Friday, October 12, 2012

Think about it: What happens if Obama loses

By Mustang Bobby

I was going to tote up a list of what’s at stake in this election, but I see that John Cole over at Balloon Juice beat me to it:

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If Obama loses, we will be at war with Iran.

If Obama loses, the Republicans will lower taxes on the rich and continue to shift the burden to the middle class and poor, to the tune of 5 trillion dollars. That's a fact, despite Romney lying about it in the debate. Because, you know, job creation. Just like we created NO jobs during the Bush years despite the massive tax cuts and turning a surplus into a massive deficit.

If Obama loses, the assault on women's rights will continue.

If Obama loses, the EPA will be gutted.

If Obama loses, more corporate leaning and national security fanatics (all probably belonging to Opus Dei, as GOD WANTS IT) will be appointed to the Supreme Court and Roe will be struck down.

If Obama loses, we will spend 2 trillion more on defense, above and beyond what the Pentagon wants.

If Obama loses, Obamacare will be gutted. But in the worst way possible. They'll get rid of the mandate, but keep all the things that will drive costs up.

If Obama loses, Medicare and Medicaid will be gutted. Medicare will go from the safety net it is for seniors into a target rich environment for insurance fraud, with elderly patients given a pittance in vouchers to get rogered by the free market.

[...]

If Obama loses, gay rights will be set back decades.

If Obama loses, the New Deal will, for all intents and purposes, be repealed. We will be back to the days of the roaring 20's. You know, right before the crash.

If Obama loses, Dodd/Frank will be history, and our Galtian overlords on Wall Street rule again (not that that ever really stopped, mind you), and all of your pensions, all of your local municipal investments, etc., will be raided and shipped overseas to Cayman accounts. Right next to Mitt's foreign bank accounts.

If Obama loses, hundreds of billions of dollars in tax dodging money will be "repatriated" so it can be used to copy the Bain model and continue to bankrupt our businesses and send jobs overseas.

If Obama loses, the FDA will be gutted. But don't worry - the market will correct!

In short, if Obama loses and RMoney wins, it will be an all out disaster for this country. Republicans like to quote the Road to Serfdom as a cautionary text, when they really do have a plan for the road to serfdom. For you and me.

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On top of that dire forecast — and no, I don't think he's being alarmist at all — there is what could happen at the state and local levels if the Republicans get unfettered access. We've already seen it in Wisconsin and Michigan with their union-busting, and here in Florida with Gov. Rick Scott and his tea-stained agenda of voter purging and drug testing for welfare recipients... except the ones who get corporate welfare; they get another tax credit. Public education will be gutted in favor of the charter school scam, public health funding will be turned into a lottery and the voucher system won't begin to cover the needs of people with chronic illness or permanent disabilities. Let fifty Scott Walkers or Rick Scotts loose upon the land.

When John says that we'll return to those golden days of yesteryear like the Roaring '20s, I fear he's being too optimistic. It will be more like the 1910s and the age of the robber barons when James J. Hill, J.P. Morgan, and John Jacob Astor called the shots. The only difference between Mitt Romney and those vultures is that they kept their money in American banks.

Every candidate in every election says that this election is the most important one in the history of the world. Of course they'd say that; they have to justify their existence somehow. But this year, we have already seen what the Republicans and the conservative agenda can do with just a little bit of power and how they view the rest of the nation, including a good deal of their own among the 47%. There's no doubt whatsoever that they would carry out their mission if given half the chance, or manipulate the law and the process in order to get their way. It's not speculation, it's history.

So think about it. Is that what you want? Think about it the next time you hear someone who claims they voted for Obama the last time but now they're "disappointed" because he didn't change the goddam world overnight or put a unicorn in your back yard. Think about it the next time you hear some privileged rich guy closing down his company in Ohio and sending the jobs to China while he complains about his terrible tax burden. Think about it when you see a state enshrine gay-bashing into its constitution because a bunch of sex-obsessed freaks turned their mythology into law.

Now stop thinking about it and do something.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

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2 Comments:

  • This is why I don't want to think about it.

    I disagree with one thing. Republicans won't raise taxes on the middle class. That would be political poison. They will instead explode the deficit. Remember: deficits only matter when a Democrat is in the White House.

    By Anonymous Frankly Curious, at 11:55 AM  

  • I'm not disappointed in Obama. I knew that 'hope and change' was a marketing slogan and that presidents are limited in what they can do, especially with an obstructionist opposition.

    No, I'm outraged by the lack of prosecutions of the banksters and by the lack of investigations, much less prosecutions, of the torturers.

    I understand the stakes and will vote for Obama, but only with the greatest reluctance.

    By Anonymous Enon, at 1:44 PM  

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