A New Wave

Enough With The Roe v. Wade Arguments

Since Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination on June 7, I have read at least two articles a day by progressive bloggers telling Democratic women why it is in women's best interests to vote for Barack Obama. Of the numerous articles, these six are the most representative arguments.

In every case these purveyors of wisdom alternately chide us, berate us for being angry at the media, the Democratic Party system, and its leaders, and lecture us about throwing away our Freedom of Choice if we do not do the right thing and vote for Barack Obama.

First, let me get something out of the way: I'm a proponent and advocate of ensuring women's reproductive rights.

Obama Says No Privatization Of Social Security

Barack Obama would change the way payroll taxes are levied for Social Security, eliminating the tax on wages between $102,000 and $250,000, but re-assessing it on incomes of $250,000 or more annually.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Democratic Sen. Barack Obama on Friday called for higher payroll taxes on wage-earners making more than $250,000 annually, a step that would affect the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans.

Obama's Tax Plan Good For Low & Middle Class

It pays to read.

I found this nugget posted yesterday at The Carpetbagger Report. Because I'm sort of a geeky person and frequently like to (try to) wrap my head around economics (it was one of my favorite subjects in college!), I followed their link to this blog, which provides some helpful non-geek speak on tax policies. The bottom line difference between a John McCain tax policy and a Barack Obama tax policy is this:

Bush (& Company) World

"I could have used better rhetoric":

John McCain's Bad Day

It Was a Two-strike Plus Day For John McCain:

Why Is It...

...that Hillary Clinton keeps doing so well against John McCain, but Barack Obama doesn't? (See also here).

Seems to me this is a question the Democratic Party - and superdelegates - should be asking. But they aren't. There is now a fast-moving media train (NBC/MSNBC) driving Barack Obama straight to the nomination. And they are in a symbiotic relationship with the "liberal" blogosphere ("liberal" being a term I use very loosely these days, because it is primarily the liberal blogosphere that keeps creating an "us vs. them" mentality: African Americans vs. whites; young vs. old; urban vs. everybody else; "racists" vs. "progressives").

But here's some news for Barack Obama and his coterie of followers: Clinton's base of blue-collar working class voters understands that Hillary "gets it": the kitchen table issues - economy, jobs and job security, education, health care, national security, Iraq. They (like me) don't put much stock in soaring rhetoric with platitudes of "change" and "unity." We elect our presidents based on what their plans are for our concerns. What exactly does Barack Obama offer us? "Change." It's a great feel-good theme. We all want to feel better about ourselves and our country after the total mess George W. Bush has left for us. But I'm less concerned about whether Barack Obama will "change" politics as we know it and more concerned about his plans to deal with the crises we face. Here's a rundown: