I'm on the road, on my birthday, stumping for President Obama in Florida, a state that if he wins on election day could seal the deal. I witnessed the excitement of thousands of students yesterday across Southern Florida, many of whom will vote in a Presidential election for the first time in their lives. The students understood that the stakes in this election are enormous. The contrast between the two candidates is startling. No matter how much "Money" Mitt Romney tried to run away from his own positions last night and pretend he is some independent Republican, we know that his campaign has been bought by the highest bidders.
In essence, this is what we are fighting for. To preserve our democracy. To understand that Ben is certainly a person. And Jerry is a person too. But Ben & Jerry's is not. But those corporations (not Ben & Jerry's) that Money Mitt wants you and I to believe are people are the ones who are lining his pockets with lumps of coal. And if Mitt becomes the next president, in return he will certainly line their pockets with silver and gold. Of course he wants to privatize social security, healthcare, Medicare, education and prisons -- that is why the Super PACs are spending in his favor 4 to 1, because they know he is like a Nascar driver with ads for sale.
In one of his previous debates during the Republican primary he even had the audacity to say that they should get rid of Super PACs and the rich donors should just give him the money directly! I have many friends who can fund his entire campaign without blinking and they might even be so nice to let Mitt sleep in the basement of the White House, while they occupied the Oval Office. I hope that in my lifetime, we will get the money out of politics and restore the people's control of our government. This is what is at stake. "Money" Mitt's privatization plan of America's services and his gross exploitation of the working class and the poor, all so he can make his friends richer. Sound familiar?
Somehow, I felt the president's strategy last night in debate must have been a throwback to Ali's "rope a dope" strategy against George Foreman in the "Rumble In The Jungle," but the 12th round never came. In Ali's case against George Foreman, we understood it, because he was fighting a bigger and better opponent, a guy that no one thought he could beat. He let George hit him over and over and over again and then knocked him out when George was out of gas. I am sure some people noticed the flip flopping, the groping to every popular idea and some of the outright lies that Mitt threw out there onstage. We were waiting for the president to throw that Ali right jab that knocked out Foreman. It looked like Mitt got himself so deep in a hole with changing his positions on the spot that he never could recover, and all the president had to do was hit him with the truth, but it never happened. I know the president personally. He's smarter, quicker, wittier and more balanced than his performance last night.
But, here's the thing. As my friend Gabrielle Union said this morning, "It's OK to be disappointed, but do not be deterred." I will get back out there, on my birthday, and continue to carry the president's message of a more inclusive, compassionate democracy that works for the people who vote and not the ones who pay. I will continue to spread the president's agenda, because I believe he will make it his legacy issue to get the money out of politics, so all Americans, not just a percentage of them, will have access to the American Dream. And I will campaign as hard as I possible can until the last person votes on election day, because Barack Obama has had our backs, so now we must have his.
Follow Russell Simmons on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unclerush
Nov 6th final election results: President Obama 57% to M&M 43%; a landslide. It’s no competition. Herman Cain would’ve been a more interesting fight.
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Express_Yourself/topic/4577015/1/
http://www.kickthemallout.com/
1. Mr. Simmons doesn't like Mr. Romney and will say anything to avoid his election, and
2. Mr. Simmons loves Mr. Obama, no matter how poorly Mr. Obama performs.
We need to be really honest about what is happening.
I will be voting for President Obama in the November election.
With that said, the President has to own up to some of the failings of his first term in office.
A jobs stimulus should have been at the very top of the list of things to do in the Recovery Plan. It was at least as important, if not more important, than bailing out banks and the Auto Industry.
HAMP should have been simplified. Sane. And the "back door" for banks should have been shut.
Health care reform should not have required six years to implement. It just should never have taken that long to see the results. Politically, it should have happened much faster.
Education reform?? Someone, somewhere needed to show some real leadership on that issue. Education and retraining should have been part and parcel of the Unemployment Extensions.
He missed a lot of opportunities, and WE the PEOPLE are much worse off as a result.
But I still have his back, and he still has my vote.
The alternative is downright frightening.
With that said, "it could have been worse," and "the alternative scares me" just are not good campaign slogans.
The last four years have been abysmal for job hunters! (Again, refer to my criticism about the jobs stimulus that should have been enacted.)
But with health care reform, I will have the freedom to become self-employed.
Then, I won't have to worry about someone else "employing" me. Knowing that the ability to obtain quality health coverage for myself and my family would be key to that decision.
But the fact remains that he inherited one incredible mess. And that mess took more than four years to make. It will take more than four years to fix.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/george-soros-super-pac_n_1920491.html
This is getting BIG MONEY out of politics???????
CU opened up the doors. Conservatives should remember that there's plenty of rich liberals. It's not JUST going to give the right money. It's going to give both sides money, further demolish the small parties, and generally make everything worse.
But hey, that's ok, your stacked SCOTUS delivered you this mess, and now you're working your butts off to keep that majority by electing someone who has a track record of trying to hide his track record.