Why A Full Democratic Slate Is Our Best Choice

By James Donahue

After months of listening to all of the political rhetoric, hearing all of the opinions by the talking heads, and considering all of the facts, I have concluded that America’s best choice this election year is to pull the lever for the "Big D" for all Democratic party candidates.

I say this not because I believe incumbent President Barack Obama is any more trustworthy than Mr. Romney, or the Democratic Party candidates are any less in the pockets of big money interests than the Republicans. I just believe Mr. Obama has not been given a chance to fully prove himself as a worthy leader since he took office four years ago.

Obama and his staff have managed to get a less-than-perfect health care plan passed and written into law, he pulled off a bail-out of the automobile industry despite strong Republican opposition. He also pushed through a small job stimulus bill that put a lot of people to work repairing some of America’s crumbling infrastructure. This president, with the help of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have been walking on eggs attempting to shut down the 12-year-old war in Afghanistan and tame a growing world unrest that threatens a possible Third World War at every turn.

I believe all of these efforts would have produced better outcomes and he could have achieved much more if his every move had not been constantly blocked by a rebellious pack of extreme right-wing conservatives bent on making the people perceive Mr. Obama as a failed one-term president.

Because of their failure to work with the Obama Administration to get things done at a time when America has been facing some of the most serious issues in history . . . both at home and abroad . . . it is my opinion that the whole tea-party, Bible-thumping, right-wing gang of conspirators does not deserve re-election. It is time for these and perhaps a few Democratic legislators who got caught up in the campaign to "get the nigger out of the White House," to go home and make room for some real leadership.

If Mr. Obama could win re-election this fall by an overwhelming majority vote, and pull a majority number of party legislative candidates into office on his shirt tails, voters will have given this president the tools to keep the promises of change that were made four years ago. To maintain the status quo would be to experience four more years of gridlock. To tip the scales in the opposite direction, and put the Romney-Ryan gang in power, would lead us down a path of twisted financial play that promises even more hardship for the majority of Americans.

While the office of President of the United States is looked at by Americans and people all over the world as a position of great power and influence, a lot of people don't seem to realize that the president is limited in what he can accomplish if he does not have the support of the Congress and Senate. A president must ask for certain legislative action. His power lies in his ability to persuade the legislative action he wants, and sign the bills he likes, and veto those he disagrees with. He also has the power of executive order that can be used in the case of national emergency.

We know that many voters are so disgusted at the way things have been going in Washington that they plan to vote for lesser-known Libertarian, Green or even Socialist Party candidates. While we agree that these candidates appear to be offering more appealing platforms, voting for any of them would be a waste of effort. That is because the media has totally ignored these candidates, refused to give them equal time to be heard or space on stage during the public debates, Thus the corporate-controlled media in America has seen to it that the nation continues to maintain its old two-party system.

While the conservative followers of Paul Ryan's call to slash government spending and reduce the federal debt may be justified in their concerns, they must remember that it was the Bush-Cheney Republican regime and failed banking practices during those years that put us in this situation. The two parties appear divided over just which plan to use to get us out of this debt.

The Republicans propose maintaining the "Bush tax cuts" for all Americans and making severe cuts in social programs like food stamps, Social Security, Medicade and Medicare, but continuing big spending in national defense. The Democats believe more government spending for education, alternative green energy, high speed mass transit systems and restoring the nation's crumbling infrastructure . . . projects designed to put a lot of Americans back to work, is the better route to go.

This is why I believe the best choice for American electors this year is to vote a straight Democratic Party ticket. If we can't get this, and the people fail to make the right moves to get America moving back on the right track, we may all be skunked.