THE Top Reason I Won't Vote for Mitt Romney

I will not vote for Mitt Romney.
I will be voting for Barack Obama.
I am an eternal optimist, which is what kept me sane during the George W. Bush years.  I just couldn't see what one man could do in just 8 short years.  Now that I am older and wiser, I KNOW what a man can do in just 8 short years.  Our country is still at a tipping point, inches away from a cliff that, if we go over, we may never survive.  I do not believe I am being alarmist; I look at the make-up of the Supreme Court, and know that Roe v Wade is a wisp of a woman away from being overturned.  I know what follows that would be epic in the lives of American women, for they would no longer have a say about their own bodies.  Think of that.  Half of America would not have a freedom of choice that is freely given to the other half.  The planetary and economic implications are staggering as well; larger families, more strain on already over-burdened systems.
And then....and then....the far right would look for its next target....oh, silly me--I'm sure they already have their next target all picked out.  The poor.  The gays.  The immigrants.
But I digress.

I have hope.  I know Barack Obama will continue to be a good president.  I believe that Congress will realize it's more important to work with the president--they know he has noting to lose in his fight for all Americans.  I believe, in the next four years with Barack Obama as our president, our future will continue to brighten--more jobs, increased prosperity, a surge in renewable energy.  We will tweak the Affordable Care Act to make it a very good healthcare plan; so good that worker in this country will not have to even think about the "luxury" of good health.  
I believe.  I believe Barack Obama will continue to work for equality for all in this country.  I believe we will see Marriage Equality, and a DREAM Act passed.
I know.  I just know Barack Obama will be good for this country.  Four years ago, the night he was elected, he said this:
"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America."
He has kept promises.  Not all of them, but he's not perfect.  I believe he will continue to work...hard...every day...for this country.  


In closing, I would like to thank you for reading this far, slogging through all my rants and words and emotions.
When I turned 50, I got a tattoo--3 words I feel are the keys to life (don't worry, "Love" was already on my shoulder):
LIVE
LAUGH
VOTE

Please.  Go vote tomorrow.  If you disagree with everything I've said over the past couple of months, it's going to make you feel better.  If you agree with me, it's going to make me feel better.
I do believe voting is one of our sacred duties as citizens of a country.
I do agree with Louis L'Amour:
"To make democracy work, we must be a notion of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain."
I make this pledge to you right now--the next time you complain to me about the government, I'm going to ask you if you bothered to vote.  
If you say no, I promise you--I will turn and walk away.  

Top Ten Reasons I Won't Vote for Mitt Romney: # 2

Reason # 2 why I won't vote for Mitt Romney?
This one is going to take some explaining. 
Let's take a look at the family of Mitt Romney.  He has one brother and two sisters, but he's younger than his brother by 6 years, and his sisters are 9 and 12 years older.  As a youngest kid, I can tell you that with each year between you and your next older sibling, the harder it is to relate to, or understand them.  For all intents and purposes, Mitt's sisters were nearly adults by the time he was ever aware of their existence.
Mitt Romney's mother ran for the US Senate in 1970, and 23-year-old Mitt helped with the campaign.  She was considered a moderate, and believed in allowing women to control their own reproductive health.  She was also in favor of equal pay for equal work.  Those who have followed Mitt Romney's career believe his mother influenced him in these areas for some time, but when he began his bid for the 2012 presidential election, he seemed to have forgotten that he ever held the same beliefs his mother did.   
Mitt Romney is married, and he and Anne have 5 sons.  No daughters.  
Mitt Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He's a Mormon.  The church is presided over by a President and two counselors.  These three are men.  Next in the hierarchy is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  These 12 are all men.  Directly below this group is the First and Second Quorums of the Seventy.  All 70 of these leaders are...you guessed it...male.  
Women are not allowed to hold a leadership position in the Mormon Church.  Of the top 85 leaders in the Mormon Church, a whopping 0 are women. 

Can you see where I am going with this?  Mitt Romney has spent his entire life surrounded by, and influenced almost exclusively by, men.  His career?  Male-dominated.  His church holds women in an inferior position.  His immediate family is almost exclusively male--he has never once had to worry about an adolescent daughter and all the "stuff" that goes with that--sex education, menstruation, making good choices with your body, worry that maybe the birth control didn't work and what if she's pregnant?  None of that.  He never dealt with broken hearts, stupid sex on the first date with a loser, worry that his daughter might be sexually assaulted or be a victim of domestic violence.  Never had that.  Never had to listen about his daughter's first job, the jerks that gave her a bad time, or why she's not speaking up in class or appearing to be smarter than the boys in her class anymore. 
He's never had to think like a woman.  I would daresay it's not a stretch to say he's never been forced to look at things from the perspective of a woman.
Mitt Romney does not understand women, nor does he have to.  They could, for all intents and purposes, not even exist.  
And that's dangerous.  
Because those he is beholden to, those who drafted the GOP Platform, those who are running on the GOP ticket this year--they don't particularly care about women either.  

