An open letter of non-apology to my GOP Voting Friends and Family

Dear friends of many decades and family,

I do not usually devote my blog to politics per se, but your voiced indignation with my intention to vote, once again, for Obama comes through loud and clear. Yes, I had traditionally voted Republican for virtually my entire life. Yes, I still despise the likes of Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, the late Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters, and Barney Frank, et al just like you do.

But, I also despise George Bush, Eric Cantor, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Paul Rand, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and that imbecilic woman from Alaska that some of you thought would make a wonderful Vice President.  You see, I can see them all for the dangerous extremists that they are, and they disgust me equally.  That you can see the danger of only one side of the equation is what sets us apart; albeit, I know you won’t fully understand that.  Barry Goldwater would have understood it.

No, I’m not a Democrat, nor a Liberal, nor Socialist.  I’m an Independent/Uncommitted voter, a fiscal conservative and a social liberal...thus I say moderate.

I used to be a one issue voter.  I may have even harbored some prejudice against minorities.   I’ve out grown the former, and over come the latter.

Yes, I agree our national debt is out of control; government is too big and getting bigger. Our current expenditures in entitlements (Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, etc.) use up every tax dollar the federal Government takes in, leaving exactly zero dollars to fund the military, or a single government office or worker - hence the national debt growth. And never mind the almost 1 Trillion spent on Bush’s phony war in Iraq. It’s not a new issue, it’s been going on for decades.

 Thus we continue to borrow from the Chinese, selling our future generations down the river and inviting a financial disaster that will make Greece look stable. Yes, it must be stopped and controlled.  I’m not sure how.  I do know cuts should be made, especially to the big ticket items like entitlements and the military. It will be painful. I also know that some US corporations are paying zero tax, and that the 1%-3% of Americans earning multi-millions are paying substantially less of a tax rate than I am. Both of those things need to be fixed as well. Neither the GOP nor Democrats have the proper solution. So it continues.

Yes, gasoline prices are higher than ever.  But the executive branch has next to zero to do with it.  Blame part of it on the loss and non-replacement of petroleum refineries in the US.  But mostly blame China’s and India’s economic growth, growth in their middle class. Automobile sales in China are going through the roof; it is no longer a bicycle dependent society.  Oil prices, like lumber, metals (buy factory ammo lately??), and other commodities are influenced by the growing demand of industrialized nations.  That’s what influences the market price.  You can “Drill baby drill” till your tits fall off and wait till every idiot “abstinence only” teenage daughter has another kid out of wedlock, and that oil will still be sold on the world market to the highest bidder just like any other oil...all incremental 3-5% of it.  Alternate energy sources-natural gas- and investment in technological changes in the private sector is our best long term solution. Fuck oil.

That you find gays “disgusting” and thus endorse their being denied the institution of marriage and full rights of citizenship is inexplicable to me. Maybe we harbored that feeling together, and even the  same feeling about inter-racial marriage many years ago.  Perhaps it’s because we are a product of a less enlightened age. I’ve gotten over it.  I can’t go back to those days.

That you think a woman’s right to choose to give birth or terminate an unwanted pregnancy isn’t her right at all but strictly the business of a male dominated government puzzles me. Or perhaps you don’t think that way, but it’s not your uterus so it isn’t on your radar screen of issues. 

Perhaps you agree that women shouldn’t have total access to contraception, and want to see organizations which support women’s health and contraceptive rights shut down.  Or maybe you don’t support that mindset, but it just doesn’t matter since it doesn’t directly affect you.

You told me that those who can’t afford health care should be allowed to die in the streets as a way of getting medical costs lowered for everyone.  I want to believe you were joking and that you haven’t entirely surrendered your humanity.  That we happily have our health care coverage and are able and willing to absorb the annual rate increases that put it beyond the means of 50% of the nation, isn’t a sound reason to oppose finding ways to cover people. “Let them eat cake.” wasn’t an effective policy for Marie Antoinette or the French aristocracy... history has a way of repeating itself.  We need to learn from it. 

I understand you’re mostly believers and thus don’t understand or fear the implications of the religious right’s drive toward infusing religious doctrine into our school science classes; or don’t care that they would have their ancient religious scripture be the basis for laws and government policy, or the driver behind military action; or are fine with having it forced on soldiers who prefer not to have a religion or are of another religion. You likely don’t know there is a constitutional amendment prohibiting those things. Or you don’t care about quasi-theocracy in government ... since it's your flavor of theism.

You lived through the reality, but some how you still believe the recession started when Obama took office, selectively forgetting it started eight months prior. Yes, it’s the worst financial crisis for America since the Great Depression; it’s no picnic for Europe either.  The good news is your Stock Market investments have recovered almost to pre-recession levels, unemployment slowly but persistently continues to decline, and the GDP is inching upward.  Not fast enough for you, you say.   To which “greatest recession since 1929” do you compare that "not fast enough" growth rate?

Sorry you see regulation of the financial industry an impediment to growth; and don’t recognize its absence / weakness as one major reason for the recession and enforcing it a way to prevent another.

You’re angry over Obama bailing out the auto industry and saving those million jobs and keeping the nation’s largest manufacturing concern from collapse.  It was just plain wrong you say...  in spite of their now seeing double digit/record profits which will end up costing the US tax payers exactly nothing. But let’s condemn the bail out  based on....  oh, I dunno - socialism?

To those of you who - as non-Jewish as you are- are concerned over Obama’s not encouraging Israel to initiate a war with Iran with a preemptive attack, instead trying to find a way to influence Iran without igniting another middle east war: Do you even know why your unswerving support for Israel is so intense, and why your acceptance of war as a first response is so prevalent, especially since you never had any love for Jews your whole life or served in the military yourself?  Think about it.

I imagine, that some of you still think Obama is foreign born, and/or a Muslim, and/or the anti-Christ, who is waging a war on religion and is part of a socialist plot to enslave the nation in Marxist doctrine.  There’s noting anyone can say or do to convince you otherwise, so I’ll simply ignore it.

No, I’m not a one issue voter. I care about more than just my taxes and my guns. Perhaps I have a broader perspective because I tend to read broadly, and not just the financial pages or NRA newsletters. I also get my news from many varied sources, not just FOX or knee-jerk neanderthal conservative radio personalities. This tends to impact on ones thinking. Thus,  I can’t vote for legitimizing the inequality of people; or the subjugation of women; or for a war mentality; or for a let them eat cake perspective; or for deception about oil prices; or for religious dogma in government or imposed on people; or for big business over civility and humanity and how we treat the least among us; or for your 401k investments at the expense of  everything else; or for the right of domestic violence perpetrators to carry concealed; or for Mitt Romney’s off shore holdings and 15% tax rate. 

Yes, I will vote for the “Kenyan negro,” again.

Yes, I’ve changed. My hairstyle changed my tastes in food and beverages have changed, the way I perceive humanity, government, the world as a whole has evolved.  I’ve matured, my perspective has expanded. But my love and respect for you has not changed, that never will. 

No, I don’t want your rebuttal.  I’m sure you can stridently defend your position to your satisfaction. I’m just clearing the air, just trying to give you an understanding of who I am, albeit, I’m still me.  

In four years I’ll again reject kneejerk narrow dogma and rely on my reason, my humanity and my intellect to evaluate the positions of the presidential candidates and make my choice.  I invite you to do likewise.