A California Republican

It is Saturday here in lovely California and I don’t have to go to work. My husband is home to help take care of our son, and so I get to do all the stuff I normally cram into the night in the morning. Today’s blog is based simply on one political thought: What if Obama isn’ta good President?

Everyone is hailing this election as historic. I don’t mind hearing this from people who lived during the civil rights era. But for people, especially African Americans, who haven’t experienced that kind of discrimination, this is nice, but it probably doesn’t have the same meaning. For me, the fact that people are still harping on this election being historic because of his race signals that America isn’t as much of a melting pot as we might like it to be.

But here’s the thing - being elected is great and all…..but what if he’s not a good President? Will this still be a good thing that he was elected? What if he proves to be as far left as he seems? What if his wealth redistribution policies (in other words - socialism) turn out not to benefit the country? What if he is trying to Europian-ize the US, instead of taking what makes the US such a great country - the spirit of the American Dream - and working to minimize? What if he’s not a good President?

Will that negate his historical value?

I don’t think it will negate the historical value of him being the first African-American President. I do think that it will be a long time before there is another one - if he proves as far left as he seems. His choice for Chief of Staff would seem to indicate that he’s not as far left as people think, or that he won’t act as left as he would like. For all that he was elected by the largest margin since FDR, you have to wonder how much of that was a reaction against Bush compared to how much was voting for Obama. And the country, as a whole, is still a middle-right country. There are moderate Democrats who have to appeal to Republicans in their districts if they want to get re-elected. So they have to be more moderate that Obama seems to be. This may hurt him when he’s trying to pass agendas.

Also, there is a huge budget deficit that makes more spending difficult to do. His plans all require massive amounts of spending. Where is he going to take that money from? There simply isn’t that kind of money available. Unless you raise taxes. On people who make any amount of money. His plan currently calls for raising taxes on anyone earning over $100,000. That’s not a lot (in California and most other coastal states) to live on. It certainly isn’t enough to pay more taxes, provide for a family of more than 3, and own a home.

But I think that I will reserve judgement on whether his election is a good or bad thing until I see what kind of President he is. I agree, its a historic election. I am tired of hearing that already (and it isn’t even a week after the election). Shouldn’t more be made of Obama than his race? Shouldn’t more be made of any person than their race? Isn’t that what the civil rights movement was about? yet here we are, simply saying its historic because of his race. I don’t know if I have heard much else about him. That’s too bad, because he’s a unique guy. And certainly the first socialist elected President. Why aren’t we talking about that?