In Jerry Haslip’s letter to the Star on 2/22/12 he listed 10 reasons NOT to vote for President Obama this November. After reading his “Top 10,” I believe he made an honest, but noteworthy error that needs correction–he should have left out the “NOT.” For in fact:
1) President Obama requested the Simpson/Bowles commission in the first place. He wanted the commission to have the authority for their recommendations to come to Congress for a simple up/down vote. Senate Republicans filibustered the commission’s authority powers. The “filibusterers” were a gang of “fiscal conservatives,” like John McCain, who supported the commission’s mandate in the first place! Our President also was close to a “Grand Bargain” on debt reduction (of about 4 trillion dollars) with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, but the Speaker was hijacked by the radical 1/3 minority of his own party–Tea Party extremists. Simply put, Republicans will not consider any serious debt reduction if revenue (taxes) is included. Any serious economist will tell you spending cuts AND tax revenue are required to solve our serious debt issues. President Obama agrees.
2) President Obama realizes entitlement reform of Social Security and Medicare has to be included in serious debt reduction. He’s put these on the table in a responsible, fair way. Republicans, however, want to privatize SS and voucherize Medicare. It’s no secret Republican leaders want to end, once and for all, these two critical programs. Republicans don’t want to “salvage” them–they want them in the land fill. Democrats will not allow SS and Medicare to be gutted or dumped. Retirees and soon-to-be retirees should be alarmed, but Obama’s got your backs.
3) Millions of Americans are benefiting from Obamacare. Seniors are getting cost-saving and life-saving preventive care at no cost to them. The dreaded drug “doughnut hole” is being filled. Innumerable “children” under the age of 26 can now be covered under their parents’ insurance; children can’t be denied insurance for pre-existing conditions. Small businesses get tax credits for purchasing health insurance.
Health care costs are still a problem, but Republicans continue to block a cornerstone of capitalism–competition! Republicans won’t allow Medicare to compete for lower drug prices like the VA can; nor did Republicans allow a “public option” for insurance, the greatest avenue for competing with the ruthless, greed-driven health insurers. The US may have the best doctors and healthcare technology in the world, but our outcomes are worse and the cost is double other industrialized nations. Why? Because all other countries have some form of cost containment. This is sacrilegious to Republicans. “Solutions” advocated by Mr. Haslip like tort reform (between 2000 and 2009 medical malpractice payments FELL by 8%) and interstate competition would result in negligible savings (tiny enough to be a rounding error) compared to a truly competitive public option or allowing drug bargaining by Medicare.
4)President Obama has reduced our country’s reliance on foreign oil to the lowest level in 16 years. Drilling has increased each of his 3 years in office. Republicans want to “drill, drill, drill.” So does our President. But our President wants it done responsibly, without another Gulf or Yellowstone oil spill that wrecks havoc on commercial fishing, tourism, and precious water and wildlife.
5) President Obama’s administration has been reviewing all regulations, eliminating unnecessary, duplicate, or silly ones. He’s reviewing all departments’ budgets and making difficult choices on spending cuts–over one trillion dollars in cuts. He’s recommended consolidating certain departments to save money. He’s following through with Bush’s request to eliminate the Space Shuttle program–de facto privatization. He’s allowing requests by many states to make changes to “No Child Left Behind.” We should not forget that it was a Democrat (Clinton) who last balanced our nation’s budget. Reagan never did.
6) Americans pay less in taxes under President Obama than under Bush. That’s a fact. All Bitterrooters are beneficiaries. Obama kept his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class, excluding those who smoke or tan in salons (who are paying more in excise taxes). Our President wants our tax code to be more fair and simple. He doesn’t believe millionaires and billionaires like Mitt Romney and Warren Buffet should pay a lower tax rate than Buffet’s secretary or Romney’s limo driver. Romney paid 13.9% in taxes the last 2 years. That’s unfair. That’s why income inequality is the greatest since just before the Great Depression. President Obama believes the ultra-rich like Buffet and Romney should pay at least 30%. Mr. Buffet agrees. Mr. Romney doesn’t. Romney believes billionaires should pay even LESS, on the backs of us. Obama also wants the corporate tax rate lowered to 28%, by eliminating corporate tax loopholes. Seems fair, business smart, and friendly to me. He’s also scrutinizing off-shore bank accounts, like the ones Romney has in Switzerland and the Caymans, making sure they’re paying their fair share in taxes.
7) President Obama is doing everything in his power to get people working again–and it’s working. About 3 and 1/2 million private sector jobs have been created in less than 2 years. This is in spite of Republican obstructionism at every turn, such as denying an infrastructure program that would create 100,000s of jobs and is desperately needed to update our power grid, secure sensitive ports and facilities, and rebuild broken bridges, roads and dams. We’ve added millions of jobs, despite losing 100,000s of public sector jobs like teachers, cops, firefighters. Imagine if we had helped states out temporarily with their budget shortfalls until increased revenue kicked in? This of course was proposed by Obama but rejected by Republicans. So yes indeed, government is shrinking at all levels, for better or for worse.
8) President Obama’s defense budget has increased each year he’s been in office. We’ve never been stronger or smarter, and never more proud of our servicemen. He’s responsibly withdrawing from Iraq, an irresponsible war that’ll cost us trillions (and we wonder why we’re in massive debt?). Obama has ramped up drone attacks and has killed many of Al Qaeda’s leadership. He’s drawing down in Afghanistan, after making it and Al Qaeda a priority after Bush took his eye off and ignored the actual perpetrators of 9-11. We should all give our President, the CIA, and our special op forces tremendous credit for finding and killing Osama bin Laden. Thank you, Mr. President.
9) President Obama understands we cannot drill our way out of our energy dilemma. He is increasing domestic oil drilling. Natural gas production is booming in the US. A sparkling new nuclear power plant is being built in Georgia. He’s increased vehicle fuel efficiency and has promoted and funded the most cost effective action–energy conservation. He advocates green technologies and ” Made in USA” green manufacturing, for even if conservative elites and their minions here in the US deny climate change, the rest of the world doesn’t. And the rest of the world wants and needs green energy technologies and equipment, and we’re the best at it. We should not let Republican oil and gas executives force us to surrender this incredible manufacturing opportunity to the Chinese and Germans. Nor does it make sense that US Big Oil refineries are exporting 117 million gallons of badly needed gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel per day (!) out of our country. We should keep it here. And Mr. Haslip has it dead on — stop subsidizing Big Oil! Exxon, et al don’t need it. Obama, Democrats, and Mr. Haslip agree these subsidies should end.
10) Mr. Haslip, you and I could not agree more on the absolute need for sending representatives to Washington who will abide by our great US constitution. The difference may be in how we as individuals, and our representatives, interpret the constitution. I, for one, believe we need a constitutional amendment overturning the “Citizens United” case that allows an infinite amount of corporate money to flow into political elections. I personally don’t believe that corporations are people, or that money is free speech. Mr. Haslip, like most conservatives, may disagree with me on “Citizens United” and corporate money drowning our voices, but I respect his likely viewpoint on the matter.
So…thoughtful citizens of the Bitterroot, any eligible astute voter can see that our President Obama is the best choice to keep moving our great country forward towards a bright, successful future. This is the United States of America. And nobody does it better!
Van P. Keele
Hamilton