Posts tagged as:

presidential race

taxgirl endorses Obama

November 4, 2008 · 45 comments

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I’ll be honest. This isn’t the post that I had originally written. I had initially crafted this very extensive point by point analysis comparing Obama to McCain. To bolster my argument, I was going to explain how I originally registered to vote as a Republican, how I have never voted straight ticket, how individual issues like health care, the economy and education are important to me.

It was, quite frankly, all so defensive. And I’m tired of the negativity. It’s not me. And it doesn’t really tell you why I’m voting for Senator Obama for President.

Last night, while I was trying to sort all of this out – trying to articulate why I support Senator Obama – I saw a cardboard sign leftover from the Phillies’ World Series parade lying on the floor. It said, simply, “We Won!”

It is nearly impossible to explain the joy that we felt in the Philadelphia the day after the fightin’ Phils won the World Series. There was a spring in our step, a newfound optimism, a feeling that maybe, just maybe, our luck was turning.

What had really changed from the day before our city won the World Series and the day after?

Our attitude.

We weren’t a better city than we were before the win – we have always been a great city. We weren’t better people. We had no better plan. But we felt better – and that made all of the difference.

You and I both know that while presidents influence policy, they aren’t solely responsible for making policy. Clinton didn’t bring us universal health care and Bush did not privatize Social Security or eliminate the estate tax. The Reagan tax cuts weren’t really Reagan’s at all – they were pushed through by Congress (and subsequently rolled back). Kennedy did not liberate Cuba or Vietnam. And while McCain and Obama may tout their individual economic, environmental and health care plans, a win by either is by no means an indication that those things are immediately going to happen – if ever.

What a president has control over is how its citizens feel about the country, how the outside world views us. The president, more than shaping our policies, shapes our attitude.

And I think this country needs a change in attitude.

This is the best country in the world. And we don’t act like it. More than 2/3 of the country feels like we’re moving in the wrong direction. Many are fearful for the future. We bicker. We attack each other. We act as though we are defeated.

And we shouldn’t.

This is an amazing country. We have all the ingredients to move in the right direction. We just need to be inspired again – just like Philadelphia did.

And what’s inspiring to me? The fact that my two year old yells “Obama” when he sees posters in my neighbor’s window because my friends and neighbors are excited about this election. The fact that my good friend told me that her 45 year old sister is voting this year for the first time ever. The fact that folks are lining up with lawn chairs to wait to cast their votes this year – just like Phillies fans who waited for the parade.

There is an air of excitement, of optimism. There is hopefulness.

And yes, it may sound simple. But what’s wrong with simple? Throughout history, our best presidents – on both sides of the aisle – have not been the ones who presented sophisticated policies, but those that have made us believe that things were going to be okay. They are the ones who encouraged us to race to the moon, to make peace with our neighbors, to stand proud.

And I get that feeling from Senator Obama. I truly believe that his leadership will make the difference in how we feel as a country. And to me, that’s invaluable.

I guess, at the end of the day, I want our country to have a World Series moment.

I realize that many of you will disagree with me, but that’s okay. You see, one of the great things about our country is we have the right to have these discussions, to talk about who we do and do not support, to make our our decisions based on our own experiences. Go vote today and God bless America.

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“Pulpit Freedom Sunday” Gets Little Notice

September 29, 2008 · 1 comment

Remember that big stink that pastors promised to make in response to the IRS crackdown on political speech in church? It already happened. And you probably missed it – even if you were in church.

An estimated 30 pastors took to the pulpit on Sunday to talk politics in what was dubbed “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” The effort was meant to challenge the IRS on rules governing tax exempt organizations which place restrictions on political speech.

Not surprisingly, Rev. Wiley S. Drake who first endorsed Huckabee, and later encouraged his followers to pray that the opposition to his endorsement dropped dead, participated. With Huckabee out of the race, Drake suggested that voters support him… Apparently, his is running with Alan Keyes on the American Independent Party ticket. He remarked to less than 50 followers at his service:

I am angry because the government and the IRS and some Christians have taken away the rights of pastors. I have a right to endorse anybody I doggone well please. And if they don’t like that, too bad.

Ah, I see he still “gets it.”

Not only did he endorse himself from the pulpit (nice) but he went on record as opposing Obama, saying, “According to my Bible and in my opinion, there is no way in the world a Christian can vote for Barack Hussein Obama. Mr. Obama is not standing up for anything that is tradition in America.”

Despite efforts to make it a widespread nonpartisan protest against what many pastors view as censorship, the movement fell flat. In addition to small numbers of participants and little media coverage, most of the endorsements were predictably conservative. The Associated Press reported that Pastor Luke Emrich of Wisconsin spoke to about 100 followers to tell them that he was voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Indeed, most of the 30 pastors who endorsed a specific candidate urged their followers to vote for McCain/Palin.

The protest was organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, which describes itself as a legal alliance “defending the right to hear and speak the Truth, through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.” The Fund claimed that they had received hundreds of offers to participate but chose only a few to speak on Sunday.

While the protest garnered little in the way of attention, those who might end up being affected the most are surprising: the lawyers. In response to the protest, three high profile attorneys have sent a letter to the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility asking for an investigation into the attorneys at the Fund for “inducing churches to engage in conduct designed to violate federal tax law in a direct and blatant matter.” Attorneys are prohibited from encouraging or assisting taxpayers with avoiding or breaking federal tax law. Some tax professionals have suggested that the Fund’s lawyers may be subjected to sanctions for their role in the protest.

Participants in the protest, however, are hoping for their day in court to challenge what they consider improper restrictions on their rights. Assuming that they get their day, expect it to fail. There has never been a successful challenge to this rule for a reason – most taxpayers do not wish to subsidize with their tax dollars a pastor’s “right” to impose their political beliefs on any other person. But keep watching… this could get interesting!

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