Why I'm Not Writing That Check to Obama Today

I was planning to attend Barack Obama's big fundraising reception in New York tonight and make the maximum contribution to his campaign, but I have torn up the invitation.

My decision isn't about the money, though the thought of writing a check for $4600 for anything besides a mortgage payment or two takes my breath away. It seemed that important to do my part to prevent the 100% anti-choice John McCain's election and a de facto third Bush term.

I supported Hillary Clinton in the primary because I believe she's the most capable of meeting the enormous challenges the next president will face undoing the damage to women's rights, health, and justice caused by Bush. Still, I've admired Obama since I met him at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Later, in Washington after he was elected to the Senate, I sensed he was genuine in his commitment to women's equality. So, despite my still-raw feelings about Hillary's concession, I was prepared to go forward this week and commit full support to Obama.

Then the danger signals started.

Now, I've spent enough years on the political frontline to know that before getting that post-inauguration chance to do cleanup work, let alone start on new initiatives, any Democratic candidate must first navigate the political crucible that immediately engulfs him or her upon becoming the party's nominee. And it doesn't surprise me that Obama would seek to broaden his base by meeting with groups such as evangelicals and conservatives who are unlikely suspects to become Obama voters in large numbers. But I am shocked at the magnitude of what Marie Cocco has properly dubbed Obama's "pander tour".

During the last two weeks, the thunderclouds of doubt have gathered ever more ominously until they cast Obama's character into serious question. First there was a distant rumbling in his sudden support for FISA, followed by his support for the Supreme Court's ruling expanding the right to handguns. His statements about religion in public life and intentions to expand faith based funding programs were nervous making, though he did temper his comments with talk of Constitutional protections for church-state separation.

By the time he spoke to an evangelical group, sounding for all the world like he was withdrawing his long held opposition to the Federal abortion ban by running, not walking, down the slippery path of parsing what reasons for abortion the law may deem acceptable or not -- infantilizing woman and devaluing their moral capacity and human right to exercise it -- I was seriously questioning whether this man would have the necessary mettle to withstand any challenges at all. Or worse, is he just another politician swaying with the winds and running for cover at the hint of a little thunder?

He'd obviously allowed the anti-choice misstatement of the abortion ban's provisions to frame his answer, when any lawyer ought to know that buying into your adversary's argument is guaranteed to doom your own. He replied to their questions as though the abortion ban law concerns only abortions late in pregnancy when in truth it states no time or gestation factor and could seriously limit access to abortions much earlier in pregnancy. Equally disturbing, his words override the principle of medical judgment in what constitutes risk to the woman, as transcribed in Relevant Magazine:

Strang: ...there seems to be some real confusion about your position on third-trimester and partial-birth abortions. Can you clarify your stance for us?

Obama: I have repeatedly said that I think it's entirely appropriate for states to restrict or even prohibit late-term abortions as long as there is a strict, well-defined exception for the health of the mother. Now, I don't think that "mental distress" qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term. Otherwise, as long as there is such a medical exception in place, I think we can prohibit late-term abortions...

But the last straw was his comments on sex education, when he gratuitously offered up language coded to out-triangulate any triangulating he had ever accused Hillary of doing:

Strang: You've said you're personally against abortion and would like to see a reduction in the number of abortions under your administration. So, as president, how would do you propose accomplishing that?

Obama: I think we know that abortions rise when unwanted pregnancies rise. So, if we are continuing what has been a promising trend in the reduction of teen pregnancies, through education and abstinence education giving good information to teenagers. That is important -- emphasizing the sacredness of sexual behavior to our children. I think that's something that we can encourage. I think encouraging adoptions in a significant way. I think [is] the proper role of government.

So just about the time state after state has recognized the damage done by abstinence programs and withdrawn from federal funding for them, we're going to have a president committed to abstinence education? I don't think so. And this coming from a man who in the Senate is a sponsor of the Prevention First Act and the Freedom of Choice Act? I certainly hope not.

In the big picture, Obama's character begins to appear as someone who is quick to deflect, demur, defer to his challengers. The dreaded flip-flopper, whom voters always see as a loser. When the frame is focused on reproductive rights and health specifically, we see a candidate who is either uninformed (not likely) or speaks with an unacceptable lack of moral center about abortion, sex education, and family planning.

I truly hope Obama will have sense enough to come in out of the rain of his self-induced controversy and recognize that he's a lot more likely to persuade women like me to support him than he is to get the votes of those who press for him to betray his previously stated pro-woman principles and will almost certainly abandon him at the ballot box anyway.

For now, he has a long way to go to convince me my $4600 would be a good investment.

Follow Gloria Feldt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Heartfeldt

Comments

[hopeless277]

He lost me at FISA. His total disregard for civil liberties puts him in the same bus as McCain and Bush. Looks like this nations turn to facism will not be stopped by Obama but speeded along. He is a liar and a fraud and he will get no support or money or even a vote from me. If I didn't know better(and maybe I don't) I'd think that Karl hisself recruited Obama to be the Democratic nominee who would then continue with the conservative dream of absolute imperial facism. Obama is a fraud.

[Boskydel]

His position on FISA is realistic.­...not perfect...­.but practical, and that is not to say political, but practical. Remember, reaching across the aisle does not mean dragging the other side back with you. It means finding a working consensus. This is a game of inches and if your expectations was that he would make all the bad things go away, you ask too much. If you read the bill, it is not as threatening as some would have you believe.

[Project4NuBostonTeaParty]

He lost me at FISA, too.

In my mind, there is no more important issue for the People than our rights under the Constitution. For someone who TAUGHT constitutional law to just roll over on this vote is deplorable. Deceitful. Inexcusable.

To "promise" to fix it later is a worthless statement meant to appease those pesky liberals. It's obvious to me that if we want to retain what little power we have in our government, we need to reject "leaders" like this who are gutless.

Nothing will "CHANGE" under an Obama administration. He's already proved in the past two weeks that he intends to moderate all his former liberal positions and make decisions from some kind of a center position. The question at this point is: How far to the right is he going to move, and WHEN does he stop (when he becomes a Lieberman)?

This is not CHANGE I can believe in. How about you?

[thegaygardener]

Fine Gloria! Don't write the check & stay home. You don't like Obama's finessed posistion that will enable him to broaden his base. You're beginning to question if he's a good investment or not. o.k.
How do you like McCain's position on abortion amongst other things?? I hope you do like it because your inaction now & continued luke warm support are only helping McCain!
This is exactly what I expected from Hillary's supporters!

[TXfemmom]

The same things you mention have really given me pause on Obama, as well. With what he has said about these things, how is he progressive, how is he principled with our principles, how is he willing to stand up and duke it out and have some spine to do it, how are we to believe he means positive change, when he has said and done these things which are diabolically opposed to what most of us within the Democratic Party want to see?

[MegWe]

"Diabolically opposed" is a bit strong, dont you think?

[OverIt]

Abstinence education IN ADDITION to factual sex education.­.. not INSTEAD of.

[MegWe]

Ms. Feld and a few others here will always see only what they want to see when it comes to Obama. Do yourseves a favor and read his books before you criticize him.
Just what is your objective here anyway? Win or lose. You decide.

[jvarga]

But if they read his books they'd have understood his positions before now, then they wouldn't be able to attack him for "shifting" to someplace he was already at.

[MonkeyDaddy]

Give it a rest. He is trying to get elected and the alternative is as unacceptable to any thinking American as it could possibly be.