We Will Not Go Quietly
By Thomas Lindaman (10/17/08)
Normally in this spot, you’d see my humorous (or semi-humorous) take on a foreign, domestic, or political issue. This time, though, I’m leaving the humor out and speaking to the voters of America reading this piece.
For the better part of a month, I have heard supporters of Barack Obama gloating over his poll numbers, showing him ahead of John McCain. With comments like “Get ready to say President Obama,” they’ve written off any possibility of losing. And what’s worse, some Republicans have started agreeing.
Let me tell you that I am not a McCain fan by any stretch of the imagination. Were it not for the fact that he chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate, I would be writing in a fictional character because I do not believe McCain is the best the Republicans had. Having said that, I will vote for him, mainly because of the preening Obama supporters convinced they can coast to victory. Yet, before you pop the champagne for an Obama victory, you still have a few things to explain to us.
Sure, Obama was only 8 when William Ayers committed acts of domestic terrorism against America, but that doesn’t explain why you chose to associate with him as an adult.
Sure, Obama’s issued a statement condemning Ayers’s actions as a member of the Weather Underground, but that doesn’t explain his years of silence on the matter, nor does it explain Ayers’s saying, “Guilty as sin. Free as a bird.”
Sure, Obama’s left the church of Rev. Jeremiah Wright over his controversial statements, saying he didn’t always agree with what he said, but that doesn’t explain why you sat in his church for 20 years and considered him a close friend not unlike Ayers.
Sure, Obama’s been leading the polls with women, but that doesn’t explain his blatant sexism against Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Nor does it explain why his supporters have been rampantly misogynistic towards them both.
Sure, Obama’s said he supports the troops, but that doesn’t explain why he snubbed visiting injured soldiers in Germany in lieu of playing basketball.
Sure, Obama’s said he wants to try a different tack with dealing with nations like Iran, it doesn’t explain why he kept changing his story about Iran. First, it wasn’t a threat because it was a “tiny little country.” Then, it was a major threat that needed to be dealt with. First, he said he wanted to sit down and talk to Iran. Then, he said he didn’t and claimed he hadn’t said he wanted to sit down with Iran.
Sure, Obama’s talked about the need for change in Washington, DC, but that doesn’t explain why he chose Joe Biden, a 35 year veteran of the US Senate, as his running mate.
Sure, Obama’s said that he wouldn’t attack John McCain’s military service, but that doesn’t explain why his surrogates have done it repeatedly without so much as a raised eyebrow from Obama.
Sure, Obama’s been getting more and more people to register as Democrats, but John Kerry did the same and he lost.
Sure, Obama’s had pretty big leads in the polls, but it doesn’t explain why CNN rigged a poll after the first Presidential debate to poll more Democrats than Republicans by a double digit margin. In fact, the number of Republicans polled was third behind Independents, who were also polled less frequently by CNN by a double digit margin.
Also, Obama’s seen his poll numbers go up, but that doesn’t explain why McCain isn’t being blown out by the allegedly superior Obama.
Sure, Obama’s said he is a friend to Israel, but that doesn’t explain why he hasn’t renounced the support of terrorist groups like Hamas. Nor does it explain his silence regarding Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s frequent statements about wanting to destroy Israel…and America.
Sure, Obama’s said his economic plan wouldn’t raise taxes on the middle and lower classes, but that doesn’t explain the fact that corporations whose taxes would be raised under his plan would most likely pass along the costs of those taxes to the very middle and lower classes Obama claims to be helping.
Sure, Obama says he’s working for the middle and lower classes, but that doesn’t explain why he called people in rural Pennsylvania and the Midwest “bitter,” “clinging to their guns and Bibles,” and accusing them of being racist against illegal immigrants. Nor does it explain why he made these statements…at a fundraiser in San Francisco.
Sure, Obama and his surrogates have chastised McCain and Palin for not addressing important economic issues, but that doesn’t explain why three of the people responsible for the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae meltdowns are on his staff as economic advisors. Nor does it explain why he told Democrat leaders “call me if you need me” during the discussions of the bailout caused in large part by Democrats like Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, and Jamie Gorelick, the aforementioned economic advisors responsible for the Freddie and Fannie meltdowns.
Sure, Obama’s said repeated that he wanted to run a different type of campaign, but that doesn’t explain why his surrogates posted Sarah Palin’s personal information on line and the son of one of his supporters used that information to access her Yahoo Mail account. Nor does it explain his frequent use of the race card to try to make any critical statement of him into a racial issue. Nor does it explain multiple lines from multiple stump speeches where he made reference of his race while accusing Republicans of raising the race issue when they hadn’t.
Yes, dear Obama supporters, you’ve set yourself up for failure and you don’t even realize it. You can crow all you want about how Obama is going to crush McCain, but I think I speak for quite a few voters when I tell you not to count your ballots before they’re cast. We’ve been paying attention to what you and your candidate have said, and we don’t like it. There are few guarantees in an election year like this, but I guarantee one thing. Not every voter is with you, and we will not go quietly.
Thomas Lindaman
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