A Week of Republican Hand Holding

The face on the tiki tissue box at left, sold in many stores, looks eerily familiar.

Can I get you a tissue? Would you like a shoulder to cry on? Yes, I know, I know. You really don’t like the Democrats. Sigh…

It was this week that I discovered what sore losers Republicans are after losing the “big race,” the Presidential election. Come on, guys, get a grip! Everything’s going to be great! Relax. Just wait and see!

My father was the first grumbler to contact me, by emailing me that McCain and Palin were “lucky” to not win the election since the economy is in such horrific shambles. Hmmm. Sour grapes?

My friend, Selma, who works for me in Seattle, told me she was wearing the American Flag pinned upside down on a red sweatshirt. “It’s a sign of distress,” she said, “Because that’s what we’re in, a time of distress.” Poor Selma, Bless her heart!

My Cousin, Carla, who lives in hurricane ravaged New Orleans, sent me an article from the ultra conservative, Carolina Journal online, dated Nov. 4, about how the Democrats want to “spread the wealth,” by seizing private 401Ks and IRAs and roll them into the social security program. Gullible, you say? Since when did Democrats become Socialists? I consoled Carla – there’s no way this will happen.

I reminded Carla that I had just lost a substantial bit of money when the Bush administration seized Washington Mutual Bank, dissolved the stocks *poof!* and turned over the assets to JP Morgan Chase. Talk about socialization! Talk about spreading the wealth! “This is real,” I reminded her, not just an opinion, such as the doom and gloom in the article you sent me. (See the Nov. 9 Seattle Times.)

Since before the election, hundreds of fear mongering emails have circulated claiming that if Obama is elected, his administration will come into your house, take away your guns, rip the babies from your teenage daughter’s wombs, suck dry your bank account, dissolve the military, and make Islam this country’s national religion. All I can ask, is please consider the news source. Is it the New York Times where you heard this? How about the Washington Post? USA Today? A major metropolitan newspaper? Was it even a real newspaper? Or was it a blog, such as this one? Or an email? Or, God forbid, FOX News?

A “legitimate” news source will be part of the “mainstream media,” (MSM) and most likely be a contributing member to a newswire service, such as the Associated Press, which requires their reporters to be, “dedicated to the same standards – fairness, balance, and accuracy.” Before the election season, the newspaper where my husband works issued this reminder: “News staffers are encouraged to be involved in their communities to the extent that such activities don't create real or apparent conflicts or interest. Involvement in politics, demonstrations, and social causes that would create conflicts of interest or the appearance of such conflicts should be avoided. News staffers should avoid any public political activity, including contributions. They should not run for office, sign political petitions or campaign for any candidate or political cause.” This doesn’t mean that newspapers don’t sometimes print one-sided pieces. However, the difference is that these will appear on the opinion, humor, and editorial pages, not in the news sections.

So, who really wants to slander Obama? Who wants to spread false rumors about him so that people lose their trust in him, thereby reducing his potential power to change the status quo?

The rich and powerful, of course. The owners of FOX News, for one, who will have to pay higher taxes, assuming the new administration will have its way. Greed of money is the strongest motivator for political manipulation. I ask these movers and shakers, do you really need that extra 4.6% in taxes that you will have to pay under Obama’s tax plan? How much money do you really need to live on? Isn’t fixing our troubled nation more important?

I did some research and learned that a person earning, say one million dollars a year, will pay 39.6% in Federal income tax instead of the old rate of 35%. (Social Security will only be taxed up to $106,800 in 2009 according to Wikipedia’s segment on income tax).

Here’s a comparison:

Tax on $1,000,000 for 2008:
Social Security: 6.2% x $106,800 = $8,170
Medicare: 1.45% x $1,000,000 = $14,500
Federal Income Tax: 35% x $1,000,000 = $350,000

Total tax: $372,670 (without deductions)
Take home: $627,330

Tax on $1,000,000 for 2009:
Social Security: 6.2% x $106,800 = $8,170 (same)
Medicare: 1.45% x $1,000,000 = $14,500 (same)
Federal Income Tax: 39.6% x $1,000,000 = $396,000

Total tax: $418,670 (without deductions)
Take home: $581,330 

That’s still a lot of jelly beans! You should be so lucky. Federal income tax of 39.6% is really not that high. According to Wikipedia, as recently as 1981, a person earning $1,000,000 would have paid 70% in Federal Income tax, or $700,000 per year without deductions. In 1954, they would have paid 91% or $910,000 per year, without deductions.

Other than high income earners, the only other individual I know personally who might have a legitimate worry is my dear friend, Mirabella, who is the ultimate capitalist. She runs a novelty item manufacturing company where most of her products are made overseas in China, currently her cheapest option.

