I won’t be voting Obama this year.

So much for that whole “voting is a civil right” thing.


I have to admit, that outside of the online world, I’ve been a little hesitant to get involved in the actual ground campaign work that I was in the 2008 cycle. Why? Well, we can surely credit laziness for a bit of that – I am not exactly the definition of a “go-getter” in any traditional sense. But a very large reason for my lack of commitment “IRL” (in real life) , is told in this video:

The Fierce Urgency of Now

Presidential politics continues it’s onward march towards November, with the Obamacare ruling now in the rear view mirror. The affirmation was another big political win for the President, who has faced down the “Democrats always lose” cliché and come up a winner on a few big issues:

• Immigration reform: Swing states overwhelmingly support the President’s move to halt deportations.
• Same-sex marriage: the President’s endorsement of same sex marriage appears to have pushed public opinion over the hump and into the favorable column – including in the African-American community.
• Health Care Reform: after the Supreme Court’s affirmation of Obamacare, polls have found support on the rise for the legislation across the board, with support now nearing 50%.

The icing on the cake is that coupled with these political wins, the Obama campaign has, without question, has dropped the centrist triangulation that we are used to from Democratic campaigns such as Clinton and Kerry, using issues such as same-sex marriage, income inequality, and fairness as issues to draw a very clear line of distinction between the President and Mitt Romney. It’s pretty clear that President Obama has, for the most part, delivered the goods as promised in 2008 to his progressive base – with many of those legislative wins coming in the face of a Tea Party controlled house. A glance at some big progressive wins during the first four years of Obama’s term:

• Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
• Passage of first major healthcare legislation in over 40 years
• Equal pay for women (Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act)
• Ending the war in Iraq
• Saving the American auto industry
• Made sexual orientation a protected federal class for hate crimes
• First sitting President to endorse same-sex marriage
• Halting deportations of DREAM-act eligible immigrants

We could go on and on, but I think it’s fair to say that most did not expect even half of this list to happen before the end of the President’s first term.

The constant refrain from the left after another Democratic campaign loss was “Just run to the left – be a REAL Democrat!”. Barack Obama has offered liberals the chance to finally prove that statement right. While the idea that the Obama administration is “liberal” in the grand scheme of things is questionable, in terms of the American scale, Barack Obama is the most liberal President we’ve had in over 30 years, and his recent moves to the left have now left progressives with no excuses – this is the guy, now is the time, and this is the moment. Miles Mogulescu explains the importance of November’s election:

Such a victory for a Republicans -- the most virulently reactionary American political party in historical memory -- would likely result in British/European-style austerity that would plunge a country already experiencing an unnecessarily slow recovery from the deepest recession since the 1930's into a full-blown depression. It would likely lead to tax cuts for the wealthy that would only increase the economic inequality between the top 1% (and top 0.01%) and the 99% that has been widening since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. It would likely lead to the unraveling of the economic reforms of the Progressive era, the New Deal, and the Great Society including Medicare and Social Security, which have done so much to turn America into the first largely middle class society in history. It would unravel even the relatively mild regulation of Too Big To Fail Banks of the Obama administration and make another financial crisis more likely. It would restore the neocons to leadership of American foreign policy which could lead to further unnecessary wars. It would lead to the appointment of up to three new Supreme Court Justices in the mold of Scalia/Alito/Thomas who would block progressive reforms for a generation to come.

In addition to the non-political ramifications of a Romney victory, it would also serve as a sign to both parties that liberals were wrong – that if someone campaigned to the left, it would just result in a loss. It would provide validation and a mandate to the neo-conservative right to move our country’s Overton window to the right at an even faster rate – destroying civil rights gains for minorities, LGBT’s, women, and even religious minorities. The America of Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann could very well become a reality – threatening to halt the liberalization of the next generation of Americans.

So when you think about this November, keep in mind that this could be our last chance to put up a major fight against the continued shifting of our country’s political spectrum to the right – our last opportunity to take back the real America from the far right, Christian fundamentalists who want to rule our country as the American Taliban.

