Still Gonna Vote for Obama?
An excerpt from an article written by Matt Tabibi and quoted in an excellent article by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com:
“Now, Barack Obama has surrendered control of the budget to the Tea Party. . . . Commentators everywhere are killing the president for his seemingly astonishing level of ball-less-ness. . . . The Democrats aren’t failing to stand up to Republicans and failing to enact sensible reforms that benefit the middle class because they genuinely believe there’s political hay to be made moving to the right. They’re doing it because they do not represent any actual voters. I know I’ve said this before, but they are not a progressive political party, not even secretly, deep inside. They just play one on television. . . .”
Click on the link, read the piece, and weep for the future of the working class in this country. And be sure and vote for Obama in 2012, you hear? He’s intelligent, he’s handsome, and he’s an excellent speaker. And he’s just doing what he has to do because of those really, really mean Republicans. Right. I want to smoke some of that stuff that you’re smoking.
Well, I’m definitely mad. And stunned. And intensely disappointed in Obama. I can’t believe he didn’t push through all those tax increases on the rich he talked about. I can’t believe how easily he capitulated to the Republicans. I honestly still can’t decide who I think he is. At best, he’s a weak, ineffectual leader. At worst, he’s a lying, sweet-talking con man.
But to answer the question in your title, Jeff: Yes. If there’s no other viable choice (that is, a third-party candidate who actually might stand a chance of being elected). Why? Simply because even Obama pretending to be progressive is better than any of the Republican choices. Please remember that Gore likely would have been president in 2000 had it not been for those who voted for Nader. And I really do believe that the course of our country would be entirely different now had Gore been president. I can understand having a distaste for voting for the “lesser of evils.” I have that distaste. But the thought of a Republican in the White House is far less palatable.
I will never vote for a man who steals from the poor to give to the rich. Never. Both the Republican and the Democratic parties are corrupt and owned by Wall Street. I’m not foolish enough to think that a third party candidate could win, but if enough people vote third party (any party – doesn’t matter), then perhaps things will change. Perhaps people will feel empowered to create their own change, after being conned by the duopoly for so long. If 80 million people voted in the last presidential election and 50 million of them voted for a third party this time so that the cumulative total of third party votes exceeded those who voted for the duopoly, what does that say about the American people’s confidence in the duopoly? Not much, I’d say. It’s time for a change, a real change. Audacity of Hope, my ass!!
Might as well vote for Republican so they can have responsibility for their ways…oh wait…we had that with W. They don’t give a rats ass. Very depressing.
Don’t get depressed – get mad! And start calling out the right-wing extremists when presented with the opportunity. You don’t have to be confrontational -just let them know that they are misinformed and that you don’t agree with them.