Hi, I don't post here much but I do like to read. Its an interesting and cantankerous community. Very committed and it seems quite at odds.
I wrote a diary here a few weeks ago called "Pollyanna". I wrote as a supporter of both candidates. I was ultimately an Obama supporter and voter but I would have been happy with either. Two good Democrats, two great choices.
Now I'm reading EVERYWHERE that Obama is a flip-flopping bad Democrat or something. Really?
I'll save FISA for last but I'd like to talk about some of the other things first because I think they are monumentally important in a general election...to some they are more important than FISA despite all the sturm und drang in the blogosphere.
Iraq: I think that we all know he hasn't changed one whit since the beginning of his campaign. He will set the mission, and the strategy will be how best to remove the troops from Iraq. He will rely on his commanders in the field to develop the best tactical maneuvers to accomplish this task. Strategy and tactics. We get that, we're smart Democrats! We don't buy into bullshit like, "HE SAID REFINE!!!! WE'RE GONNA STAY IN IRAQ FOR A BAZILLION YEARS" right? We don't believe that. We as intelligent people understand that any responsible leader takes the security of the troops, the country and even (yes!) the country we are leaving into account to minimize harm to all and leave responsibly. Under Obama we WILL leave, we'll also leave the right way and with dignity and safety, as much as that can be accomplished, for all.
Faith-based Organizations: I'll just start by saying I'm an atheist...I know I can be a magical unicorn on the internet but I actually am an atheist...and a lesbian one to boot (oooh scary ;)) However I see this as being right in Obama's wheelhouse. He knows the good of these organizations, he worked with them when he first went to Chicago. The important thing here is that there is an infrastructure in place already with these types of church based organizations. No government program could ever replace what exists already. What the government can do is target grants to programs that are willing to abide by strict regulations regarding proselytizing and discrimination. George Bush set up his program more or less to encourage proselytizing and little else, David Kuo said as much. What Barack Obama is proposing is a bolstering of programs already working. Anyone who doesn't want to cut off aspects of their charity work when it comes to evangelizing or hiring practices...well they are quite free to not apply for grants. You see, despite my lesbian atheist wickedness, I actually believe that local community organizations both religious and secular are best equipped to deal with local problems...I know, I'm such a dreamer. He knows the value of local social infrastructure, and he wants to strengthen it. I get it, do you?
Abortion: I'll start by saying I've had one so I can speak from my own corner of experience. I was in a very blue state and had no trouble getting one at a VERY early stage. I've never been thrilled with my decision but it was what it was. I absolutely would never do it again personally, but I would also absolutely never infringe on anyone else's right to have one. Anyway. Obama used a very specific phrase here "mental distress". That is not an all-inclusive phrase when it comes to mental illness. What he is pretty clearly talking about is third-trimester panic. Not mental illness, not risk of suicide, just "oh shit for reasons xyz I want to become not pregnant anymore". I'm sorry, most people think that's a bullshit reason to get an abortion. Because most women at 6 months pregnant or more would not have an abortion based on this mythical panic based on nothing more than not wanting to be pregnant anymore. We're talking about hardly any woman. This is not a huge issue. We can make it one, sure, we can flip out about anything. This is not the issue to lose it on...he stood up when it counted on far more serious choice issues than this. The very concept of a John McCain Presidency in regards to this issue alone is terrifying.
OK, fine, I'll talk about it.
FISA: Yeah I fucking hate it. I do, it makes me crazy and angry. Or it did until I thought about it, marinated in it for awhile. So I'll go to my title for this one. Ammunition. As much as the above are ammunition this one is the worst for some obvious reasons...for example: Barack Obama wants terrorists to make all their plans on cellphones just like on "24" and he won't let the government do anything about it. Simple as that, he can't vote against it. He can try to strip immunity but he can't vote against it. It's simply too hard to explain the 4th amendment to the general public. I think we've all witnessed the fact that the extent of the understanding of the Constitution in this country is...First Amendment YAY free speech, Second Amendment YAY Guns...umm...umm...Fifth Amendment YAY that thing on TV where you get to not say anything if you did something bad or something...ummmm...blacks and women got to vote and we weren't allowed to drink and then we were again...umm. You see what I'm saying? Maybe I should be more open-minded about the thought processes of my fellow (ahemrepublicanamhem) Americans but my time on Earth has not inclined me that way.
Ammunition, all these things are ammunition. On the first 3 he barely trembled from his original positions, he said some nice words that work on the moderate wings of both parties and the folks in between, but he's still the same guy. On the last, it was pure bullet catching. Let the man become president so he'll be in a position to fix this...unless you're happy with it and I'm totally misunderstanding the complaints. ;)
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