Why

Hello my dear friend E,

Last night you asked me if I was going to vote for Obama and wanted to know my reason when I told you "no."  When I voted for Obama, I had reached a level of disgust that I had never felt toward Republicans.  8 years of the Dub Doctrine left me disillusioned toward Republicans.  I felt that the only way to save the party was to punish it for its wrongdoings, which were vast and deep.  I could write 10 posts about the state of the Republican Party back in 2008, but that doesn't answer your question.  I voted for change, like so many other Americans did.  There is a car in my neighborhood that has a bumper sticker that sums up my feelings pretty well, "So far the change sucks."

Something that I have learned in the past two years is to be careful what you ask for.  In the case of Obama, I voted for change.  What I didn't know then that I do now is that I didn't know what the change would he promised would look like.  I didn't ask because anything was surely better than what we had.  Looking back, I can't say that things have gotten any better.  We started with 2 armed conflicts in the Middle East and are now up to 3.  Who knows how many more we will be involved with over the next two years.  Dub's Doctrine was crazy, Obama's is insane. Again, we are pushing for change with no idea what that change will bring.  The Middle East is being swept by democracy which is essentially mob rule.  In this case the mob is made up of Marxists, socialist and radical Muslims.  Sure, you hear the common folk in the Middle East say that they are fighting for change and democracy, but do they know who will be holding the whip when the dust settles?  Are they fighting for a fundamentalist Islamic state where women are second class citizens?  Are they fighting for countries rooted in intolerance and hatred?  Who knows?  They surely don't, but they will have democracy by God and they have the full backing of Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Obama administration.  All of these "grass roots" uprisings were actually planned out here in the United States last year.  These meetings were conducted with the full support of the administration.  Are the new democrats in the Middle East fighting for countries resembling the prosperity of places like the United Arab Emirates or are they fighting for the democratic chaos that grips Iraq?

Staying in the Middle East, let's look at Israel.  For the first time in the history of the State of Israel, the United States is no longer an ally.  Obama has done nothing to support Israel.  Obama took the side of the Peace Mob aboard the Gaza Flotilla last year.  Israel had every right to protect itself and board that ship.  Had it truly been a peaceful mission, the flotilla would have followed the rules and not acted like a crazed rabble.  What kind of a peaceful mission arms people with knives and clubs and then uses those weapons against those armed with nothing more than paintball guns?  Whose side are we on and why?  Israel is the ONLY state in the Middle East that mirror the values that we hold here in the United States.  Are women stoned in Israel for straying outside of marriage?  No.  Are women treated as second class citizens in Israel?  No.  Are those that practice religions other than the state religion tormented and killed for no reason in Israel?  No.  Israel is not perfect.  It's leaders have made mistakes much like leaders of every country.  Fundamentally though, Israel is our sister, a bastion of freedom in a region filled with oppression.  Why have we cast away our ally? 

Obama pledged for transparency.  Where was that transparency during the healthcare debate?  There was supposed to be open debate.  Where was it?  Why was the bill passed in the manner that they did it?  If the bill stood so solidly, why was debate disallowed?  Why was it that Pelosi made the statement that the bill had to be passed before they would know what was in it? 

I do not agree with Obama's approach to ramming through his green initiatives.  Peel away the layers on that one and you will find copious examples of where these initiatives benefit his friends.  Does Obama stand behind nuclear energy because he truly believes it is a great source for power generation or does he back it because one of his largest supporters is GE, the company that builds nukes?  He forbids US oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico but companies that send the oil elsewhere are allowed.  Why did we give Brazil $2 billion to promote offshore drilling there with wells far deeper than in the Gulf, all while the moratorium was imposed in our own territorial waters?

I could go on and on and on, friend.  Do the Republicans have someone who can even come close to Obama?  Not a chance.  His machine never shut down from the last election.  His goal is to be the first to raise over a billion dollars.  No one can touch that.  Not until the Republicans can figure out what they stand for will they put up a fight for president.  Unfortunately for the country, it will be a long long time, if ever, before the Republicans can counter. 

Does that answer your question?

Adam