Before You Vote For Obama....

[The_Trouvere]

After watching the debacle of both Dem and Rep conventions I have lost interest that either party will bring any real change to Washington.

Most Americans do not want radical change. No one on or to the left of the Democrat Party can be elected.

 

[The_Trouvere]

In the United States there are more homophobes than homosexuals. Would you rather have Democrats who pretend to be against gay marriage be elected, or do you prefer Republicans who think gays deserve no rights at all?

 

[Etoile]

In the United States there are more homophobes than homosexuals. Would you rather have Democrats who pretend to be against gay marriage be elected, or do you prefer Republicans who think gays deserve no rights at all?

Democrats who pretend to be against gay marriage, obviously - think about what you said.

 

[Wolfman1982]

In the United States there are more homophobes than homosexuals. Would you rather have Democrats who pretend to be against gay marriage be elected, or do you prefer Republicans who think gays deserve no rights at all?

Do you know what ? it is even harsher when it comes to the transsexuals in your country, they have fewer rights than homosexuals. Back to the main point , choosing between two evils. Then the lesser evil (in this case the Democrats whether you are a rep or a dem) is the party you choose, if you are a GLBT supporter. It is not that hard to think clearly, it is just sad that the dems are now running with an asshat as a presidential candidate. Who to me is more like a puppet than anything else. But as John Doe said, then USA is not a democracy, it is a demockracy or was it a federal republic ? to me it is the same , every time I see th reps go up, in their religious ramblings and so forth.

My counter answer to all that God stuff, is normally "Jesus Fucking Christ", since it will probably begin to hurt in their "godly" ramblings. Whether they are religous dems, or reps.

I think it is time, that USA woke up, and gave the same rights to gays, lesbians, transsexuals, as any bi or heterosexual person in Denmark. Whether it will bloody work or not. Since that can always be handled afterwards with trials and a damn good lawyer.

The only real difference here is something else, and that is either discrimination. Or some fucked up shit. Which again can be handled internally if you are a cop, or by a trial and a lawyer. Since the hammer has already been slamming its first cases in favour of the GLBT area here, when it comes to harassment and so forth. When it comes to gays and so forth.
It is just sad, that hate related crime doesn´t gets taken seriously by the GLBT phobic police here. But well fuck the cops, they are not there when you need them anyway. You just have to bite the sour apple and report the crime.

 

[SweetErika]

After watching the debacle of both Dem and Rep conventions I have lost interest that either party will bring any real change to Washington. (for those who didn't see it, I'm referring to the overt corporate and lobbyist financing of the conventions and the unashamed way the members of both political parties participated in the largess.)

I think Obama is more talk than action (did you hear his speech? Sounds like he's going to single handed solve all our problems - not sure how he's going to pay for it all - but dayum, sounds like a chicken in every pot again to me!)

I don't put too much stock in the conventions. They're all about talk and branding the parties and the candidates. I think they're too big and a huge waste of resources, though; it should be about communicating with and exciting party members and the public, rather than the parties trying to look good and outspending each other.

Likewise, all candidates are more talk than action. It's completely unrealistic to think any candidate will do every single thing s/he said s/he wants to do once elected. There isn't enough time, money or power in the office for that.

So, I watch the important convention moments and speeches to get a very general idea of the parties' and candidates' goals, messages and tones. This year, the negative tone of the GOP disgusted and surprised me - I figured they'd focus on what they had to offer in the future, rather than POW's, terrorism and how much they could bash Obama and the other team. I wasn't impressed with a lot of things from the Dems, but I did feel hopeful and inspired after seeing the roll call and some of the speeches. I think a lot of the messages--from both parties--were well worth listening to and gave me more of a sense of where each party planned on going.

I know that Obama can't do or pay for everything he wants to do (and he's recognized this too), but at least we have a shot at getting some important things done with him in office. I figure we have no chance at positive, substantive change on the things that are really important to me with McCain/Palin; according to the plans they've detailed, we will get more of the same and go backwards on some issues. That makes it not even close for me, even though I have plenty of criticism for Obama/Biden.

Anyway, I wanted to hear your thoughts on Palin, since you're an Alaskan and all. How did you feel about her before she got the nod? Has your opinion changed since? What are you hearing from other Alaskans, in general?

Do you know what ? it is even harsher when it comes to the transsexuals in your country, they have fewer rights than homosexuals. Back to the main point , choosing between two evils. Then the lesser evil (in this case the Democrats whether you are a rep or a dem) is the party you choose, if you are a GLBT supporter. It is not that hard to think clearly, it is just sad that the dems are now running with an asshat as a presidential candidate. Who to me is more like a puppet than anything else. But as John Doe said, then USA is not a democracy, it is a demockracy or was it a federal republic ? to me it is the same , every time I see th reps go up, in their religious ramblings and so forth.

It's not true that all republicans are anti-GLBT/equal rights or religious. Many are, but many are also socially liberal, not religious, and some are even (openly or not) GLBT themselves. Likewise, there are democrats who are not pro-GLBT/equality, socially liberal, and are extremely religious. And then there are lots of independents and third/other party supporters who have all sorts of beliefs.

