Dear fellow Americans,
Last night I listened to one of Americas
finest past Presidents and certainly one of the best speeches I have ever heard.
I am talking about former President Clinton addressing the DNC in Charlotte,
NC. If you have not had a chance yet to
listen, here is the Youtube link: Clinton
Speech at DNC 2012.
Not only was this speech extremely inspiring but also
exposed the Republican National Convention for what it really was, the largest
gathering of America’s
top liars. My blog is not addressing Republican voters and it is not intended
to change their minds as I am aware that most of them have turned into
ideological brick heads. It is directed at those who aren’t immune to facts and
reason, and whose decision in November is not strictly based on hatred, but for
one reason or another haven’t decided yet on which candidate to support.
Over the past couple of months I have done what I did four
years ago, I joined the ranks of volunteers working towards a better America,
an America of equal opportunities and shared responsibilities, a country that I
can be proud to be part of and make a place where I want to raise my children.
I joined the Obama reelection campaign.
As a volunteer I called many hundreds maybe thousands of
fellow American citizens to interview and answer questions to their most
burning questions about Obama’s plan for an American future. Fortunately I came
across a lot of open minded folks who weren’t necessarily Democrats or
Republicans, but people with real concerns who were looking for an open dialog
and searching for answers. I want to address two of these discussions I had
over the phone with two gentlemen in Colorado.
The first one was quite representative of many conversations I had, the second
very unique.
Voter 1 introduced himself as a non-political person who had
supported Obama in the 2008 election but feels very discouraged by the current
economic situation. He is leaning towards Romney because he believes that a
successful business man (Mitt Romney certainly is) would be a better choice to
fix our economy, than a good and outstanding human being (his, not my words)
and lawyer.
I personally could not disagree any more. I don’t think that
capitalistic strategies as they are commonly found in today’s world of Corporate
America, Wall Street and the Romney household can be applied to running the USA
or any other country for that matter without being doomed to fail just like the
communist ideology is failing all over the world. If capitalistic strategies are
employed, programs that don’t further the bottom line would need to be
rigorously cut. I am sure even the most Republican Americans won’t suggest cutting
the US Military, Public Health Services (i.e. Veterans Services), Public
Education, Police, Medical and Fire Protection Services etc. Following Corporate
America’s standards these services only drive cost and don’t produce income.
Then again, the aforementioned services on which a country and nation greatly
depends, were never intended to generate income. I do believe that character
and personal core values are far more important than a keen sense of business
when it comes to leading this great nation.
I personally do not want to support a presidential candidate
that is very rich (I know, he doesn’t have to apologize and it’s well deserved)
who is sheltering his money in off shore accounts from taxes he owes to his own
state and country. These tax dollars could help pay bills for ill and wounded
veterans, pay for kids to stay in school and become productive US
citizens, or fund police officers salaries and help protect Americans in
communities across the country. I assume his financial dealings are legal, but I
feel that a President of the United States of
America who avoids paying his fair share
certainly is not worthy of my or your vote of support and introduces
questionable character.
Voter 2 introduced himself as non-partisan American, who can
not support President Obama in his reelection bid because he is a “torturer”.
This call really caught me off guard as I had never before heard President
Obama being called a torturer. I kindly asked for an explanation. “We are still
using torture as a form of military interrogation in Afghanistan
and Guantanamo Bay Prison is still open” he responded.
I assured the gentleman that I was in full agreement with
him. I too despise torture as a form of interrogation and have never supported
a prison system in which suspects can be held indefinitely without access to
legal representation, and formal accusation. It is shameful that America
has stooped down to this level, a level we have fought against in two World
Wars, losing countless of wonderful men and women that made it their mission to
fight against tyranny. However the Obama administration has promised to end the
war in Iraq and
followed through on that promise. Encouraged by that action I feel that the end
of the war in Afghanistan
and the closure of Guantanamo Bay Prison are far more likely if we renew the contract
with the current president than it is by electing Mitt Romney. So if you are
thinking of voting for someone other than President Obama in the upcoming
election be aware that your missing vote might cause the election to tip in Mr.
Romney’s favor and accomplish exactly the opposite of what you set out to do.
Finally I would like to put the myth to rest that Republican
Economic Policies help reduce spending and reduce our nation’s debt. Twelve
years of Republican Economics between Reagan and Bush Sr. quadrupled the US
debt. Eight years of Democratic Economics during the Clinton
years left Bush Jr. with a surplus budget. Eight years of Republican Economics
and record spending combined with tax cuts doubled the US
debt during the Bush Jr. years. In President Clintons words the problem
Republicans have when creating economic strategies is simply the lack of
knowledge in arithmetic. If you cut income (reduce taxes) and increase spending
you can’t expect to come out ahead. President Obama inherited the worst
economic situation in US
history, as bad or worse as the Great Depression. On top of that he had to deal
with two ongoing wars. Who in his right mind could possibly expect a complete
fix in four years when it took the Republicans eight years from 2000-2008 to
take this nation to the brink of a total economic collapse?!
Let’s all hope and pray that we as Americans continue to
stand together and move this country on to better times by reelecting President
Obama in November.
Hartmut Broring
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