You can live in the land of denial, but I believe I am speaking the truth. 

I cannot, I will not, vote for someone who does not believe women and men are equal.  Who's not quite sure that women, as well as men, can have complete control over their own bodies.  Those beliefs are so very basic to me, that they are like the line in the sand.  I will NOT negotiate.  My grandmothers, my mother, my aunts, my foremothers--all fought too long and hard for basic human rights for women for me to be mamby-pamby about these things.

I will be voting against Mitt Romney on Tuesday.  I will be voting for all those women in my life, and all those women I don't know.  I encourage you to do the same.  
Because it's the very, very least we can do for those who hold up half the sky. 

Top Ten Reasons I Won't Vote for Mitt Romney: # 3

Reason # 3 why I won't vote for Mitt Romney?
This reason is simple, because of two numbers. 
99 (as in 99%)
and 
47 (as in 47%)
I am a proud member of the other 99%--I do not, never have, never will, belong to the 1%--the wealthiest people on the planet.  I take money very seriously because I have to.  Without it, I could not afford a place to live, food to eat, clothing to wear, or the life-saving drugs I need.  Plus a little left over for beer and books and travel and women's basketball.  I'm sure the 1% take money seriously (as seriously as any other game they play), but I doubt they have ever had to really consider the basic need for money.  
I am also a proud member of the 47% Club.  Surely we all remember Mitt Romney's famous secret...oops...not so secret speech to his donors back in May.    
I'm one of these people:

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48—he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. And he'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that's what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

I'm one of the 47% who will vote in this election for Barack Obama, no matter what.  I looked at the Clown Car of candidates the GOP had to offer, and said, "No thanks."  In Mitt Romney's book, I must therefore feel I am entitled.  That's where he's so very, very wrong.  For it's the 1% who feel they are entitled--entitled to carry on, with no sense of responsibility or care for other people on this planet.  They will rape the environment, de-unionize their workforce, try to privatize education to produce worker bees, not independent thinkers, and to top it all off, if anyone of the 99% asks to be able to earn enough to pay for housing, health care, food, THEY are the ones who are not taking personal responsibilty.

When I go into the local community center on Tuesday, I will take great satisfaction in voting for Barack Obama.  I will take equal glee in voting against Mitt Romney.  For it's the only way I can communicate my disdain for the 1%er who wants to be leader of my country.  

I can still vote, and vote I will.

Top Ten Reasons I Won't Vote for Mitt Romney: # 4

Reason # 4 why I won't vote for Mitt Romney?
Because I love my planet, and think everyone on it deserves to be able to breathe, live on uncontaminated soil, and have safe water to drink.  I want my children's children's children to be able to see amazing sunrises, beautiful fall colors, swim in sparkling clean water, and climb tall mountains.  I want them to hold insects in their hands and marvel at the way a flower blooms.  
I want all of us to use less--energy and resources.  I want to see if the wind and the sun can help provide energy for our planet, and I want to stop going to war over oil.  
I want all of this, and I want a thoughtful discussion amongst all peoples of the plant.  ALL people--not just the ones in power, and not just the ones who think they own the land.  
Back in 2008, there was talk about drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.  People, who were concerned about nature, and preserving some areas of our nation as unspoiled as possible were fighting against drilling there.  Then the Republican Convention started, and I heard the 3 most chilling words I believe I have ever heard:  "Drill, baby, drill!"  Chanted over and over by delegates, these words seemed to whip the crowd into a frenzy, and made for a raucous welcome for one Sarah Palin.  

Here's what she said that night: 
"Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines...build more new-clear[sic] plants...create jobs with clean coal...and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources."  She took direct aim at Obama's environmental stance with the quote, "What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?""

I was chilled to the core by those words, accompanied by the renewed refrain, "Drill, baby, drill."  I could not believe the ignorance and total lack of regard for our planet that Sarah Palin showed through her words, and I could not believe how the others in the room jumped in, lock-step, behind her.  

Thank the heavens she and John McCain were not elected.  Truly--thank the heavens.

Barack Obama was elected, and as part of his stimulus, money was invested in wind and solar power.  Locally, we've seen an explosion in the number of wind farms; they are quite a startling, majestic sight, within 4 miles of city limits, and in city limits as well.  

I look at them, and have hope for the future of our planet.  

Then I started to hear GOP members of Congress, complaining about regulation and red tape when it came to the environment.  The "Representative" from my district made it his personal mission to stop government interference in the production of incandescent light bulbs.  Really.  

