For many people Obama is not a "lesser evil." For the privileged, he can be. [View all]

[joshcryer]

Last edited Sun Nov 4, 2012, 02:12 AM - Edit history (1)

It's easy for privileged people to look at Obama and say, "I have no reason to vote for Obama." I am a white straight male. I don't have to worry about racial discrimination, I don't have to worry about heating assistance or food assistance, I don't have to worry about gay rights because not having them doesn't affect me personally. For me, it matters little if I vote for a third party progressive, a Democrat, or hell, even (horrifically), a Republican. I'm going to be fine regardless. I might even do better under a Republican in the short term (ignoring the long term social disorder and infrastructure degradation that a Republican would facilitate; as we saw with the Bush years).

But for people who do rely on social safety nets, they do see a difference. You ask any impoverished person getting, say, WIC, and they'll very likely tell you, if they're informed on Republican policies, that Republicans might take it from them. Meanwhile Obama opposed it.

Think about it. As a straight white male, with no kids I should add, there's really nothing in it for me in the short term to vote for anyone progressive. Hell, from an idiotic Randian point of view I either should vote for the Republican or not vote at all. That's too simplistic, though, from a moral and ethical (and non-idiot Randian) standpoint.

If you're a single mom depending on SCHIP to get your kid regular dental visits and to assure that they are in good health, you're reliant on a government program that if you're informed you know that Republicans are against. Ted Kennedy got SCHIP passed with an unholy alliance with Orrin Hatch. It was imperfect. It profited insurance companies. It left a lot of kids uncovered. It costed the federal government billions. But at the time, 1997, it was a start. As a privileged white male with no kids, I couldn't care less, I could bloviate on and on how it was a bureaucratic waste of money, and wasn't covering everyone. I could've pointed to Canada and complained and moaned and whined about how we should adopt their system. I probably did. (Can't remember, but knowing my youthful self it probably happened.) But, as a single mother that's a real reason to vote for the Democrat, because you don't want to lose that very needed safety net in your life, even if there's an off chance that the Democrat could cut it, it's not guaranteed. To them a vote for Obama or the Democrats is not a "lesser evil." It is a "necessary good."

And, of course, as history showed, the Democrats tried to reform SCHIP several times over the years, once they had back control over the Congress. Bush, proving that the Republicans don't give a shit about people, vetoed them twice. It wasn't until 2009 that Obama was able to expand SCHIP to cover more children who weren't covered before. That same single mother who in 1997 was supporting Democrats probably supports them more now, as their child was able to be cared for in times of need, and has been able to get a leg up on life. That's her reason, and it's not because she's privileged, and such things don't actually matter to her. To her it's not a "lesser evil," it's a "necessary good."

It matters to me, too. I grew up poor. I know what being poor is like. I also know that as a white straight male I've had more opportunities to get out of it. Not a target of discrimination I've been able to slide through the class based cracks and get somewhere. Obama's expansion of SCHIP came with a cigarette tax. I probably even complained about it here too, when I was a smoker (haven't smoked in three weeks!). Growing up poor however I understand the necessity for these kinds of expansions. I'm not going to point fingers and place fault and say "that was the wrong way to go about it." Politically it was probably the only way to get it done. Good for Obama, I happily paid the extra $1 rate. Hell, I even read the little paper that was taped to the door on the stores around here noting the rate hike (they really did that, to inform customers that the rate hike was happening; perhaps it was so people could stock up though I don’t know).

Detractors will say that the health care expansion was a total failure, meant only to line the pockets of the insurance industry. They cynically call it "Health Insurance Reform." As a privileged white male it would be easy enough for me to adopt this position. "Single Payer now!" Screw the fact that the Medicaid drug rebate was increased immediately upon inaction, screw that preventative medicine is a hallmark of the program (one reason Cuba has such good health care at lower costs), screw that Native Americans had their health care coverage expanded.

Who cares that adults with existing conditions are covered. Screw the fact that lifetime dollar limits on new policies are banned, that dependants can remain on their parents' plans until they turn 26! I'm 36 years old, white, straight male, in great health, that shit doesn't matter to me! All those people with Medicare Part D coverage? They don't deserve the rebates that they get under the new health care provisions. If you get sick? Pfft, who cares if insurers can't drop you anymore, right? I mean, as a white straight male I fucking earned my place in life, and therefore, you should suck it up.

Medical Loss Ratio limits? Fuck that, if insurers want to charge whatever they want, they should be able to! Immunizations and vaccinations (for everyone) covered without co-payments or deductibles? Idiotic. I had to pay for my vaccines, why should people get a free ride? The insurance companies will simply offset it anyway, right? They're trying to force me to buy insurance even though I can use a Health Savings Account because I'm a white male with no conditions and am in great health. Damn them trying to fine me, those mud suckers. Hell, they're even covering contraceptives, for free! The outrage!

Now, I could go on but I am clearly already ranting far more than I should. The above paragraphs were of course tongue in cheek. A perspective from a privileged white male who is highly ignorant of health care reform as it exists and is prejudiced by immoral and unethical thinking. To those people who have utilized the benefits of health care and who appreciate what it has brought to their lives it is not a "lesser evil." It's a "necessary good."

In the end the reality is that Obama wants to expand the health care exchange so that states can have their own public exchanges. In other words, a state based public option. Vermont is forging ahead with this idea, and Oregon is also heading in that direction. As supporters of the mandate we always knew that this sort of public option was going to happen eventually. So those privileged narcissists who believe that health care reform is a dud because it piggy backs on the insurance industry will not have that to complain about in due course. Meanwhile millions of Americans will enjoy the benefits that health care brings. And that's definitely a reason why many of them will vote for Obama. To them Obama is not a "lesser evil," he's a "necessary good."

