We did it!

Obama wins re-election, with the popular vote and the electoral vote! 

I freely admit, yesterday, I woke up feeling anxious and unsure.  I woke up feeling that the US may decide that Romney makes a better candidate, but it is clear to me, that the US, who eyed the election with the economy in mind, voted with civil rights, women's rights, foreign policy, and domestic policy in the forefront.  It was an America who looked at Romney and weren't too fond of him.

Yes, the popular vote is close, but there were few states where either Romney or Obama won dramatically.  Which means that most people voted for Obama and many still voted for Romney.

However, this election was historical for many other reasons.  The most important is the fact that for the first time since civil rights pertaining to gay marriage started being on ballots, they won the popular vote.  Civil rights won!  They won in Maine, and Maryland, and Minnesota.  So there, the people have voted and we want the same rights for everyone.

This does not mean that civil rights should be voted for, because we live in a republic, where our electors vote for us on these issues.

Minnesota also defeated an amendment that would create a voter photo ID requirement.

Election Day 2012

It comes down to this.  This is it.  Who do you want to lead our country for the next four years?  Romney, whose strengths are deeply rooted in one facet, domestic economy (and that's only if you believe that the economy is something that either candidate can directly fix).  More likely, the economy will fix itself.  Or Obama, whose strengths are civil rights, human rights, women's rights, and a positive foreign policy agenda that does not result in hatred throughout the world (no promises from Romney on that).

So, who do you vote for?

Me, I vote for Obama.  I vote for integrity.  I vote for a man who has promised great things and fulfilled more 75% of those promises(you can look it up, it's true).  I vote for a man who understands that America is an amalgamation of many people and ignoring those who aren't like you, won't get the job done.  I vote for a man who handles tough situations with a quiet strength and a steady hand.  I vote for a man who took over during the worst financial crisis of our time and still managed to enforce and progress rights of American citizens.

This is the America I want.  This is the America we need.

Health Care and Birth Control

Earlier today, I posted the following item on Facebook, preceded by a link to the song "One Day More" from Les Miz:

One day more until we decide what our government should look like for the next four years.

If you support Romney, know this: I am the 47%. I am a woman who relies upon affordable health care options and birth control coverage by my insurance in order to plan my life and my family's. We are surrounded by the 47%, by the people who most need our help, by the people who without our help do not thrive and do not persevere.
Romney does not support me, he does not support my friends and my family. He especially does not support Kevin, as a teacher. He doesn't support my right to choose or any woman's right to choose. He does not support the GLBT community and their rights.

These issues may seem as if they do not affect you. But remember this, women's rights are human rights.

 My sister then posted it and one of her friends posted the following:

As a woman who supports Romney, I’d like to point out the other side of this debate. Romney does not advocate banning birth control; rather, he opposes Obamacare’s requirement that employers pay 100% of the costs of birth control for their employees, especially in the cases of religious employers who must violate their core beliefs to comply with the regulations. In multiple projections (partisan and nonpartisan alike), Obamacare is going to substantially raise the cost of health care, not lower it. It also will have significant effects on the economy as a whole and, most importantly, will only make the broken health care system worse. Personally, to me that’s not worth somebody else paying $10 a month for my birth control co-pay.

Regardless of my views on the other social issues Lindsey brings up, which I realize we fundamentally differ on, I think they take a backseat to the economy and the cliff this country is teetering on right now, and I have no confidence that Obama possesses the skills necessary to get us back on the right track. Romney has a proven track record of economic and bipartisan political success and I think he is going to make a much better president.

I would like to address one portion of her comment.  The part about the mandate for birth control.  This mandate was in the original bill(and rightfully so).  However, since the mandate has changed.  No longer must employers cover 100% of birth control costs, if they disagree for religious reasons(which is silly, because my personal health should not fall under their religions, anyway).  Now, these employers must only provide health insurance through a company that covers birth control.  Which means that their religious freedoms are maintained and I get to be healthy and so do my children. 

Election 2012

Tomorrow, the US decides what we want to look like for the next four years.  What we want to aspire to, where we want to fit in the world.

I want us to be a country that is improving, that looks at the rights we have been granted and says, we want more.  I want a country that strives for equality for all, regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation.  I want a country that realizes that I am the same as any other, regardless of what holds me back.  I want a country where being born in the "ghetto" is not a death sentence or a sentence of hard labor for little reward.  I want a country where a child born to the poorest woman and a child born to the richest woman have the same opportunities.

I want a country where my friends and family can marry any one they like, whether they be black, white, gay, straight, or anything else.  I want a country that realizes that sexual orientation has little to do with anything, but where denying people rights based on sexual orientation is bigotry and discrimination.

I want a country where all citizens 18 and older can vote, regardless of whether they can afford to drive.

I want a country where women can plan their families, where women have access to safe and legal abortions.

I want a country where people receive medical care, regardless of their job.  I want a country where health insurance is no longer a barrier or a privilege but a right.  After all, we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, don't we?

I do not want a country where we turn away from the world community, where we strive to make all those who are our enemies hate us.

I do not want a country where taxpayers are strapped for cash, because the states have to ask more from their citizens.

I do not want a country where religious freedom means that someone else's is more important than mine.

I do not want a country where war is normal.  I want a country where war is never on the table.

The choice is clear.  The time is now.  We, the youth of America, must take hold.  We must stand strong for our beliefs.  We must vote.  We must lift our country to the best it can be.

Vote for Barack Obama.  We need a president that loves America and knows how to negotiate.  We need a president that believes that women's rights are human rights and that gay rights are civil rights.