to raise more money than Obama will or can. The only chance Obama has to win is if we can harness the same populist enthusiasm we did when we made history in 2008.
It’s okay to believe again. It’s time to believe again. We must believe again.
So I said I needed your help. I would like to see how many reasons this diary can generate. I will add your reasons to the body of the diary as updates, so please share!!!
Here a couple of my personal favorites from 90 days as inspiration:
REASON 02:
PRESIDENT OBAMA FACED DOWN THE GOP AND THE HEALTH INDUSTRY TO FINALLY REFORM AMERICAN HEALTHCARE.
I had great health for most of my life. Then in my 60s, cancer pulled the rug out from under me. Five surgeries, four rehabilitations, you don't want to know. I was lucky to have good employment-based insurance. I maxed it out. Medicaid came to the rescue. Many people don't have any insurance at all, and many companies are laying off insured older workers and hiring younger ones who are not being offered a health plan.
One important reason I will be voting for Obama is his health plan. "Obamacare" is a first step along the way to the kind of universal health care provided by all advanced countries, except for ours. In writing about this issue I have heard so many heartbreaking stories of lives lost, families destroyed, treatment deferred until it was too late.
What bothers me about Romney is that he denies the success of his own "Romneycare" in Massachusetts. It was his signature program. Now it's as if he's never heard of it. We need health care in this country. I suspect many of those opposed to it have never had to go through a health ordeal like mine. They may think they are well off and can handle their own expenses. They have no idea.
—ROGER EBERT
Urbana, Illinois
REASON 10: BARACK OBAMA IS NOT A ROBOT.
“Ok, who's ready to get their picture taken with the president?" This is what the no-nonsense Secret Service agent asked several of us. We had just walked offstage after performing at the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony, held every year since 1923 in President's Park, just south of the White House. I was honored to have been chosen in 2010 to sing perhaps my favorite Christmas standard, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," accompanied beautifully by the U.S. Coast Guard Band. Talk about surreal — but I had a really nice time and thought the performance went well, considering the level of stress that comes with a high-profile event like that.
It was FREEZING cold outside but obviously everyone was excited at the prospect of meeting the PREZ, so we ducked outside and stood in line by a smaller tent allegedly housing Barack and Michelle. Ahead of me in line was 10-year-old TV singing sensation Jackie Evancho (who did sing quite beautifully) and her father. When they reached the tent, the two Secret Service guys on either side of the door said "One at a time sir..." as Jackie and her dad tried to enter together. "But she's my daughter!" exclaimed Dad. "Well… ALRIGHT," said Secret Service Dude, and sent them both inside.
As I stood there waiting I must say I was perhaps more nervous than I had ever been in my life — and I have found myself in some pretty nerve-racking situations. But then before I could think about it any longer, "Poof!" they pulled back the curtain, Jackie and her dad left, and I was ushered inside. It was a narrow tent, with a long red carpet leading the way to the President and First Lady of the United States of America standing tall at the end. The red carpet must have been 1000 miles long — at least it seemed 1000 miles long to me as I strolled down the path — but when I reached the end, the pomp and circumstance seemed to fall away, and there were two real people there, real people who reached out, gave me a big hug, and said thanks for coming ... and just like most everything that comes out of their mouths, you could tell they really meant it. They were no longer the President and First Lady there in that tent. They were REAL. Somehow in those three minutes they made me feel at ease and conveyed the truth of the human experience: that no one is any better or worse than anyone else.
Standing there getting our picture taken ... it was SO strange, being this close to a real live president. I thought of all the times I had seen him on TV, especially election night in 2008 — watching with tears in my eyes as the Obama family took the stage after winning the election, thinking to myself what so many others were thinking: "Finally!!! Sweet justice! A real live person is our president! Who has a real live family and a loving relationship with his wife! A president that does not seem like an evil robot!!!" What a revelation it was. And standing right next to them, that feeling was confirmed to me even deeper — that these were real people who know what it is like to live real life and deal with real struggles that ordinary Americans face every day. What an incredible thing to see and feel after watching way too many wealthy, out-of-touch presidents and their families take office. Here was something in politics that finally made sense to me and so many others.