And Jesus Said, "Let Them Die"?

On the heels of one of the GOP’s biggest political losses in more than a decade, Republicans have responded with a message: we still want to “Let them Die”.

In case you descended into a coma for the last four days, you’ve heard that the Supreme Court, on a 5-4 decision, affirmed Obamacare almost in full, including the individual mandate that may have been key to the success of the legislation in practice. The affirmation was a huge blow to conservatives nationwide, who had begun the end zone dance roughly last week and even began celebrating like fans of a sports team that just won a championship while Chief Justice John Roberts was reading the actual findings of the court, where he affirmed the legislation with the four left-leaning justices on a government taxation power argument. CNN and FOX also managed to blow their loads prematurely, hedging their bets on a dramatic setback for the Obama administration and barely able to contain their glee, and Republicans nationwide set “delete” button speed records and learned a valuable lesson in pre-scheduling Tweets.


The “unexpected” (to put it mildly) setback put the Republican Party on it’s heels. An Amber Alert should have been issued for Mitt Romney, who didn’t make a statement on the legislation for over an hour after the ruling, and the resulting day long social media extravaganza (buzzfeed.com has a decent summary) confirmed that apparently, there was just no plan for this to happen, so messaging wouldn’t be required. But, the dust has settled, and it appears that the far-right Christian warriors of our country are going all-in with the message that Obamacare must be repealed, and replacing it isn’t exactly at the top of the priority list.

WALLACE: I just want to ask, what specifically are you going to do to provide universal coverage to the 30 million people who are uninsured?
MCCONNELL: That is not the issue. The question is, how can you go step by step to improve the American health care system. … We’re not going to turn the American health care system into a Western European system.

While those that paid attention always knew the “replace” half of “repeal and replace” was as sincere as a Kardashian marriage, the fact that Republican leaders are okay with publicly stating they want to rip life saving treatments away from millions of Americans, or give companies the ability to discriminate based on your bad luck in getting colon cancer, is a pretty stunning thing as a messaging strategy. Especially for a party that loves to label themselves as the the political wing of mainstream American Christianity, says PoliticusUSA:

The conservative Christian agenda is rapidly becoming as far-removed from Christ’s teachings as the Sun is from the Earth, and as the country devolves into a hate-fest toward the poor and impoverished, it is little wonder the rest of the world views American Christianity as little more than a bastardization of Ayn Rand ideology. The level of hate and greed that is becoming the hallmark of the religious right is a disease that is being transmitted, ironically, through churches all across America, and it never ceases to amaze humanists how a Christian adherent can clutch a bible to their bosom while working tirelessly to strip assistance from the poor, and worse, condemning them to poor health and an early death because they consider something like affordable health insurance a privilege.

Indeed, the thought that this morning, thousands of church congregations may very well lead their prayers by asking God to repeal Obamacare while at the same time calling themselves followers of someone who spent quite a bit of time healing the sick, is nauseating and so twisted that it’s hard to comprehend for anyone who has a brain cell.  The chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party takes the hypocrisy a step further by calling for a second American civil war and justifying armed rebellion as a “Godly” action:

To resist by all means that are right in the eyes of God is not rebellion or insurrection, it is patriotic resistance to invasion.
May all of us fall on our faces before the Heavenly Judge, repent of our sins, and humbly cry out to Him for mercy on our country. And, may godly courageous leaders rise up in His wisdom and power to lead us in displacing the criminal invaders from their seats and restore our constitutional republic.

Of course, the Republican Party has made the practice of jumping the shark further to the right almost a campaign plank in this cycle, but this time may be the first time where virtually no dissent has been voiced, even by the so-called “moderate” Republican wing. McConnell’s statement of the Republican position moving forward no longer tries to couch the fact that they just don’t give a shit if you die because health insurance is too expensive, or you can’t get insured because of past conditions. Health insurance is a privilege, sort of like a BMW or a mansion, that should only be attainable by those who have proven their self-worth via bank account balances. That’s their version of the American way, and the way they interpret the teachings of Jesus Christ, a man who would fit the description of “Community Organizer” perfectly. America is still the ONLY industrialized country in the world to not provide citizens with universal health care via a public option – apparently, the entire rest of the world missed the mark when declaring access to quality health care a fundamental human right, not a optional payroll deduction when you are lucky enough to have a job.


