I know some of my…

I know some of my friends and students voted for Romney (or at least thought about it) because they prioritized economic stability, and the way the Republican / Democrat divide has been depicted in the media has tended to be this rhetoric in which only Republicans care about economics, and only Democrats care about liberal social policies. And I just want to say, I think that's a really false and damaging depiction of Americans' political opinions.

On the one side, a lot of Republicans do care for women's rights, LGBT rights, etc. -- this election has made that clear, I think, as people crossed the aisle when those rights were threatened.

And on the other side, quite a few of us social liberals would also fight for a balanced budget, strong economic growth, financial stability for our country and its people. (In fact, as someone just reminded me, strong economic stability leads to far more socially liberal policies. When societies are poor, women tend to suffer far more, for just one example.)

We all want financial stability, and want it badly; we just disagree on how to get there.

You see �government bailout of losers�, I see �prudent investment in our people.� You see �austerity as a means of tightening belts in tough times,� I see �foolishly cutting off people at the knees, to fall into foreclosure, poor health, joblessness, etc., which take so much longer to climb out of, with long-term terrible (and predictable) effects on our economy�.

I think Obama�s fiscal policies have already dragged us back from the plummeting brink of economic disaster, and that if he�s allowed to continue them, we�ll continue to see steady economic progress. I think that progress would have been a lot faster in the last four years, and we would all be noticeably richer now, if Republicans in Congress hadn�t blocked so many of his financial plans.

For just one example, I've looked at the numbers on this one, and if implemented right, Obama's healthcare plan will significantly save the country money. (If we went all the way to universal healthcare, we would save far more -- AND have better care for our citizens.)

I know if Obama had lost, I would have felt panicked and despairing this morning. If you're a Romney supporter, I'm guessing you feel the same. But seriously -- I don't think the economic situation is as bad as you fear. I actually think it's good, and only going to get better under another four years of Obama. We want the same economic things, you and I, and I am very hopeful now that we're going to get them.

1 thought on “I know some of my…”

  1. It is unfortunate that Democrats did not more effectively challenge the Republican claims that Republicans are fiscally responsible and Democrats are not. The Republican budgets were numerical lies which as far as I’m concerned is prima facie evidence that they are not fiscally responsible.

    Of course, I also think it is unfortunate that Democrats didn’t point out that the Republicans were hypocritical about framing the deficit as a question of fairness for our children. I don’t really think a balanced budget matters to a child who died of starvation. What isn’t fair to our children is failing to provide them food, shelter, healthcare and education.

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