The mad ramblings of an angry and scared Democratic Parent

Because if there’s a poor child out there, that’s my child. If there’s a senior that’s having trouble, that’s my grandparent. If there’s a guy who’s lost his job, that’s my brother. If there’s a woman out there without healthcare, that’s my sister. Those are the values that built this country. Those are the values we are fighting for.

Time

This is what it means to be a Democrat. To me Barack Obama is epitomizing the spirit of a shared responsibility that we must have for one another, no matter what party you belong to or what you believe in.

That spirit of looking out for one another, that core value that says I am my brothers’ keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, that spirit is most evident during times of great tragedy, it’s most evident during times of great hardship, it’s most evident when natural disasters strike because we understand that only God has control and so it takes it out of the realm of politics. We all understand that we have to come together.

But that spirit can’t just be restricted to moments of great catastrophe. Because as I stand here today and look out at the thousands of folks who have gathered here today, I know that there’s some folks that are going through their own quiet storms.

[...]

There’re people out there who’ve seen their jobs shipped overseas. There’re people out there who don’t have healthcare, maybe they’ve been trying to pay it on a credit card but mostly they’ve just been putting off trying to see a doctor. There’re seniors out there that don’t know how they’re going to pay their home heating bill this winter. There are folks out there that don’t know how they’re going to fill up the gas tank. There are young people in this audience right now that have graduated from high school, have the grades and want to go to college, but don’t have the money. There are young people being born in the inner cities, right here in Milwaukee, that don’t see any prospects for the future that think the only path available to them is a casket or a jail cell.

All across America there are quiet storms taking place. There are lives of quiet desperation. People who need just a little bit of help. Now, Americans are a self-reliant people, we’re an independent people. We don’t like asking somebody else to do what we can do ourselves but you know what we understand is that every once in a while somebody’s going to get knocked down. Every once in a while somebody’s going to go through some hard times. When we least expect it tragedy may strike. And what has always made this country great is the understanding that we rise and fall as one nation, that values and family, community and neighborhood, they have to express themselves in our government. Those are national values. Those are values that we all subscribe to. And so that the spirit that we extend today and in the days to come as we monitor what happens on the Gulf that’s the spirit that we’ve got to carry with us each and every day. That’s the spirit that we need in our own homes and it’s the spirit that we need in the White House. And that’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.

And what breaks my heart is hearing the far right pundits, current and ex elected Republicans attack this man based on lies and smears, repeatedly. I have such a hard time sitting by and hearing the propaganda, from, Obama sought the support from a unrepentant terrorist or Obama has never reached across the aisle. The other laughable comment is he's never stood up to any part of his party to do what he thought was right (Sure, everyone was so happy about his FISA vote, talk of combining drilling with other solutions for energy issues and daring to show up at a evangelical Church to answer question from a Baptist preacher).

So, why are we spending so much time about Sarah Palin's personal life? Why? Why are we recommending every breathless diary that comes up with another Palin "scandal". It's a waste of our time, there are many more things we can get Palin on, such as her lack of experience, conflict of interest, breaking the law, etc. You know, those little things.

The most important part of this that is a win for us is that John McCain didn't get his way and made a rash decision without vetting his last minute choice and his campaign is paying the price. He will not throw her under the bus either, he will stick to her to the very end. We need to talk about how his rash behavior, experienced as it is, is too much of a risk for this very volatile world.

As for the damn executive experience? Obama has run one of the best campaigns in current history and completely changed the face of politics. That's an executive job and he's done it flawlessly, without drama and without rash decisions that he later regrets. (Oh, I heard one pundit going on about how Obama takes way too long to make up his mind, how dare he!)

Is this rambling? YES! I feel like I'm losing my mind as I send my five year old to her first day of Kindergarten tomorrow, I can't wrap my brain around why this is even close. I can't wrap the gray matter around the thought that I may have to subject my daughter to another four years of this mess that we call Republican rule.

Charlotte was born on May 28th, 2003 and has never lived in a Country that was not at war. I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around that as well. I just don't get it.

Do you?



Charlotte gets new school clothes! (No diary is complete without cuteness)