The election is over, but the work is just beginning. I don't know about you, but I didn't support this campaign simply because I thought it would be cool to help someone get elected. I supported this campaign because of my concerns for the erosion of our civil rights, the human rights abuses that have been committed in our name, the unprecednted use of pre-emptive war and the dangerous attempt at grabbing unitary power for the President of the United States. All of these things undermine a healthy democracy and the generation of a peaceful planet.
The question is: "what can I do now?"
I'd like to see the Obama campaign turn the Ayers story into one that fits the message of this campaign: The audiacity of hope. They could do so with statement such as this:
So, hundreds of thousands of voters are being purged from their state's voter rolls, as we speak
Here's a synopsis from a member of DailyKos:
Colorado dumped ONE FIFTH of all voter registrations -- the largest in historyFlorida is refusing to accept 85,000 new registrants -- overwhelmingly blacks.New Mexico: purged half of the democrats in Mora county (Hispanics) and 600.000 mailers were returnedOhio & Nevada are scrubbing tens of 1000s of voters who lost their homes to foreclosures (Kerry lost by a mere 10-votes per district in Ohio)
Colorado dumped ONE FIFTH of all voter registrations -- the largest in history
Florida is refusing to accept 85,000 new registrants -- overwhelmingly blacks.
New Mexico: purged half of the democrats in Mora county (Hispanics) and 600.000 mailers were returned
Ohio & Nevada are scrubbing tens of 1000s of voters who lost their homes to foreclosures (Kerry lost by a mere 10-votes per district in Ohio)
Home ownership is not a requirement for voting rights. That would be a poll tax. This is one of the dirty tricks used by the Republicans lately. We don't have to sit back and wait for the feelin of destitution as we watch people examining hanging chads.
We can be proactive, can't we? Some ideas about that.....
Perhaps I'm still in shock. I simply can't believe that so many of our elected officials who have sworn to uphold the Constitution have supported a law that violates the 4th Amendment. No, I'm beyond shock. I'm bereft. I' feeling the loss mightily.
I'm hurt that I mustered the energy during the primaries to phone-bank, canvass and pester everybody I knew in support of a man who said he was going to restore our civil rights and he has turned around and given momentum to the RovChenian trajectory.
Since he's told us that he's willing to lose our support over this, I am left hopeless. Having hope about our political potential was a very short-lived experience for me. I suppose I'm glad I had a season of it. I'm not sure where to go from here....
Okay, I'm very disappointed about this FISA business. Today's post from Senator Obama doesn't change that. I am very impressed with his willingness to allow these expressions of dissent on his own website. This acceptance of disagreement and the importance of listening to disagreement and engaging it represents the leadership style I want to see in the White House.
This brings up a question of priorities. What's more important: leadership style or the protection of the constitution? I suppose I wouldn't care what style he embodied if I felt that our constitutional rights were being soundly protected. So, if there were no other considerations, I might opt to withdraw my support based on this.
I don't know who Joss Whedon supports in the race for the President, but I sure do think he would be a big asset right now. Why? Because of his feminism.
When Obama gave his speech on race relations it started to push the national dialog in a different direction. From the "is he black enough" conversation to the "is he just the Black Candidate" conversation to the "does his reigiious affiliation make him too black" conversation, it was a transcendent moment to have him put all that into a broader socio-historical context and shine a light on a new path for race relations. As a mixed race man, more people were willing to listen to him on this subject. (His eloquence doesn't hurt, either.)
But gender relations are a little different.
In case you missed it, there's a story on the Huffington Post about a recent assassination in Pakistan, carried out by the CIA:
HIllary Clinton criticized Obama for saying that with actionable intelligence about terrorists, the US should take action inside of Pakistan even if it's not supported by the Pakistani government. President Bushed laughed at the idea. But, Senator Biden had already confirmed that this was the existing US policy. Now, we know it's true. There's no bigger way to telegraph your strategy than to implement it. So, was Clinton's criticism about Obama's willingness to discuss hypotheticals legitimate? Or was she just avoiding the topic.
Either way, it's now clear that Obama understood what needed to be done. Adding to the proof that his lack of experience on the foreign relations scene doesn't mean he's not qualified.
In the last few days, my head has been turned to some quesitons regarding Obama and foreign relations. What's been interesting to me, is that some of the conversations, by their very nature, are an indication of what is inspiring about Obama. I'll write to that in a minute.
It did make me realize that I don't know a lot about Obama's particular stances in some foreign relations issues: Israel/Palestine, Saudi Arabia and China come to mind.
This is, of course, where his opponents would say he lacks the experience to put your faith into. I'm not buying that foreign relations experience is necessary here. Conflict resolution experience is. Yet, if I wanted to know more, where would I look? How do you filter the reports/opinions out there for the one that seem based in reason? Not sure, but here's where I started.
While I understand Mr. Obama's thinking about only mandating insurance for children - and I think I agree with that - I wonder how that mandate will be enforced? And paid for?
In Massachusetts we're facing a situation where people would rather be fined than pay the insurance premium. So, while it's supposedly "mandated" it certainly doesn't mean that everyone ends up being covered. And if people simply can't afford it, how do penalties help?
Also, it seems
I have found myself for the first time ever being a bit of a political junkie. Of course, the world of online news and blogs facilitates that. But the inspiration is the presence of Barack Obama. He seems to be the anithesis of our current president - thoughtful, self-reflective and connected to plights of those of us who are not wealthy.
I'm sure that Mr. Obama is not perfect. (I appreciate his wife's attempts to keep him off a pedestal.) I'm
