Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Why I am Opposed to Obama

I know it is too late now but it is cathartic to get it out. My friend Tom asked me the following question:

Hey Jenny,

Can you tell me why you are so opposed to Obama? I voted for him, but I wouldn't have been devastated if McCain won either - especially because I really supported him in 2000 (I just really don't like Sarah Palin). Really, don't you think ANYONE would be better than Bush? I like him even less than Palin!

I'm just struggling to find the severe disconnect that people like you have with the Obama movement. Would you feel just as opposed to a Hillary Clinton presidency?

I really want to hear from you because I think you are a rational person, unlike some nuts who seemingly fell head first into the Kool-Aid with his arms and legs tied to cinder blocks. I'm just really interested in hearing your perspectives and reasoning.


I hope you are open to sharing this with me. I hope you are well! (Outside of this, of course)

Tom


I thought I would put my response below in case anyone was wondering...


Tom -

My biggest issue with Obama is his economic policy. I am very opposed to the "spread the wealth around" mentality. It upsets me that my parents will be punished because they worked hard, served in the military and combat for 20+ years, and invested wisely. Because they are not "middle class", they will be be punished through higher taxes that will go to fund programs that will most likely help out people who aren't working for the benefits they are reaping. I realize that is a generalized statement but still mostly true, I believe. I am all for helping out people in need, I would just prefer to get to decide where my money goes.

We are all going to get punished when he taxes businesses- that is going to flow down and result in the our companies not being able to give us higher raises, taking away benefits, etc so we will have less to spend on the economy. Trickle down economics doesn't work when the top doesn't have the money to spend.

I am also conservative when it comes to social/moral issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc. I cannot believe how liberal Obama is in his stance on abortion. Yes, he has said he wants to reduce abortion but he also has said that one of the first things he wants to do is pass the Freedom of Choice Act (seehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf0XIRZSTt8) which will invalidate every restriction on the abortion of a fetus such as parental notification laws, waiting periods, requirements of full disclosure of the physical and emotional risks inherent in abortion, and restrictions on certain late-term abortion techniques. It will also repeal the Hyde Amendment and allow taxpayers money to pay for abortions so abortion is available to anyone that cannot afford it. Experts say that this would create an estimate of 125,000 more abortions per year. The fact that my tax dollars could go to killing more unborn children just makes me so frustrated and sad. 

It also upsets me that he will have the opportunity to appoint 2-3 Supreme Court Justices and he has said that he wants judges
"who’s got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it’s like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it’s like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that’s the criteria by which I’m going to be selecting my judges."

That is not justice. He is going to appoing judges based on how they "feel" about these things versus their ability to interpret the constitution and I am not okay with that. Ultimately he thinks the constitution is not living enough - he thinks it should mold to the times - the ebs and flows of culture and morality. When you throw away the standards and foundation of our country - you are playing with fire. 

There are many other things about his policies that concern me but this is already getting pretty long :o)

One other thing is that I think it is alarming how little he was tested by the media. I think they have really swept under the rug his past associations with severely leftist people (Wright, Ayers, Khalidi, Rezko, etc); the discrepancy over his birth certificate; the LA Times video that they refuse to release, and their overall love affair with him - their job is to dig that stuff up and expose it and they failed. 

To answer your question - I don't think I would be as upset if it were Hillary moving into the White House because Obama is far more left-thinking than she is and with the Democratic control of the House and Senate on his side, he has the potential to do some damage to our personal liberties and culture of life. I don't think I would be happy about Hillary but I wouldn't feel as scared as I do right now. 

I think we are in a historic time for sure and I am very happy that America has it's first black president. I just fear that many people got so caught up and fell in love with that possibility that they chose the wrong man.

Maybe he will do a great job. I hope he does. I hope I am wrong and that my fears are unfounded. But when I look at his voting record and his stance on the issues, I can't help but feel that America doesn't realize the kind of change we could be in for. In four years we could have less personal liberties, higher taxes, a worse economy, and a leftist government leading us towards capitalist socialism. And I don't think that is the America we are fighting for.

I do think the Republicans deserved to lose after the last 8 years. I don't know that McCain would have done much better but I don't think he had the potential to change the moral and economical direction of the country as much as Obama. But we'll see. 

So hopefully that didn't sound too much like Kool-Aid induced writing :o) This the first election I have really taken the time to think through each of the issues and why i agree or don't agree. 

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell you my thoughts. I appreciate your willingness to read (if you made it all the way down here) I would also love to hear yours if you feel like sharing them. 

I hope you are doing well. I think you are Colorado :o) Go Broncos. Jay Cutler is my QB for Fantasy but he has not been treating me well the past few weeks.

Jenny

2 comments:

lizbaker said...

Good word Jen. You're a stud.

Sara Kane said...

Hey Jen! I voted for Obama but I appreciate your insight. We can hope for the best at this point! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and research on the issue. miss ya, Sara