MY TAKE ON VOTING IN THE 2014 MID-TERM ELECTIONS – FINAL PART

I believe that the stakes in this election are as high as they ever have been when considering the vast differences between the parties and what they bring to the table. While neither party offers remedies to fit every situation or problem, as Americans, we have an obligation to choose the political party that best supports our view of how our nation should be governed. Therefore, I offer the following perspectives:

 

1. If you believe that every American should have access to quality healthcare, then that is what the Democratic Party has embraced by passing the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare). Over 9 million people now have affordable healthcare. The House Republicans voted fifty-one (51) times to repeal the Health Care law without offering any viable alternative. If Republicans control both legislative branches, there will be no hesitancy in a major attempt to repeal that law.

 

2. If you believe that the minimum wage should be raised from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, then that is what the Democratic Party has embraced since it was mentioned in the President’s 2014 State of the Union Address. Raising the minimum wage nationwide would increase earnings for millions of workers, and boost the bottom lines of businesses across the country. Even though congressional Republicans continue to block the President’s proposal saying, among other things, that it would be a “job killer” for companies, a number of state legislatures and governors, mayors and city councils, and business owners have answered the President’s call and raised wages for their residents and employees. Thus far, none of these officials were Republicans.

 

3. If you don’t believe that the economy has significantly improved since President Obama took office in January 2009, here are the facts attributable to his economic policies: (a) businesses have created more than 9.7 million private sector jobs in the past 52 months; (b) after nearly collapsing, the US auto industry has added nearly 250,000 jobs-the fastest past of job growth in more than a decade; and (c) American manufacturers have added more than 500,000 jobs since January 2012, the strongest period of job growth since 1989. All of these actions occurred without any help from congressional Republicans.

 

4. If you believe that we should have a comprehensive immigration system, that has been embraced by Democrats and some Republicans. In fact, the Senate sent bi-partisan immigration legislation to the House, but Speaker Boehner refuses to bring it up for an up or down vote. Sadly, Boehner is being influenced by a small Tea Party faction and he is more concerned with alienating part of his caucus rather than doing the job that he was sent to congress to do.

 

5. If you believe that every women has the right to make her own medical decisions concerning her body, that has been embraced by Democrats. It seems that a majority of Conservative Republicans, especially men, are more interested in passing legislation requiring women to undergo unnecessary Transvaginal Ultrasounds and other invasive procedures when a woman is contemplating abortion rather than allowing women to make personal decisions about their body with their doctor. On one hand, Republicans complain about too much government intervention in the affairs of the people and yet, they are the party that continues to exploit women’s rights including shutting down state abortion clinics despite the fact that abortions are legal.

 

6. If you believe in a government that should be responsive to the needs of the people, the Democrats embrace that. Because of Republican actions over the past few years by targeting agencies like the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for catastrophic budget cuts, there is every possibility that a cure for Ebola could have been found. In addition to these drastic budget cuts, you may recall that the Republican Party shut down the entire government for about two-weeks costing taxpayers 25 billion dollars, and Boehner has recently initiated a frivolous law suit against the President for doing his job that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

 

7. If you believe in sensible gun control legislation, the Democrats embrace that. Although I am a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment, I do not understand why any US citizen would need an assault rifle. When the founding fathers adopted the 2nd Amendment, I do not believe that they had any idea that high-grade military weapons would be in the possession of citizens. Such weapons are designed for war, not for citizen protection. Law enforcement leaders who met with President Barack Obama in January urged him to focus on strengthening gun purchase background checks and mental health systems which is something that Republicans oppose.

 

8. If you believe that school teachers should be trained and armed and, according to the National Rifle Association (NRA), then able to intervene with fire power if situations occurred similar to Sandy Hook Elementary School or Oregon where a freshman student had an AR-15 type rifle, a semi-automatic handgun, nine loaded magazines capable of holding several hundred rounds, and a large knife, then you should vote Republican. I believe that teachers should teach and law enforcement personnel should deal with law enforcement issues.

 

The November 2014 elections are very important, and each of us should not hesitate to cast our vote for the candidates of our choice. I will enthusiastically cast my vote for Maryland Democrats because I believe they offer the best alternatives for our state, but that’s just my take.

 

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