A letter from a friend about McCain and more
The person I had hoped to vote for this November to be the President of the USA (Hillary Clinton), did not win the primary, so I've done a lot of thinking about who I would select this November. I feel the economy is the most important immediate issue in front of us. Regardless of the what is said by each party, the facts are that it was a Republican led Congress (for the first 6 years anyway) with a Republican President that has led our country's direction for the most immediate past and that prior to this period (8 years), with Clinton in the office, we had balanced the budget and had a surplus in the government for the first time in a long time and maybe ever, in our country's history. Bill Clinton did not do this by himself, he had a group of very smart individuals working with him (including Hillary) and those individuals are now working with Obama (including Hillary). So that's who I'm going to vote for, the people that will best be able to help heal this economy.
And if that isn't enough to convince you that Obama is the better candidate for our country, then consider the following as reasons why McCain is NOT the person to lead our country down a path toward healing our economy and internal strife:
McCain has stood by his party much more than he has stood against them and when he has stood against them, it was never on issues of great import to me. If anything, McCain represents much more of a pro-WAR stance than I would ever advocate. He also has stood for issues that cause divisiveness in our own country rather than uniting us for the better of us all.
Date: October 14, 2008 11:32:16 AM PDT
Subject: For anyone still on the fence....
Hello, friends...
I was reading my email the other day, and the Obama campaign was asking people to go door to door and talk to their neighbors about Obama. As much as I am for Obama, talking to people door to door is something I would suck at - and I also think most of my neighbors are voting for him anyway.
But then I read the article in Rolling Stone about John McCain, and I found one piece of information that was like a turning point for me. There are so many more issues, and so many more things to say - but this one thing helped me to find a way to make it personal.
So, I sent the letter copied below to some of my friends and family who are self-described conservatives, and/or who have already stated their preference for John McCain. You may want to do your own version of the same thing. If you want to forward my letter to some right-leaning or undecided people you know, please go ahead.
You know, I really do have hope. I think we're gonna win this one. But we have to keep working. Some people just don't know how bad it could be under McCain/Palin. If every one of us is able to help one other person see the light.... well, you know.
Thanks.
Love,
- Heather
----------------------- a copy of my letter -------------------------
(For anyone still on the fence....)
Hello, dear friends and family -
Two events inspired me to write this letter. First, National Coming Out Day was last week. Second, I just read an article in Rolling Stone about John McCain. Some of the facts I had heard or read - such as McCain repeatedly voting against a holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. - and some were new to me. Above all, I was horrified to learn that John McCain spoke at an OCA (Oregon Citizen's Alliance) fundraising dinner in 1993. I did some research, and found other sources that confirm it. McCain was encouraged not to go - by Republican Senator Mark Hatfield, among others - but he went anyway, and helped the OCA raise money for their 1994 anti-gay-rights campaign fund.
I'm sure most of you recall the OCA, and their seemingly endless campaign against gays and lesbians in this state - a campaign that unfortunately continues to this day. I'm also sure that most of you know by now that I am gay.
What you may not know is that during the heyday of the OCA, when I was living in Eugene, the OCA's campaign of lies and propaganda, along with a conservative regime in the White House, led to a climate of violence against gay people. I was personally verbally harassed and threatened with violence several times, just for being gay. Friends were beaten, stabbed and worse. There was a direct correlation to the OCA in these attacks - the fear and lies they spread emboldened people to act out their irrational hatred of gays and lesbians. It's hard to describe how it feels to be the target of that hatred just because of who you are and who you love, but it isn't good.
Your vote is, of course, your business. And there are so many issues facing us as a nation - nothing is simple. But this election just became even more personal for me, and I felt I had to say something. If you're considering a vote for McCain/Palin, please ask yourself whether this information might nudge you over the fence to Obama/Biden instead.
Thank you.
