Problems with cynicism

I saw this story a while back that I think illustrates a lot of the current political problems:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/25/food-stamps-kroger-grocery_n_1911355.html

One big problem is the judgment that goes on, and we will get to that, but for now I want to focus on a quote by the woman in question, and the lead in to the quote:

“However much the campaign issues might resonate in her personal life, Nerger said she doesn't have cable and hasn't been following politics or the presidential election. Still, she doesn't think much of either Obama or his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.

‘They’re all gonna kill us," she said. "Most of the people that we have to choose from -- Obama with his spending and his health care reform, and then Mitt Romney, he just wants to let poor people die, so either way we're doomed. So I don’t see any point in voting.’"

Actually, there is another issue in there about poor information, though having cable would not necessarily help, but still, really, person on food stamps waiting for a kidney transplant whose husband is self-employed, you don’t see a point in voting? You don’t think one candidate’s policies might be more helpful in your situation than another?

Third party candidates love to tell you that there’s no difference between the two main parties, and that is a lie. Yes, the Democrats have become a lot more conservative, and if the Republicans had stayed in place, there would be little difference between the two. But have you really paid attention to what the Neocons have become? (If you haven’t, I’ll be writing more on that too.)

It is more common for me to encounter condescension and misunderstanding from the Right, where they are confident that their cause is just, and they don’t understand how I have been hoodwinked, or how I can be liberal in good conscience, and that’s one set of problems, and it is disturbing. It is also disturbing how many have just thrown up their hands and decided that it doesn’t matter.

For example, I know there are people who are frustrated that President Obama has not said more about the environment. Honestly, I think that is strategically smart, since he would probably lose more people than he would gain. However, based on his actions, and Romney’s words, there is a clear difference:

http://www.nationalmemo.com/reminder-no-one-has-done-more-to-fight-climate-change-than-president-obama/

Obama has been working to bring the troops home; Romney has called that tragic. Oddly, Republicans have criticized Obama’s spending, but having troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has been very expensive, and that started under Bush. No difference?

It has been firmly established that corporate tax cuts and tax cuts for the wealthy do not necessary improve the economy, although they do increase income inequality. Romney is still for going that route, and promises those tax cuts will improve the economy. Obama’s tax plan is more rational. Also, it is really hypocritical for the Republicans to criticize Democrats for being fiscally irresponsible when Clinton ran a surplus and Bush squandered it by cutting taxes and starting wars.

Romney has talked about wanting to privatize FEMA. The FEMA director under Bush criticized Obama for responding too quickly to Sandy. Let’s pretend your home was destroyed under Sandy and there was another big storm on the way. Would you really rather be under President Romney than President Obama?

And if your answer to any of the Romney weaknesses is that he doesn’t really mean what he says, that is not a good defense.

I guess the point that I really want to make here is that I am not just choosing between the lesser of two evils. It doesn’t mean that I agree with everything Obama does, or that he is perfect. Frankly, I think I would have given up on getting Republican compromise a lot sooner. I understand why he felt the need, I sympathize with the principle, but it was just never going to happen. They wanted him to fail, and he managed pretty well despite that.

(Jonathan Chait has a good piece on that: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/barack-obama-is-a-great-president-yes-great.html)

Also, I wish he had not renewed the Patriot Act, and I have been thinking about that—what to do when you disagree, because that is going to be important for both sides, and there will be more on that too.

What I am saying is that this bad economy started under Bush, and we have been making slow, steady progress out of it, and we could have made even more progress with a non-obstructionist GOP element in Congress. I don’t want us to go back to Bush policies, and with Romney’s Bush advisers, and with his campaign contributors, that’s what’s going to happen.

If I have to choose between all of the Bush tax cuts expiring, or none of them, I will gladly pay more in taxes. That will do more to help the budget issues than anything Romney has.

The Affordable Care Act has helped a lot of people already, and will help more as it becomes fully implemented over the next two years, and sure, Romney might find it hard to repeal it, but I don’t want him to even be in there trying. I would like my sister to have health insurance. A man whose wife has had multiple sclerosis and cancer should not think that emergency rooms are a good alternative to health care, but the fact that he can say that shows you a lot about how his mind works.

These are just a few examples, but I could go on. Women’s rights? Huge difference. Diplomatic ability? Huge difference. That is what I am saying in general: there is a huge difference between the candidates, and it does matter.

And you know what else matters? Your vote. I saw some polling that of people who are not planning to vote, they lean about 75% more towards Obama. Now, I think Obama is going to win anyway, and I think he will win both the popular and the electoral vote. However, winning by that much larger a margin sends that much more of a message. There are some really bad planks in the GOP platform, and Romney may be finished after this, but the platform won’t go away unless it is sent away.

Chances are that if you believe global warming is a myth and women who use birth control are sluts and that the Bush tax cuts just have not had enough time to work, you are voting for Romney anyway—maybe with mixed feelings because he is a cult member, but still doing it. But if you think that it doesn’t matter who wins, wake up. And if you are awake, make your voice heard.

And hey, if you are pro-Romney, and weren’t planning on voting, still, vote. Obviously our beliefs are different, but I still believe in democracy, and your vote is a part of that.