I bring this up because I think it can be dangerous to paint everyone with the same brushes. Especially now, when the parties are changing their platforms and becoming more diverse, it's better to look at what individual people and candidates believe and do, and decide from there. Not doing so leads to more polarization, which makes it harder for us to talk about and make progress on important issues, like equal rights, too.

I'm curious about the bold part in the above post. Why do you think Obama's an "asshat" and "puppet?" IOW, what did he do that lead you to believe those things? Also, what is the general feeling about him in Denmark? Do people think he would be better or worse than Bush? (I'm interested because I've heard mostly very positive opinions about Obama from Europeans especially, and am fascinated by cultural perspectives in general.)

 

[Wolfman1982]

SweetErika: I know not all reps goes in to that mode, it is just sad at least here where I live we only see those people do that. And well as I have said earlier in this thread. I would vote for him, if I were an American. But calling him an asshat is not bold, or for that matter calling him a puppet either. I have heard both words being used when it comes to him ,from Americans who are still voting for him. Since he is the democrats presidential candidate. But a bold move would be making a racist joke, because he is black.
But the general opinion about Obama here is mixed. Because of our diversity of many political parties. So if you ask from the middle on to the left side of the government you will probably have a generally more positive reaction towards him. And then if you start with the current government and ask there you will perhaps get a false weird answer, and our prime minister would be kissing Obamas ass bigtime, even though our Prime Minister is like Bush give or take a few bricks. But on both sides you would still hear people who weren´t that ecxited over him. But it is all up to the individual. But the feeling about Obama is probably better than Bush around here.

 

[SweetErika]

And well as I have said earlier in this thread. I would vote for him, if I were an American. But calling him an asshat is not bold, or for that matter calling him a puppet either. I have heard both words being used when it comes to him ,from Americans who are still voting for him. Since he is the democrats presidential candidate. But a bold move would be making a racist joke, because he is black.

Perhaps I wasn't very clear. I wasn't saying it was bold to call Obama an asshat and puppet or that no one shared that opinion. I was just wondering how/why you came to the conclusion that he's a bad guy and doesn't do or say what he believes.

For instance, I would call Sarah Palin a puppet because time and time again she's answered questions with irrelevant information and said things she doesn't understand (because she can't explain those things and contradicts her statements frequently). In the debate, she completely ignored questions and read from her notes. In other words, it's clear that she says what she's been told to say much of the time. Her campaign is controlling who she talks to and what she says by telling her how to answer and severely limiting how she's questioned- even the debate was fixed so she wouldn't be questioned or have the chance to go off-script much.

It's pretty clear to me that Obama has practiced answers, received coaching and listened to poll results, just like every presidential candidate. However, it's also clear that he talks to whomever he wants, speaks his mind and understands what he says. His words and behaviors are very different from Palin's. By my definition of "puppet," he's not a puppet; I haven't seen enough puppet-like behavior from him to believe he's just saying and doing what others tell him to most of the time.

Perhaps we have very different ideas of what "asshat" and "puppet" mean. Basically, I'm trying to figure out what your definitions are and what Obama did/said to lead to to believe he was both because I don't get the same impression and it's interesting to hear different opinions.

But the general opinion about Obama here is mixed. Because of our diversity of many political parties. So if you ask from the middle on to the left side of the government you will probably have a generally more positive reaction towards him. And then if you start with the current government and ask there you will perhaps get a false weird answer, and our prime minister would be kissing Obamas ass bigtime, even though our Prime Minister is like Bush give or take a few bricks. But on both sides you would still hear people who weren´t that ecxited over him. But it is all up to the individual. But the feeling about Obama is probably better than Bush around here.

Interesting.

 

[Wolfman1982]

SweetErika: your tits... oops I ment your avatar makes my head turn, is that a good thing, or a bad thing ?

 

[AZChaos]

For instance, I would call Sarah Palin a puppet because time and time again she's answered questions with irrelevant information and said things she doesn't understand (because she can't explain those things and contradicts her statements frequently). In the debate, she completely ignored questions and read from her notes. In other words, it's clear that she says what she's been told to say much of the time. Her campaign is controlling who she talks to and what she says by telling her how to answer and severely limiting how she's questioned- even the debate was fixed so she wouldn't be questioned or have the chance to go off-script much.

It's pretty clear to me that Obama has practiced answers, received coaching and listened to poll results, just like every presidential candidate. However, it's also clear that he talks to whomever he wants, speaks his mind and understands what he says. His words and behaviors are very different from Palin's. By my definition of "puppet," he's not a puppet; I haven't seen enough puppet-like behavior from him to believe he's just saying and doing what others tell him to most of the time.

Good Call! I cannot wait for McCain to lose. Less than a month!! I miss Hillary though.

 

[SweetErika]

Good Call! I cannot wait for McCain to lose. Less than a month!! I miss Hillary though.

I think Hillary will have an important role to play in an Obama administration. He may very well ask her to take charge on health care, direct Heath & Human Services, or something else she's good at and passionate about.

I'm not a big Hillary fan personally, but I do believe she has a lot to offer the country, and hope Obama puts her in a role that fully utilizes her talents.