Here are some links to the Rolling Stone Article about McCain, and to recent stories about the OCA:
Rolling Stone Article about McCain:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print
Oregonian reporter Jeff Mapes, on the OCA fundraiser McCain attended:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2008/04/ive_seen_john_mccains_temper.html
God, Gays & Glasnost - The OCA banks on Soviet émigrés for its revival:
http://wweek.com/editorial/3313/8513/
OCA leader claims "Homosexuals created the Nazi Party"
http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/NewsBank/0EB0890E28FAED6B/0D10F2CADB4B24C0
Wikipedia on the OCA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Citizens_Alliance
And if that isn't enough to convince you that Obama is the better candidate for our country, then consider the following as reasons why McCain is NOT the person to lead our country down a path toward healing our economy and internal strife:
McCain has stood by his party much more than he has stood against them and when he has stood against them, it was never on issues of great import to me. If anything, McCain represents much more of a pro-WAR stance than I would ever advocate. He also has stood for issues that cause divisiveness in our own country rather than uniting us for the better of us all.
Date: October 14, 2008 11:32:16 AM PDT
Subject: For anyone still on the fence....
Hello, friends...
I was reading my email the other day, and the Obama campaign was asking people to go door to door and talk to their neighbors about Obama. As much as I am for Obama, talking to people door to door is something I would suck at - and I also think most of my neighbors are voting for him anyway.
But then I read the article in Rolling Stone about John McCain, and I found one piece of information that was like a turning point for me. There are so many more issues, and so many more things to say - but this one thing helped me to find a way to make it personal.
So, I sent the letter copied below to some of my friends and family who are self-described conservatives, and/or who have already stated their preference for John McCain. You may want to do your own version of the same thing. If you want to forward my letter to some right-leaning or undecided people you know, please go ahead.
You know, I really do have hope. I think we're gonna win this one. But we have to keep working. Some people just don't know how bad it could be under McCain/Palin. If every one of us is able to help one other person see the light.... well, you know.
Thanks.
Love,
- Heather
----------------------- a copy of my letter -------------------------
(For anyone still on the fence....)
Hello, dear friends and family -
Two events inspired me to write this letter. First, National Coming Out Day was last week. Second, I just read an article in Rolling Stone about John McCain. Some of the facts I had heard or read - such as McCain repeatedly voting against a holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. - and some were new to me. Above all, I was horrified to learn that John McCain spoke at an OCA (Oregon Citizen's Alliance) fundraising dinner in 1993. I did some research, and found other sources that confirm it. McCain was encouraged not to go - by Republican Senator Mark Hatfield, among others - but he went anyway, and helped the OCA raise money for their 1994 anti-gay-rights campaign fund.
I'm sure most of you recall the OCA, and their seemingly endless campaign against gays and lesbians in this state - a campaign that unfortunately continues to this day. I'm also sure that most of you know by now that I am gay.
What you may not know is that during the heyday of the OCA, when I was living in Eugene, the OCA's campaign of lies and propaganda, along with a conservative regime in the White House, led to a climate of violence against gay people. I was personally verbally harassed and threatened with violence several times, just for being gay. Friends were beaten, stabbed and worse. There was a direct correlation to the OCA in these attacks - the fear and lies they spread emboldened people to act out their irrational hatred of gays and lesbians. It's hard to describe how it feels to be the target of that hatred just because of who you are and who you love, but it isn't good.
Your vote is, of course, your business. And there are so many issues facing us as a nation - nothing is simple. But this election just became even more personal for me, and I felt I had to say something. If you're considering a vote for McCain/Palin, please ask yourself whether this information might nudge you over the fence to Obama/Biden instead.
Thank you.
Here are some links to the Rolling Stone Article about McCain, and to recent stories about the OCA:
Rolling Stone Article about McCain:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print
Oregonian reporter Jeff Mapes, on the OCA fundraiser McCain attended:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2008/04/ive_seen_john_mccains_temper.html
God, Gays & Glasnost - The OCA banks on Soviet émigrés for its revival:
http://wweek.com/editorial/3313/8513/
OCA leader claims "Homosexuals created the Nazi Party"
http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/NewsBank/0EB0890E28FAED6B/0D10F2CADB4B24C0
Wikipedia on the OCA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Citizens_Alliance