I AM AN ORTHODOX JEW WHO IS SUPPORTING BARACK OBAMA
I have been an observant member of the Orthodox Jewish community for the last 25 years. But I was raised in a family of left wing activists who believed strongly that the function of the government was to provide services to its citizens. In spite of being frum all these years I still feel that way. So I am by nature more comfortable with the Democratic Party even with its warts.
I did not, at the beginning of this election cycle, even consider that this article would even have to be written. After all everyone I spoke to, and they had all voted for George Bush, admitted that the country was a mess and President Bush had done a terrible job and left us in a terrible way. I assumed there would be no question that we had to vote them out and move in a new direction. But that does not appear to be the case.
Why do I support Obama? First of all he is a person with real critical thinking skills. That means he has the capacity to analyze complex problems without imposing an ideology as a primary filter. Republicans like to make fun of the way he will explain the context of the issue before he addresses the answer directly. I have heard him speak, and debate many times and he has always answered a question even though the answer might not be popular to his audience. That is what I am looking for in a President, someone who is not afraid to lead even when it is not popular. After all we are electing the President of the United States, not the winner of American Idol.
Secondly, Obama is talking about renewing a sense of community where Americans help each other and work together to solve problems facing all of us. What a change from the "us vs. them" perspective we have been living with for the last eight years. So many problems this country is facing- growing debt, too many people uninsured or without health insurance, global warming, dependence on oil which forces us to do business with tyrants and terrorists, the stress on the family unit from two working parents, financial troubles and rampant materialism, --these are all issues that affect us all regardless of political or religious persuasion. Barack Obama talks about how to bridge our differences so that we can find common ground to work from to actually solve problems.
There was an energy, a feeling of unity that permeated the country after 9/11. No matter where you went people felt connected to one another and we knew we were all in this together. And what happened with that miraculous feeling? Was it harnessed to solve problems and join us in common purpose? No it was ignored so that it dissipated and left behind those typical class and ideological wars. Barack Obama can restore that feeling and use it to tackle the difficult problems facing us.
With recent crumbling of financial institutions and the difficult days facing us ahead, having a leader who can bring unity, can make a big difference. Barack Obama first spoke about the potential problems of subprime loans and the resulting packaged securities in 2006. He will restore reasonable and responsible regulations to a system that badly needs fixing. Barack Obama has said that while we should support free markets the role of government is to make sure they operate fairly.
The Republican Party, and this includes John McCain and Sarah Pallin, believes in doing away with regulation, because they think the free market will provide a “trickle down economy.” In fact Phil Gramm, McCain’s chief advisor, was the architect of the two changes in the law that directly led to terrible results from the lack of regulation we are living with right now.
Barack Obama will work to improve conditions for the middle class again. Bush inherited a surplus and is leaving us the largest deficit in history. Obama’s tax plan will reduce taxes for most Americans except those earning more than $600,000. His plan will give money to middle class earners while asking the very very wealthy to pay more.
McCain’s policies will continue the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. His plan proposes to give a new tax cut of $270,000 to people earning over 2.87 million per year. With a deficit out of control and a war that McCain wants to continue with a cost of a billion dollars per month, the idea that you can continue to cut taxes and run a government is unrealistic.
McCain’s solution is to propose cutting the federal budget by 20%. Since most of the expenditures occur in programs that cannot be cut such as social security and Medicare, he will be forced to cut direct services to people, cut education and health services and put off badly needed investment in infrastructure.
If you think those cuts will not affect the Frum community, think again. McCain supported Bushes veto of the S Chip program that makes sure women and children have health insurance. This is a program very used by Frum people. Some states like Maryland stepped and provided full funding for this program but the states are now hurting and may not be able to continue to do so.
Barack Obama’s has a real plan to rejuvenate our economy. He proposes to invest in renewable energy jobs, rebuild infrastructure, help middle class families cover the cost of college for their children, and make sure people have the health insurance they need. He is the candidate that can reawaken the American people to service and hope.
In terms of Israel, Barack Obama has always been a strong supporter. It is ironic because when he ran for Senate in Illinois he was accused of being too cozy with the Jewish community.
Obama wants to restore diplomacy as our first line of defense and restore cooperation with our allies in world events. McCain cannot get enough of war. Besides wanting to stay in Iraq for as long as it takes to win, he is now threatening to go to war with Iran and Russia (a move that will necessitate a draft as the military is bleeding people who cannot endure a 4th or 5th tour). I don’t think we can afford four more years of that kind of mentality.
John McCain, although he likes to portray himself as a maverick, has voted with the Bush Republican's 95% of the time. And the positions he took as a maverick, he no longer supports- he was against offshore drilling but now wants to “drill baby drill”, he was against the tax cuts as being fiscally irresponsible but now he supports them. While he would like to say he will bring reform he has fully supported all the important Bush policies.
I also want to address Sarah Pallin. If elected, McCain will be the oldest President elected and has a history of recurring medical problems. Pretending that she might not move into the While House is not realistic.
She is unprepared to be President. She lacks experience but even more important is that she sounds like George Bush. She is an ideologue and a black and white thinker. I don’t want another cowboy in the White House.
She has no foreign policy experience. As she said herself she has not given the Iraq was much thought. Her personal experience with economics is irrelevant to most of our situations as she lives in an oil rich state that gives its citizens a $1200 rebate from oil revenues. She has no record of supporting Israel.
But she does think that G-d is on the side of the issues she personally supports whether it is the war in Iraq or building a pipeline in Alaska.
I am writing this because I hope you will take the time to watch the debates and read what the candidates really propose to do if elected. This election is too important to let your biases and fears to guide your choice. Take the time to actually listen to the candidates speak and see if those positions will actually improve your life.
I urge you to take another look at the real Obama and judge for yourself.
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