I am utterly ashamed and disheartened by the way President Obama has been treated...mistreated....by the right wing extremists...which is essentially 90% of the Republican Party at this point. In the end, I am increasingly frightened by the rhetoric and agenda of the GOP and, therefore, encourage everyone to vote straight DEMOCRAT on their ballots in November, and to tell everyone they know to do the same. At the same time, I am beyond frustrated by the D's seeming inability to become outraged by the venom that the Right spews forth. I think quiet, firm, consistent, and persistent renunciations by Democrats about this type of behavior need to be made ....whenever there is a clear, blatant sign of disrespect, sometimes bordering on potential violence (remember all the GUNS people were carrying at some of Obama’s and his supporters’ rallies a year or so back?). Do we have free speech in this country? Of course. Do I support it? Of course. But I wish more ELECTED Democrats could at least say, "God, I am completely embarrassed to be in a country where this many people are calling our president "Hitler"; a "Muslim" (not there is anything wrong with being a Muslim, at all. However, the President is a Christian.); "not from our country"; "a liar about his school records" (remember Trump's stupid 15-second rant?), etc. Our elected Democratic officials have the bully pulpit, the TELEVISION, a still far more powerful tool than all the social media outlets citizens can complain on en masse, coupled with their own position of authority, to force the other side to tell THEIR OWN people to tone it down, dial it back.
But unfortunately, since our elected Democrats aren't putting any pressure on elected Republicans (not enough of them have even denounced Rush Limbaugh's recent rant), it's become quite, quite clear that the R party will NEVER muzzle or denounce its own....not anymore (I don't know if they ever really did). For so long, the past fifteen or twenty years, they have been SO lock-step with one another. Another long-standing flaw in their whole party, Republicans simply do not tolerate dissent from their own people, much less the country at large. It's abominable. It makes you wonder how far away they're going to push the line, and how much more name-calling, outright lying, vitriol, hate, and utter disrespect for the President and non-"rich white male" segments they're going to tolerate within their own party. And this vitriol obviously translates into policy-making.
They've already alienated about 90% of American women with their stance on birth control, as well as many self-proclaimed Moderates and Independents. How many more do they want to alienate? Santorum (as well as many others within the R party) publicly denounced education, calling the President a "snob" for wanting every citizen who wants to attend a post-secondary institution, whether it be at the University level, a V-Tech trade school, or other form of specialized training, the opportunity to do so. They clearly have wanted to chip away at public education for years. Santorum homeschools his own children, as do many members within his own party, so as to prevent his children from actually going out into the world and communicating with others, potentially interfacing with students from other cultures, listening to different perspectives….about anything, learning science and critical thinking, and essentially forming their own world view and becoming their own person and finding their own voice, equipped to deal with and contribute to society at large. It’s no surprise that he doesn't want to send them to a public school that doesn't teach Creationism (I hate even capitalizing the word....it's nothing but "fantasy"). The majority of our nation's textbooks are published in the God-fearing, right-wing, too-big-for-your-britches state of Texas (and I lived there for three years, as I attended grad school at UT Austin, worked at the number one marketing research firm in Austin, and know whereof I speak in terms of the conservative mindset of much of the state), and they have systematically published an increasing amount of revisionist U.S. history with every edition of books. Right- wing ideology, discourse, and implemented policies are nothing short of absolutely dangerous for our country.
Truthfully, the Republican Party can go ahead and alienate its entire base, as far as I am concerned. The more disenfranchised Republican and Independent voters feel, the worse chance of winning elections Republicans have, which is great for the side of the aisle on which I stand. But I never underestimate the Republican Party's ability to win campaigns, by whatever means necessary-- duping and hypnotizing an unsuspecting electorate into voting for them, as well as tampering with voting machines, harassing "certain" voters at the polls, and ultimately stealing elections. That is why I urge Democrats, Liberals and Progressives to keep banding together and do whatever you can to re-elect President Obama as well as elect more Democrats at every level: in both chambers of Congress as well as in all state races. This is VITAL to the health or our nation....our economy, our actual physical health, our civil liberties, our education, our environment, our retirement, our infrastructure, our labor laws, our families, our bodies....every facet of our society is affected by the actions of the people we elect to public office, and the only way to preserve a solid, healthy democracy is to vote Democrat, at ALL levels. Splitting votes so as to "not allow one party or the other to control too much of the agenda", which so many people often tell me they do, is ultimately meaningless, because you are effectively ensuring that nothing gets done in Washington, or your state....ever. Splitting one's vote leads to NOTHING but gridlock, and then people wonder why their politicians can't get anything done! It's a moronic practice of which I never understood the attraction. Please don't do it, and tell everyone you know not to do it. It simply leads to a constipated government.
Getting out the vote is increasingly dire for the health of our nation and our democracy with each election, because the "rules of the game" are forever being manipulated to increasingly favor the smallest segment at the top….the rich and the privileged. In addition to drafting policies that only favor the rich, the Republican Party’s stranglehold on the Diebolds (voting machines) of the world also needs to be monitored. So to combat those shenanigans used to abolish democracy and the middle class as we know it, every citizen has the responsibility to not only vote him- or herself. Every citizen has the responsibility to help get out the vote, including participating in voter registration drives, whether it be canvassing telephone or door-to-door; blogging, making donations to key candidates in your or even others' districts if you see a scary race (I'm going to donate to get Paul Ryan out of the 6th district of WI...he is dangerous), and certainly talking to your own Undecided family members, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. I've switched many Undecideds and Moderates into Democratic voters just on my own, by appealing to their emotions as well as laying out the facts. If you demonstrate, using statistics generated by the GAO (bi-partisan office), as to what Republican policies have wrought in our country's history versus what Democratic policies have brought about, and then translate them into what they mean to the average, middle class American citizen, you might see some eyes light up. The more people know what is at stake, and the TRUE DIFFERENCE between the basic dogmas and agendas of each of the parties, the more likely they are to get out there and vote IN their own interests….Democrat….across the ticket.