I was about to start blathering out classic lines like "Thanks!" or "Hey, you're doing a great job!" but the Secret Service guy burst in, shattering my reverie, and barked: "Alright kid, move it along. NEXT!" We all laughed at that and I was on my way.
— JIM JAMES, singer-songwriter for the band My Morning Jacket.
Louisville, Kentucky
Now it is your turn, why do you think we should give Barack Obama 4 more years? Step right up, who is going to be number 1??
1.) I have a conscience. NormAl
2.) I trust Obama with Medicare.
I trust Obama with Social Security.
I trust Obama with Medicaid.
I trust Obama with my vagina.
I trust Obama with my grandson's future.
I trust Obama with immigration reform.
I trust Obama with fair tax laws.
I trust Obama with marriage equality for all.
I trust Obama with the Constitution. Nurse Kelley
3.) We need a president who supports science. blue jersey mom
4.) The weatherization program. There are five wins in here, see comments!
Food stamps -they are the MOST stimulative thing you can do for the economy. Diogenes2008
5.) How simple he makes it seem to make a difference. JanF
6.) because of his intellect
because of his calm and measured approach to problems
because I can clearly see his love for his family
because I can clearly see his love for his country
because I can clearly see his love for the American people
because of his ethics and morals
and most of all...
...because he is without a doubt the best man for the job. JaxDem
7.) because for Barack Obama, the bottom line is the welfare of the country and all of its people, not the net worth of the 1%. carolanne
8.) FREE CHEESE Jez (editor's note: this has not been confirmed, but it hasn't been denied either)
9.) Because I believe in public education. Ivey476
10.) Because we're the party of diversity. a2nite
11.) Kids love him. Hunter Huxley
12.) Cuz HypnoChipmunk tells me too! Hedwig
13.) because obama trusts me to make decisions about my own health care.
because barack and michelle are both excellent people and great parents.
because i want my government to look like my country and my family. jlms qkw
14.) ACA saved my butt. paradise50
15.) I have three daughters. Marjmar
16.) My 14 year old daughter sees a man on integrity in the oval office who looks like her and believes that she is capable of being in charge of her health, education and deserves a college education even if her parents can't afford in on their own. sarahinwi
17.) The Let's Move Cookbook by 54 children from all across America, group founded by Michelle Obama. Healthy tasty recipes by children for children. 2thanks
18.) They do more to level the playing field and protect the little guy from the big guy. bubbanomics
More reasons, if you need any ideas!
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From JanF
Why I Vote For Democrats: Social Security
Why I Vote For Democrats: "This most basic right"
Why I Vote For Democrats: The Medicare Bill of 1965
Why I Vote For Democrats: DREAMs of Our Children
Why I Vote For Democrats: The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Why I Vote For Democrats: LGBT Rights
Why I Vote For Democrats: Nancy Pelosi
Why I Vote For Democrats: Gardens
Why I Vote For Democrats: "The bright sunshine of human rights"
Why I Vote For Democrats: Connections
Why I Vote For Democrats: National Service Programs
Why I Vote For Democrats: Respecting Our Wounded Veterans
Why I Vote For Democrats: Grant Park
Why I Vote For Democrats: Caring for others
Why I Vote For Democrats: Women's Issues
Why I Vote For Democrats: Higher Education
Why I Vote For Democrats: Science Education
Why I Vote For Democrats: The Budget
Why I Vote For Democrats: To Win Elections
Why I Vote For Democrats: President Barack Obama
Why I Vote For Democrats: The Supreme Court (Fair Elections)
Why I Vote For Democrats: The 113th Congress
From Me!!
Infographic-O-Rama : I Vote For Democrats
The Most Dangerous Dems GOTV! - I Vote For Democrats
Why I Vote for Democrats:52-47
Why I Vote For Democrats: One Image
Why I Vote for Democrats: the Lincoln connection
Why I Vote For Democrats, the Council on Women and Girls
I Vote For Democrats: Jobs and Arrested Development
The 2 biggest reasons why I vote for Democrats.
Jump on our bandwagon and follow I Vote For Democrats by clicking the orange ♥ at the top of this diary. Or better yet, write a diary about why YOU vote for Democrats and help us remind people of what is at stake.