Caution: Political Views Below

Brian and I had a conversation the other day where I expressed that I have a hard time understanding other people's political views, other than the news commentators that tend to be pretty clear.   Political discussions seem to be taboo, particularly since things seem so divided lately. 

So I decided to publish a letter to the editor of our local paper.  My first version was almost 1200 words long and the local paper requires letters to the editor to be 300 words or less.  So I sent them a very condensed version, but I decided to post the original here.  I doubt that my political views will be a surprise to anyone, but if you want to comment with your own thoughts, I would love to hear them. 

I am a supporter of President Obama and Vice President Biden.  I personally find it hard to understand how people in similar situations to me could support Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.  I feel like it is taboo to talk about politics outside of family and friends and sometimes even with family and friends when there is such discord like there is with the election this year.  I am hoping that expressing my opinion will help others understand why many of us support President Obama and Vice President Biden and that others will write in and express why they support whomever they support and hopefully we will all learn a little something.

With two young children I have to think about their future and the generations after them.  Romney has proposed stripping the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gasses and the Department of Interior's ability to lease and issue permits for drilling on federal lands and waters.  Romney's energy plan very clearly states that he would continue to supplement oil by giving them large tax breaks and incentives and that he would give no help to alternative energy, but expect them to compete on their own against supplemented fossil fuels. Obama has advocated raising the federal standards for fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks and maintaining incentives for renewable energy including wind and solar-powered generation.  Additionally, I am one person that obtained a green energy job during President Obama's administration.  I don't know that my job was a direct result of any of the administration's policies, but I do know that the company I work for is successful, employs American workers and supports many more, reduces pollution, enhances U.S. energy security, and is exporting its products to many countries.  Because I am concerned about the environment, I support President Obama. 

As I moved to my current position, my husband also changed jobs.  He works in the arts.  I believe that most everyone knows where Romney stands on this one due to his remark about Big Bird in the debate.  Because I support the arts, I support President Obama. 

I consider myself fortunate because I have never had an unexpected pregnancy. Although I believe that I would never have made the decision to have an abortion I do not think that I, or anyone else, has the right to legislate this decision for other women.  Also, I and the women I know generally make health care decisions for our families.  I have worried about the lifetime cap that my father hadson his insurance plan as he fights cancer.  I heard about a close friend's father's fight to get insurance privately due to a preexisting condition.  Thanks to Obamacare I need only worry about my father's fight against cancer now and not about a lifetime cap and soon others will no longer need to worry about being denied coverage because of a preexisting condition (immediately for children).  Finally Obamacare is also providing eight preventive health care services at no cost to millions of women enrolled in insurance plans. Because I think the healthcare legislation that took generations to be enacted should stay in place and because I think women should be allowed to make their own choices, I support President Obama.

My husband and I both have university degrees and we both paid back our student loans.  As a mother who is aware of the cost of a college education as well as the benefits, I hope that my children will be able to receive student loans so that we can afford to send them to college and so that, as a colleague of mine says, "They have some skin in the game." I attended public schools and a private university.  I know that I benefited from smaller classrooms and dedicated teachers in both environments. Because I believe that our students deserve our support, I support President Obama.

I think that when choosing a president,the choice for vice president should be given considerable thought.  Joe Biden has a lot of experience in the government.  I believe that he showed this during his debate with Paul Ryan.  I also believe that he respects hard-working Americans, women, and the men and women that serve or have served our country.  I believe that during his time in politics he has worked to make this country better for everyone, not just himself.  I believe him to be honest, to have integrity and to have empathy.  I believe that if we needed a Vice President to step up and lead the country he would do a better job than Paul Ryan who supported ending Medicare as we know it, cutting food stamps, and voted for a bill that would have allowed anyone involved to refuse to perform an abortion for any reason, even if the life of the woman needing the abortion was in danger.  Because I think we need to plan for disasters, I support Vice President Joe Biden.

Finally, I am a nerd.  I have always been a nerd. I love numbers and facts and I make most of my decisions based on facts.  This election, like most elections I have witnessed, has been full of negative campaigning.  I strive to find out the facts behind the sound bites and the facts that I have been able to find point to both candidates quoting the facts in ways that make them look better or their oppenent look worse.  However, Romney seems to do this to an extreme and seems to feel no need to even stick to the facts at times.  Although some misrepresentation of facts is going to happen, particularly in debates where a candidate could simply misspeak, Romney's mistakes just seem too extreme to not be considered misleading or untruthful.  One example was when Romney tried to depict himself as wanting to produce jobs for women.  First of all, he did not lead a search for qualified women for his cabinet; a nonpartisan coalition of women's groups did because in 2002 women held only 30 percent of the top appointed positions in Massachusetts.  Also, while Romney was governor the number of high-level appointed positions held by women fell 27.6 percent.  Secondly Romney has opposed numerous policies striving for pay equity, such as the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.  Finally, when he ran for governor in 2002, Romney told voters, “I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose.”  Now he says, “I’m a pro-life candidate and I’ll be a pro-life president.” Romney does not mention that his stance has changed or why.  Because I believe honesty is the best policy, I cannot in good faith support Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Thanks,
Denise

By the way, I purposely left the whole job argument out because to me it truly is not important.  Economists say that no matter who is elected 12 million jobs will be created in the next four years. I am sure in four years someone will be trying to take credit for them though.  I saw this chart and thought it was a good look at what has actually happened with jobs since Obama took office.