So now that Obamacare is guaranteed to take effect for the foreseeable future (no matter what GOPers want you to think), the discussion will begin to shift to what Obamacare does for Americans. While the Affordable Care Act generally polls poorly among voters, every one of the major portions of the legislation has popular support – at commanding levels:

61 percent of respondents favored allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26.

72 percent of respondents wish to maintain the requirement that companies with more than 50 workers provide health insurance for their employees.

82 percent of respondents favored banning insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions

Some Republicans, such as Allen West, may have recognized this and initially tested the waters with forms of legislation that would allow popular provisions to stay in force while acting to damage the President’s credibility via a political loss. But it’s clear with the last two days of Republican talk that nothing but a full repeal is an option. While the ACA may stay unpopular with the Republican base, the second chance that the President and Democrats are now able to take advantage of, and the media has been highlighting already, is the highly popular tenants of the law. With polling support for these issues already high across the board, there is virtually no chance that support for the legislation will go down over the next few months, and there is a very good chance that support will go up due to the renewed focus on tying each part back to the legislation as a whole.


Over the next four months, the President and Democrats across the nation are going to be able to offer a very clear cut choice: are you really interested in voting for a party that wants to re-instate the right for companies to deny people based on pre-existing conditions? Do you really want to take young adults away from their parents health plans at a time when high quality jobs are so hard to find? Do you really want to stand with the Republican Party and say in unison, “LET THEM DIE!”? Because now, you’re not just taking legislative inaction on the issue, you are supporting an active campaign to rip affordable health insurance out of the hands of millions of Americans who have never had the ability to get it before; a cruel and morally abhorrent action that could only be justified by the moral compass of a playground bully.


My bet’s is that most Americans aren’t interested in this “Atlas Shrugged” inspired indifference to their fellow citizens, and this Obamacare decision will be a long term win for Democrats as well as a long term win for Americans everywhere. But if we do choose the wrong road and hand the keys to Romney and crew in 2012, how do we deserve anything else as a country? The choice is clear, high-profile, and provides no grey areas – this election has become more important than ever. Do we still believe in helping each other, or are we really the nation that is so concerned about a couple percentage points on a tax return that we’d rather just let those in poverty die painfully?

Morning in Gaymerica

On heels of President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality, supporters have grabbed a decisive lead in national polling

Opposition to gay marriage hits historic low - WaPo/ABC Poll

Opponents who claimed that President Obama may be political trouble because of his endorsement of same sex marriage may have to face up to the music soon – as the President’s recent announcement has solidified the continuing upward trend in public support for same sex marriage. The Washington Post/ABC Poll puts support for same sex marriage at it’s highest in a national poll in American history, with 53% supporting and 39% opposed, a +14 favorability that seemed almost unfathomable even three weeks ago. Even more incredible:

The poll also finds that 59 percent of African Americans say they support same-sex marriage, up from an average of 41 percent in polls leading up to Obama’s announcement of his new position on the matter.

The media meme, post-endorsement, was that the President was risking losing all kinds of black voters to Mitt Romney, which is insane on face, for any variety of reasons. Instead of turning away from the Obama campaign, black cultural icons and organizations have placed their bets with the President. Music legend Jay-Z offered this powerful endorsement of marriage equality in an interview last week, and the NAACP offered their endorsement in the last week as well.
The simple fact is that it was the time and the place to endorse marriage equality – and good leaders know when the time to lead has come. The President’s legacy will forever be intertwined with the fact that his endorsement could very well have given the marriage equality movement the final push it needed to get over the finish line. With support increasing at even half this rate, we should expect federal marriage equality within 10 years, if not sooner.