Memo to Voters Still on the Fence

I'm a big believer in not taking the champagne out of the closet until the check has cleared, the full-figured lady has sung, and the cat actually comes home. And so it is before the election as we wait to see if the Democrats are in for another shock.

We know it can happen. History, according to Governor Palin, is of little interest when not serving her. But we know that history repeats when people assume, "That just can't happen again."

Politics can be pathological. Bob Herbert argues that the days of Rove are over. He wrote:

With the country facing enormous problems (even before the meltdown of the credit and financial markets in recent months), the voters wanted more substance from their candidates. They wanted a greater sense of maturity and a more civil approach to campaigning. They were tired of the politics of personal destruction and the playbook that counseled "attack, attack, attack.

But just in case you have lingering doubts, and I've heard more than a few on my travels through New England, Washington, Maryland, and Virginia this past week. Let's remember some of the people who will suffer if McCain and Palin win.

First, because too often they're not placed anywhere near that spot, children without health insurance will suffer. Their untenable condition will continue. Children in foster care will not find families and those waiting to be adopted may never have a home. Why? Because it will become economically prohibitive for families who would otherwise reach out. Yet, the very wealthy will get tax breaks.

Second, women will continue to lose ground at work. And their families will suffer. Anyone who can defend the Ledbetter case, as McCain has, let alone claim that women just need more education and training rather than the support of their country when pay discrimination occurs, is out of touch. Women still wondering whether this detached solution was just a slip of the tongue by McCain ought to consider, too, the numerous qualified Republican women he skipped over for his vice presidential pick.

Third, civility loses for sure. As McCain sneers and Palin snipes with little regard for truth, we sink deeper as a nation into a paradigm of power and possession. That is the type of campaign McCain and Palin have run and it's the type of administration they'll preside over as well.

So who loses if McCain and Palin win? We all do. America does. If you are on the fence still, think hard about that.

Dr. Reardon also blogs at bardscove.

Comments

[ElBruce]

Anybody "on the fence" at this point ain't gonna read a Huffpo blog. They're undecided because they're effectively media illiterate. They don't read the paper, they don't check the internets, they avoid news on TV. They'll look at the voter's pamphlet, maybe, or flip a coin in the voting booth. There's just no point worrying about them.

[lwfky]

As I've watched the MSM over the past 2 days, I've become afraid. They are becoming negative about Obama and they are obviously "pulling for the underdog", McCain. I don't think our country will survive if McCain and Palin are allowed into the White House.

[LetsTryThisAgain]

I've posted this in other areas, This one of the Intmidation tactics that will be used (Police Presence)

DO NOT LET THEM INTIMIDATE YOU!
Voting is powerful!
Voting is responsible!
Voting is a privilege!
Use your privilege, be responsible, and be POWERFUL!


Obama/Biden 08-12

[Republicrats]

The choice in this election is clear, a larger, more intrusive federal government with all of the attendant tax increases, "fairness" on the airwaves an Orwellian term if I've ever heard one, tax and control of the internet, abolishing the secret vote in union organizing, shifting troops from Iraq to Afghanistan with no reduction of the defense budget, OR slightly less of the same. The Repugs and Demlibs are interested in these things: fighting and blaming each other to keep our eye off the fact that nothing changes, getting re-elected in perpetuity, pissing on all of us unwashed masses, partying on our dime to the tune of record deficits, mortgaging our future, our kids future, and their future, all while the country slides in to eventual decline. We cant' even vote the bums out, because the next bunch are just more of the same. Vote anti incumbent wherever you can, support no party, and perhaps a true leader will emerge!

[vegas9999]

You got it. We are just sheep on their farm.

[Manitoba]

Has any reporter searched the State of Alaska Court Registry/Alaska Trial Court Name Index...? Type in Sarah Palin and some interesting things pop up.

[Dap]

Dear Dr. Reardon,

Speaking to straight talk, your eloquently expressed post is as straight forward as it gets. Thanks. Adape.

[Manitoba]

Off topic I guess but has any reporter checked out the State of Alaska Court Registry/Alaska Trial Court Name Index...? Type in Sarah Palin and some interesting stuff pops up......it seems also that a James Palin is a frequent flyer in the Alaskan Courts system.

[vegas9999]

You guys want to check the State of Alaska Court Registry/Alaska Trial Court Name Index, check out where Sarah bought baby clothes, check out the history of Joe the Plumber but we cannot find out if Obama is an American citizen.