By
Don Smith (about the author)
On progressive websites such as OpEdNews, it is common to find
articles and comments in which angry leftists say, "The Democrats are
as bad as the Republicans" or "Obama is as bad as Bush."
I'm highly critical of the Democrats and Obama on many issues. (See,
for example, my Petition expressing extreme disappointment with
President Obama's policies.) So don't accuse me of being blind to the
Dems' failings. But any reasonable evaluation of the evidence leads to
the conclusion that as bad as the Democrats and Obama sometimes are,
the Republicans are even worse, much worse on some issues.
You think Obama is bad? Wait til you see what Romney or Gingrich or
Santorum would do -- especially if the Republicans control Congress.
And in Congress there are many moderate Dems and some progressive Dems
who are trying valiantly to do what's right.
This doesn't mean that I think people who refuse to vote for Obama in
November are necessarily foolish -- I respect negative views about
Obama and do not look forward to having to cast my vote -- but it does
mean that the decision to not vote for Obama shouldn't be taken
lightly. Especially if the election is close.
The situation is grim, maybe a lot grimmer than people realize.
GOP and Dems by Don Smith (from Art Explosion)
So what makes me say that Obama and the Dems are not as bad as the Republicans?
Obama got rid of Don't Ask Don't Tell. He ended the war in Iraq (at
least the official war -- I'm sure there are plenty of mercenaries
there and who-knows-what-else). He required insurance policies of
church-affiliated non-profits (but not churches) to fund health care
for employees (including paying for contraception). He appointed
moderates to the Supreme Court (Sotomayor and Kagan); a Republican
president would have appointed right wing ideologues. He nixed (for
now, at least) the Keystone Pipeline. He passed the Patient Care and
Protection Act ("Obamacare") that, despite its many weaknesses, does
at least put limits on insurance company profits (see Obamacare the
path to single-payer? Or to insurance companies as utilities?) and
forbids them from peremptorily denying coverage. And it extends
coverage to children up to age 26 and will lead to savings.
He did save the economy from collapse.
Obama and the Dems passed legislation (Dodd-Frank (DF) Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act) to regulate Wall Street and the
banks (despite significant opposition from the Repugs). Yes, it was
watered down, but no, a Republican president and Congress wouldn't
have allowed even that.
Obama worked to shut down overseas tax havens. (See Obama's push on
tax havens has the Swiss shivering). He signed the Lilly Ledbetter
Fair Pay Act; Instituted equal pay for women. He removed restrictions
and provided support for embryonic stem-cell research and new
biomedical research (source).
On numerous occasions, the Republicans voted unanimously against
Democrats' bills. Remember? Even the watered-down bills that the
Democrats proposed were too much for the Republicans. (This paragraph
deserves elaboration in the form of a listing of the bills the Dems
tried but failed to pass.)
If Republicans had their way, abortion would be illegal, public
schools and Social Security would be privatized, taxes would be cut
for the rich even more. (Of course, they are largely getting their way
on taxes even now; Obama has done a terrible job at fighting the GOP.)
Homosexuals would be second class citizens. The EPA would be
dismantled. Medicare would be scaled back. Banks and oil companies
would be even more deregulated. The military would be getting even
more money, and we'd probably be fighting even more overseas wars --
at least judging by the hawkish rhetoric of GOP candidates.
There are many moderate and even progressive Democrats in Congress.
Republicans have become so radically conservative that if Ronald
Reagan were alive he would be considered a moderate. In the states,
there are even more progressive Democrats. Where I live, in Washington
State, most of the lower level activists are quite progressive, and
the state platform is a highly progressive document. The Dems often
don't follow it, but many try.
This 3D Interactive Visualization of US Senators' Voting Records
shows, kinda scientifically, how far apart the Republicans are from
the Democrats.
1 | 2
Links and More:
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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