Sophie's Choice: Gays & Obama
Several of my Facebook friends have gone beyond dislike to outright disgust with the President because of his stance on Don't Ask Don't Tell, and many of them pointed to Lt. Choi's statement that he wouldn't vote for Obama in the 2012 elections.
I understand that the actions of the President to have the DOJ pursue the DADT policy decision and get an injunction against the immediate dismissal pending appeal have upset people. I can even understand how the video he made for the It Gets Better campaign may even seem hypocritical in light of his previous actions.
By saying you aren't going to vote for Obama you're either going to a) support the Republicans, b) back a third party candidate or c) not vote at all.
Chances are if you voted for Obama in the first place, you're not goiing to to throw in for the Republicans. So A is probably right out.
Supporting a third party candidate would have to mean that there was a third party candidate who was actually worthy of receiving the vote, and so far nobody is stepping up to that task as far as we can tell. Wherever there has been a successful third party candidate there had been a lot of lead time up to their running at all. Perot and Nader had been making overtures for years when they ran as legitimate third party candidates who captured serious votes. At this time B doesn't look terribly likely either.
This brings us to the choice that is no choice which is C, not voting at all. Here's what happens with C.
The Tea Party starts sweeping elections in the midseason, they come into Congress and start pushing a radically conservative agenda. Sarah Palin becomes a clear nominee for the Republican primary as the Tea Party's unspoken leader. Through the media mouthpieces of Fox News, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, the conservative base starts radicalizing and getting out crazy huge voter turnout for 2012.
Because you've decided to sit this one out, because Obama has disappointed you on GLBT issues, he loses the votes he needs to hold back the Tea Party.
The entire government comes into control of the Republicans, and not just any Republicans, Tea Party Republicans with no economic sense, ignorant theocratic ideologies, conspiracy theory driven spokespeople, xeno/homo/ethnophobias, and shit tons of guns.
I have heretofore held a healthy suspension of disbelief that the Tea Party people will get anywhere, because I thought they were unelectable. That the American people had more sense than that. That we wouldn't in good conscience allow insane, pro-fascist, conservo-Christian people run the country. Isolationist legislation starts to take hold, utterly destructive tax cuts come back, and you ain't even seen the anti-gay shit they will want to pull on us.
No.
Absolutely not. This nightmare will not happen.
If you see the country running to Sarah Palin, you had better get your ass out there and vote for Obama again. I will drag you to the poll my damn self.
I don't know who said it recently, but it's better to vote for the guy who disappointed you than to vote for pure evil.
I understand that the actions of the President to have the DOJ pursue the DADT policy decision and get an injunction against the immediate dismissal pending appeal have upset people. I can even understand how the video he made for the It Gets Better campaign may even seem hypocritical in light of his previous actions.
By saying you aren't going to vote for Obama you're either going to a) support the Republicans, b) back a third party candidate or c) not vote at all.
Chances are if you voted for Obama in the first place, you're not goiing to to throw in for the Republicans. So A is probably right out.
Supporting a third party candidate would have to mean that there was a third party candidate who was actually worthy of receiving the vote, and so far nobody is stepping up to that task as far as we can tell. Wherever there has been a successful third party candidate there had been a lot of lead time up to their running at all. Perot and Nader had been making overtures for years when they ran as legitimate third party candidates who captured serious votes. At this time B doesn't look terribly likely either.
This brings us to the choice that is no choice which is C, not voting at all. Here's what happens with C.
The Tea Party starts sweeping elections in the midseason, they come into Congress and start pushing a radically conservative agenda. Sarah Palin becomes a clear nominee for the Republican primary as the Tea Party's unspoken leader. Through the media mouthpieces of Fox News, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, the conservative base starts radicalizing and getting out crazy huge voter turnout for 2012.
Because you've decided to sit this one out, because Obama has disappointed you on GLBT issues, he loses the votes he needs to hold back the Tea Party.
The entire government comes into control of the Republicans, and not just any Republicans, Tea Party Republicans with no economic sense, ignorant theocratic ideologies, conspiracy theory driven spokespeople, xeno/homo/ethnophobias, and shit tons of guns.
I have heretofore held a healthy suspension of disbelief that the Tea Party people will get anywhere, because I thought they were unelectable. That the American people had more sense than that. That we wouldn't in good conscience allow insane, pro-fascist, conservo-Christian people run the country. Isolationist legislation starts to take hold, utterly destructive tax cuts come back, and you ain't even seen the anti-gay shit they will want to pull on us.
No.
Absolutely not. This nightmare will not happen.
If you see the country running to Sarah Palin, you had better get your ass out there and vote for Obama again. I will drag you to the poll my damn self.
I don't know who said it recently, but it's better to vote for the guy who disappointed you than to vote for pure evil.