Election day is tomorrow but I've already voted and I'm proud to say that for the second time in my life I voted for Barack Obama.
It's not easy being a liberal in a mostly conservative section of Iowa but my surroundings have helped myself define what I believe in and why I believe in it.
Here's why I voted for Barack Obama this year:
- I trust him. I believe that he is doing what is right for our country and that he is a leader. He inherited a fiscal and economic mess and has done a VERY good job getting us back on the right direction. What about the $16 trillion debt, you might ask? Well, the current deficit is largely made up of costs associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan along with stimulus and TARP money designed to get us out of the worst economic crisis since the great depression. So don't tell me that Obama is a free-spending liberal. He's not.
- We need to reduce the debt and work toward a budget surplus. Romney will spend $5 trillion on tax cuts and increase defensive spending by $2 trillion. You can't find enough cuts to make up for $7 trillion in lost revenue. Obama will be brave in a second term and I think he'll push like hell for Bowles-Simpson to get passed (spending cuts AND tax increases). There is no real path forward for debt reduction without increases in revenue.
- He's the first President to support same-sex marriages and he is DEFINITELY on the right side of history with this - just look at how strongly young people favor equality over bigotry. I have many friends who are gay and they deserve every single right to be happy that I deserve.
- We're out of Iraq. Bin Laden is dead. We're getting out of Afghanistan. Questions about Benghazi? Really? You're raising a fit about Benghazi but didn't mind when we went to war with a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks?
- I think every American DESERVES the right to health care. A lot of misinformation is out there in regard to Obamacare and I'm certainly no expert but this is a step in the right direction. Premiums have been going up by double digits year after year and something needed to be done. Parts of Obamacare may not be perfect but it's a good framework for improved access to health care and a reduction in the cost of health care.
- Mitt Romney changes his positions on a whim, has no foreign policy experience and I honestly believe that he believes that providing more money to rich people will strengthen the economy when income inequality has only been increasing and the middle class continues to get hit. Directing money to the rich and hoping it trickles down is voodoo economics.
I'm incredibly proud to have voted for Barack Obama this year and I'm stoked to see him in Des Moines tonight.
Presidents do bold things in their second terms and I can't wait to see what progress we make during four more years with President Obama in the White House.
Enjoy the ride (and go vote no matter who you support),
Damm
PS. Vote to retain ALL of the judges. You're voting on their judicial abilities NOT on whether or not you agree with their decisions. Seriously.
