So better late than never. There have been a few things on my mind since the re-election of our president on Tuesday Nov 6th. First of all-Yes!! Thank Goodness and Hallelujah that he won. Although the name of this blog is independent political thoughts, after writing my last blog entry post both conventions, I realized I had no choice but to vote for my country. Not for me. And that meant voting for our president. Election Day was stressful to say the least. I felt like I was in a fight for my life but in actuality it was for the poor and working classes, the disenfranchised, those without healthcare, for women and gay rights, for immigration reform. In the end, the country agreed with me including most swing states.
There have been many speculations as to why Mitt did not win. He has been getting bashed even by members of his own party. Was it his arrogance? His inability to connect with the majority of Americans vs. the 1%? Was it the video of him dismissing 47% of the American people as entitled? Or was it because he tried to appease the conservative base and tea party members while at the same time slipping back into his moderate views from the past IE flip flopping on so many issues it made most folks dizzy!
For me it was all of the above. Going back to my blog post "Who is Mitt Romney?" I realized he was not trustworthy. I felt he was truly the one with an entitlement problem by feeling he deserved to be president. I imagined him stomping on the floor like a 5 year old child saying "no its mine, its mine". And no one can tell me that losing to a black man didn’t make that tantrum worst. And not only for Mitt but for most of his party. The racial aspect has been, for lack of a better word, disgusting. From a T-shirt by a Romney supporter at a rally that stated "put white back in the white house" to the life like doll of the President being hung at a gas station in the south to Donald Trump and the members of the birther movement still asking for proof of his birthplace and college records to Ann Coulter calling our President a "retard" (side note-didn’t she see The Hangover? That word is not PC!) I am not that old but I don’t recall any President being so viciously attacked and disrespected not just for his policies but for his race. That alone made me angry. That alone made me cheer for him regardless of whether I felt he was still the best man for the job. In addition there were many in the Republican Party who questioned black leaders such as Colin Powell who supported the president saying he was doing so only because he was black and so is the President. Really? Seriously? To belittle such an esteemed and educated former leader of our military was completely disrespectful and ignorant. And I ask-why is it that no one asked white leaders that supported Mitt if they were doing so because he is white? Clearly a double standard.
Speaking of race, Republicans including the republican nominee for vice president Paul Ryan stated since the election that the President won because of large turnouts in urban areas and because he received the Black and Latino vote. Mitt even stated that the President won because of gifts he gave and has promised to give to these groups. Insulting. But do they stop and ask why the President not only won these groups but also did well among women, Asian-Americans, Independents and even won Mitt’s home states of Massachusetts, Michigan and Paul's home state of Wisconsin and even the county where he is from ?! (Doubting this is one of the "urban areas" he was referring to).
So far I have heard very few Republicans address those statistics vs. pointing the finger back at the winning party. Except for Newt Gingrich. I have to say I was shocked when I saw him on The View speaking after the election. I have never been a fan of the "godfather of gridlock" but he admitted that the Republican Party needs to reach out to all of the American people and not just 53%. That the look of America is changing and there are a growing number of minority voters that can not relate to the Republican platform. That being said, it should still be made clear that if all white voters had voted for Mitt he would have won. They still make up the majority in this country so the President is not the President of minorities but represents the majority of the people shown by his undisputed victory in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
I realize it’s hard for certain segments of this society to come to terms with the changing face of America. I saw the movie Lincoln a few days ago and it struck me to see how the white men of that era lived in fear of the mere mention of not just ending slavery but giving blacks the right to vote. During the civil rights and women's movements there was that same fear and even violence as opposing views clashed over what America would be like if equal rights were given and power put in the hands of those deemed inferior. But right prevailed. Human decency prevailed. The majority spoke loud and clear back then as it has now. Yes it may make some in the majority race who have been in power since demolishing the natives feel uncomfortable and uneasy but thank goodness that in the end most have accepted the growing diversity in this country and could look past color to vote for the man who wants the best for all and not for some.
I will support our President as he moves "Forward". I hope both parties and people across this great land can do the same. For those into percentages I found the following numbers interesting.
La times 11/10/12
Nationally,
according to exit polls, Latinos gave Obama 70% of their votes, Asian Americans
73% and blacks more than 90%. Voters younger than 30 went for Obama, 60% to
37%, and unmarried women sided with him by more than 2 to 1. Each of those
groups made up a larger share of the electorate in 2012 than in 2008, except
for blacks, who were steady.
Thoughts?