If you're an LGBT person you probably have a sore spot as far as Obama is concerned. He started off, even before being officially the President, granting Rick Warren a platform for his inauguration, a notoriously anti-gay bigot. Obama's DOJ continued to maintain anti-gay policies and indeed the military kept DADT in place. As a white straight male it didn't affect me much at all, except for my sympathies for my gay friends. Of course, when Obama finally did get DADT repealed the cynically privileged [link:|http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=184741amongst us] proclaimed in their ludicrous way that not only did Obama not do repeal it, but the Republicans, particularly the Log Cabin Republicans, were the ones who started it all! Never mind the fact that Republicans overwhelmingly voted against it. Never mind, more ludicrously, the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed Romney because Romney "will not waste his precious time in office with legislative attacks on LGBT Americans." (Really, they actually fucking said that in their endorsement. Really.) The repealing of DADT is surely a reason LGBT Americans would vote for Obama, is it not? The repealing of DADT is not a "lesser evil" (it should've been done via the courts!), it's a "necessary good."

The first thing Obama did for LGBT persons when he got into office was to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. He hosted the first White House LGBT pride reception in American history. He signed the Mathew Sheppard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. He ended discrimination based on gender identity in the federal government. He lifted the ban that prohibited people with HIV/AIDS from entering the United States. He created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders. He ensured hospital visitation and medical decision-making rights for gay and lesbian patients. He allowed trans Americans to receive true gender passports without surgery. He clarified the Family and Medical Leave Act ensuring family leave for LGBT employees. He ensured Government housing programs can no longer discriminate against the LGBT community. He declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and announced the Administration will no longer defend it in court. He clarified the meaning of "family" to include LGBT relationships, helping to protect bi-national families threatened by deportation. Finally, President Obama is the first President to come out in favor of gay marriage equality and make it part of his platform. These are all reasons the LGBT community could have for voting for Obama. As a white straight male they affect me little. For the LGBT community these are not a "lesser evil" simply but a "necessary good."

Obama has been called the "Food Stamp President." Yet, the facts show that under Obama food stamp recipients went down. The facts show that eligibility went up because so many people were hit really hard by the recession. Helping them out is a bad thing for Republicans. That's a reason for anyone who ever got food stamps in their entire lives to vote for the Democrat. Full stop. That's a real, clear, reason. You don't eat, you starve. Starving is no fun. Having been poor I know this. Sadly, and yeah I was going somewhere with this, my brother and his wife are voting for Romney. For the better part of two years they got food stamps (and WIC as I mentioned previously the Republicans tried to gut). It's quite frustrating because for me it's as if they're nullifying my vote for Obama which exists to fight back against repressive Republican policies. (And I'm in Colorado, a fairly important swing state, so it really does hit hard, and you don't talk politics with family, it doesn't do much good.)

If you're poor, living paycheck to paycheck, or due to the lackluster recovery rely on food stamps you have a reason to vote for Obama (anyone can cast stones for why the recovery wasn't the greatest thing ever, the reality is that 46 million Americans are on food stamps). The Recovery Act allotted $26 billion to the SNAP program, allowing it to muster on through the hardships. SNAP kept 4 million people out of poverty, is not contributing to the overall fiscal state of the country, and is considered the most effective means to help the economy recover. Having been a child of a family that received food stamps it's an extremely important cushion necessary to keep the economy going and to keep people from falling into despotism. This is a reason why at least a good chunk of those non-hypocritical Americans have to vote for Obama. For them he's not a "lesser evil," but a "necessary good." For the privileged, however, it doesn't matter too much.

This is a simple sample of the reasons some people have for voting for Obama. They're legitimate reasons. They actually have an impact on their lives. These people are not privileged, they can't decide to vote over single issues, other mitigating factors come into play and they bite the bullet. They get chastised by the privileged left who have nothing to worry about. Now, not all of the privileged left feel this way. Some, like myself, do not want to see LGBT rights that have been incrementally gained go away, they don't want to see people who rely on WIC or food stamps or health care to be thrown under the bus. This would undoubtedly happen if Obama or even if the Democrats lost power.

When I was a kid my dad lost his social security disability thanks to fucking Regan doing some bullshit (they were auditing people on disability I believe and they just cut you off). We were eating, literally eating rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Charities were hit hard, there were few food banks we could go to. So I think about it and I think, fuck, that was fucking Regan, what would a Romney or a Ryan do? How could I possibly wish that on anyone? What sort of human would that make me? A really cruel and inhuman person if you ask me.

We, the moral, ethical, and caring progressive left are not as cynical as those who do not think there are reasons to vote for Obama, we are not so deluded, we are not so... to put it bluntly, uncaring asshole shitheaded maggot leeches on society. We understand that for society to function there needs to be a social safety net. We understand that to keep that social safety net in place we must fight back against Republicans (and Libertarians) who believe the almighty markets are going to save everyone. Even if on the fringes the Democrats compromise too much, even if the Democrats aren't the best fighters. We must fight.

If you do not think that there are reasons to vote for Obama, any reason at all, you are a privileged piece of shit and you don't fucking deserve the wall that the Democrats have put up to prevent the collapse that a Republican (or Libertarian) government would assure. I despise you. I deplore you. You are the epitome of what is wrong with this country. People who cannot understand political realities, and people realities, that they have to live through every fucking day. All because your pathetic single issue is more important to you than your fellow citizens. You are trash. Nothing. A vile human pile of excrement. I would hope that you get what you wanted, that is, to see the world burn so that your new paradise can form in its ashes, except I actually give a shit about my fellow human beings, particularly those whose future I might have a remote possibility of helping (through voting), so I don't lose sleep at night knowing that I did the right thing by voting for Obama.