Then the BP Oil Spill happened, and I hoped it would be a wake-up call to all of us; a reminder that we cannot drill to the bottom of the ocean without a foolproof way to safely do it.  BP, and all other oil companies DO NOT have such a plan.  Did not need one, did not see a need for one.  Words cannot convey the scope of the damage to the planet, and yet, and yet...the oil companies want to do it again.  There's money to be made, putting holes into the ocean floor--into the earth that does not belong to them, into the earth they cannot heal if something were to go wrong. 

I really hoped we had learned, and that the chilling cries of "Drill, baby, drill." would never escape the lips of any other fool.  

Turns out not all of us have learned lessons from the BP Oil Spill.  It's easy to forget about all that oil, all that destruction, when you're counting your money, taking over companies, gutting them, and planning to run again for president.  It's easy to forget about the environment--the environment your grandchildren will inherit--when you're sucking up to the far right of the GOP, kissing asses and taking pledges of support.  

And it's easy, ever so easy, to smirk into the camera at the GOP convention, during your acceptance speech, and utter these words, 

"President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. MY promise...is to help you and your family."

I was as dumbfounded, as chilled as the night I heard, "Drill, baby, drill."  

Could Mitt Romney really be that blase about the environment, care that little for our planet?  Yes, he could.  

Here's Mitt Romney's energy plan:

In part, it reads,

"Romney’s plan would make states the custodian of energy production on federal lands within their borders and allow them to implement their own federally-approved leasing practices. Such a move would effectively shift responsibility for permitting, leasing and environmental regulation from the Department of the Interior to states, with the hope of speeding energy development by cutting red tape."

In other words, "Fuck you all.  I'm going to help a very few people make a whole lot of money.  When they're done, we will have no mountain ranges to look at, no safe shoreline, no breathable air.  But they'll have more money.  God bless America!"

Absolutely amazing.  

And then came Sandy.  

I'm not voting for Mitt Romney.  I care.  Do you? 

Top Ten Reasons I Won't Vote for Mitt Romney: # 5

Reason # 5 why I won't vote for Mitt Romney? 
I'm putting political issues aside for the moment and focusing on character.  I won't vote for Mitt Romney because he has a pattern of bad choices, which reveals much about the man. 
I know this came out in May, and I know we all have short memories, but I think it's really, really, really, important to remember that Mitt Romney is a bully.  
"Oh," you say, "that happened when he was in high school.  Don't we all have things like that from high school?"  
No.  I don't.  I never held another person down and cut their hair.  Did you?  
And, if you did something like that, don't you think you would remember it?  And be a human enough to own up to it, and apologize for it, no matter how much time had passed?  Mitt didn't.  Well, he did say he did some "pranks" in school and was "sorry if he hurt anyone".  In other words, he didn't give a shit.  Not about the act and certainly not about the boy he mangled.  
Maybe we as adults can live with a bully in the White House, and maybe some of us would welcome one, but we have to think of the message our kids would absorb from that.  Are already absorbing from their churches, the media, and those televangelists who think it's their moral duty to make sure gay kids are ridiculed and beaten because they can.  And don't think they don't read, or listen, or watch--you put this bully in the White House, and those kids who are different?  It's going to be open season on them in the hallways of school.  Because the message will be sent, loud and clear.  
And do you remember Seamus the dog?  I urge you to follow the link to the story, just to refresh your memory.  It's written by the guy who unearthed the story in the first place.  He makes some good points; I was particularly struck by what he said about how it related to Mitt-the-Man.  
Mitt-the-Man does not get it.  He has never had to think about the feelings of another being.  Basically, he sucks at empathy.  He's awkward, and you only have to look at his "this is my sincere" face to know there's no there there.  I can't imagine him greeting families of dead soldiers or hurricane victims.  My guess is he will never do it.  
Perhaps all I've written here has just made Mitt MORE attractive to you; you think it would be great to have a shrewd, stone-hearted, "man" in the White House.  One that will stand up for 'Merica.  We've had those types before, and it usually doesn't end well.  
Because Americans want to know that they are understood.  They might want a "heart of stone" bully in the White House, until they need something.  Like FEMA.  Like a well-considered plan before going to war.  Like health care because their child has been diagnosed with some heinous disease.    
Mitt IS a calculating bully.  You only have to Google it.  Type in "Romney bullies" and you get 95,000,000 results.  Because Mitt's bullying ways didn't end with the gay kid he gave a haircut to, or Seamus the dog.  He's been a bully during primary debates, and was rude, interrupted, spoke over, and came real close to actually touching the POTUS.  
Bullies don't change their ways, not unless they're called on it.  Mitt hasn't , nor will he ever be called on it.  Perhaps we just need to make sure he's got no way to bully our country.