I posted the following on Facebook last night. It has more likes and shares than anything else I've said on this election so I thought I'd share it here. Even my vocal Republican friends (Yes, I have them...though passion my have strained it has not broken our bonds of affection.) have been quiet on this one so I'll accept that as a grudging assent. Though brief, it is my closing argument.
When you vote for a President you don't just vote for a candidate. You are, in a way, voting for the country you want to live in.
What America am I voting for?
The one where women have the right to expect equal pay for equal work and the right to control their own health care.
The one where everybody has the right to marry the person they love.
The one where two long wars are finally coming an end and we are not looking for a new one.
The one where public education is a priority.
The one where disaster relief is a priority.
The one where these important government functions are not outsourced to private industry.
The one where we fight to save American jobs, not the one where we get rich by outsourcing them to China.
For 4 long years Washington Republicans have refused to work with the President, called his defeat their #1 priority before he even took office, and then pointed their guilty fingers at him as the culprit when nothing could get done.
I am not going to reward them for behaving like spoiled children holding their breath in defiance while the country suffered for their intransigence.
There are dozens...hundreds...of issues, but at the end it all comes down to a handful that matter the most to you. These are the reasons why I am going to vote to reelect President Obama, because his America is mine and the one I want to live in.
As this long election winds down to its final hours I thank those who have agreed with and those who have argued with me. I hope I have been civil.
We have traveled a long way, in the wrong direction, in the years since John Wayne said of Jack Kennedy after the election of 1960 "I didn't vote for him but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job."
If I am disappointed in Tuesday's result I hope that Governor Romney surprises me and does a good job for 100% of Americans.
Peace out.
And to everyone here...thanks for all the good work done over the last months. I trust that come Tuesday we will have something to celebrate.