I got an email today from the Obama campaign that asked me if I have done everything I can do for the campaign. The answer is of course no, but I have done more than most. This started me thinking about the right wing idea that supporting Obama is somehow anti-American.
Some of the biggest political arguments I have had come from people who say they support McCain, but really don’t do anything other than complain about Obama. Much the same way they say they support the troops, but do nothing other than complain about Obama and argue why we should stay in Iraq. And one of the latest ideas of this group is to call Obama supporters anti-Americans.
It’s easy to see where this came from. It started with “hockey mom” Sarah Palin mentioning she enjoys being in the “pro-American” part of the country. Despite the sick nature of the comment, it became the talking point of the Republican Party, including Fox News, and somehow people in big cities, or coastal towns, or anyone who supported the Obama campaign became anti-American. For some reason our tax dollars don’t count, and our service to our country didn’t count. But I promise you that our votes will count. And we will outnumber the right wing idiots.
As offensive, and ironic, as the anti-American idea is, there is another part of this that really amazes me. I didn’t just vote for Barack Obama, I contributed thousands of dollars to his campaign. I helped man a phone bank, I have attended rallies and helped start campaign groups, I have the bumper sticker, I have the sign in my lawn, I write a blog that ranks for some key search terms to help educate people about Obama, my son delivered signs to peoples’ homes. And I even volunteered to house an out of state member of the Barack Obama ground team through the election. I truly support the Obama campaign.
You might be thinking that I’m a big supporter of the Democratic party. But the fact is, I have never bothered to vote in an election until now. I loved Ronald Reagan, I despised Bill Clinton, and I even hoped for Bush to beat Gore in 2000.
And I don’t love every policy of the Obama campaign. I like the idea of FairTax, and I like the idea of a school voucher program to give me a choice where I send my child. But I cannot support a war that we were tricked into, and is costing us the lives of soldiers everyday, not to mention $10 billion per month. I cannot support the idea of yet another failed health care plan that works more for insurance carriers than for the people. If you pay taxes in this country, you should have the right to reasonable health care. I cannot support the decision to put a member of the Keating 5 in the White House when he attends on putting someone like Phil Gramm in charge of the economy. And there is no way in hell I could support the idea of allowing one of the dumbest, closed minded people ever in politics to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sarah Palin would destroy this country.
I should also add that I’m not a big fan of a lot of Democrats in office right. People like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank have been making me remember why I can’t stand Democrats. I certainly did not want Hillary Clinton to be president.
I’m socially liberal. I don’t care if gays marry, I can’t think of a place where the government belongs less than who can spend their lives together. I think abortion is a choice that needs to be left between a women and her physician. No one is pro-abortion, but pro-choice is the only sensible choice. I think the death penalty is wrong. We screw up too many cases, and it’s just not the company we want to keep in the world.
But even with my social views, I doubt I could be viewed as a democrat. Truth be told, I like Ron Paul a lot more than John McCain, and Ron Paul is a lot more conservative. But I also think Ron Paul is a lot smart than John McCain, and has showed more character in his campaign.
But my point to this all is that I’m supporting a candidate I believe to be the best for the country, not just my personal ideals. I’m truly putting country first. And the fact that Obama has so much more cash on hand than McCain, and so many volunteers on his ground team, shows that Obama supporters are as pro-American as you can get right now. Where is McCain’s rush of contributions? Where is McCain’s army of supporters? The fact is, he is not change you can believe in. Everyone knows he is the same as George Bush. Saying your going to cut al earmarks is not enough of a difference.
So before the next right wing redneck calls an Obama supporter “anti-American”, they should think about what they’re doing for their country. And they should also look at the fact that they are getting their talking points from Sarah Palin!!!