Due to policy changes under the Obama administration, Mirabella will be motivated to move her outsourcing to factories located here in the United States, maybe even to here in Florida where WKMG Local 6 news reported that 8,000 job applicants showed up for a job fair in Orlando on Wednesday, Nov. 12 where only 2500 candidates were expected, so many that some were turned away. At the time, the Workforce Central Florida website listed only 946 open positions. Moving your manufacturing back to the United States could be a good thing – it’s hard to sell products to people with no jobs.

Today, the U. S. Department of Labor issued a report that 43 percent of the over 200,000 jobs lost in the past month nationwide were due to – you guessed it – a decrease in business demand, a.k.a. no customers.

I understand why the Republicans are afraid. I was once a Republican myself. Although I did not vote for Bill Clinton in the 1992 election, and did not even like Bill Clinton at the time, my life benefited exponentially over the course of President Clinton’s administration. A couple of years after Clinton took office, things began to look up for me personally.  Jobs suddenly seemed much more plentiful; prices of food and goods more affordable; I was finally able to qualify to buy a house; and I received good healthcare. I changed my political affiliation to Democrat in 1994. I was a true convert.

So, my message to my dear Republican friends: Just relax. Everything will be okay. Changes will come, but they will be for the better. I promise!

Maybe, even for you, Mirabella…

Four Grueling Days with an Obama Foe

My father was in a minor car accident a couple weeks ago, so I drove down to Clearwater, FL, mostly just to drive dad around, but also just to be there in case he took a turn for the worse. Mom had come down on vacation from NC, but had to go back to work. I ended up spending only four days with “dear old dad,” eager to leave and escape the intense “I hate Obama” atmosphere in the home.

There has never been any question of who my father would support in this election. Dad has always voted for the Republican Presidential candidate, mostly citing lower taxes as his reason. However, I did not count on dad’s anger, about an eight on a scale from one to ten, against the popular black Presidential candidate, Barack Obama.

Dad hates Democrats. However, he hates blacks even more. The source of his anger, which he claims stems from attending a black school in Philadelphia as a teenager, is most likely actually bred into him by the society in which he grew up. Dad was raised in the Depression and blacks were often the scapegoat for the bad economy, blamed for taking jobs meant for whites and blamed for committing the majority of crimes.

On a typical evening: Dad watches TV from his recliner, remote control in hand. Dad mutes every single Obama commercial, and instead, uses this opportunity to vent his extreme political feelings, yelling, “He’s an idiot!”

FOX news, the Republican controlled media, is the only acceptable news show. He used to watch ABC, but dad’s not interested in hearing what they have to say. Instead, FOX displays a very filtered and one-sided view of the world, ignoring important “real” news stories, and spending valuable air time covering local Republican rallies, showing McCain’s and Palin’s shining faces smiling at the crowds.

FOX news reports that actress/singer Jennifer Hudson’s family in Chicago was murdered, so dad says this is proof that blacks are violent. FOX news reports on a scuffle in a black neighborhood in Clearwater and dad says this is proof that blacks are stupid. FOX news reports that a Biden rally is causing traffic jams. What an inconvenience!

When FOX does show coverage of Obama, dad mutes the TV and won’t turn up the sound again until something comes on he wants to see, perhaps an update on fighting in Iraq. Mom and I watch the TV in silence, unable to do anything. Dad is in control.

When FOX shows the latest polls with Obama leading, dad changes the channel.

Obama buys a half hour prime airtime on Wednesday night, so Dad watches an old rerun of Law and Order on an independent TV channel. “He lies, he just lies,” says Dad.

Dad spends much of his time on the internet, exchanging secret racist jokes with other like-minded friends and family. He has nicknamed Barack Obama, “B.O.,” for “Body Odor,” since he says blacks stink.

Despite the numerous visits by very famous candidates and politicians to the Tampa Bay/Clearwater area, dad has no interest in attending any rallies. Nader comes to speak down the street, and I’d like to go, but dad isn’t even curious.

A few weeks ago, dad said he was eating in a restaurant in Clearwater when Obama unexpectedly showed up. Dad slipped out the door, eager to escape the popular fervor for a candidate he truly hates.

Dad isn’t a McCain supporter, either. He doesn’t like the man and voted for Mitt Romney in the primary. No, dad isn’t voting “for” anyone, but instead will be voting “against” the black candidate.

I assumed that dad’s racist anger was unique to his age group, the senior crowd raised to believe that blacks are a less evolved subset of the human race and are inferior to whites. However, a friend of mine told me that he has seen the same level of anger in much younger people, too.

I found the behavior shocking and embarrassing. How can this be my own father? How can he be so angry at such a wise and wonderful leader, Barack Obama? How can my dad, such an intelligent man, a former college professor and research scientist, be so unintelligent? Doesn’t he care that his taxes will be lower under Obama? Isn’t that what he’s always preached to me as his reason for voting Republican?

I “escaped” dad’s home on Friday, leaving several days earlier than originally planned. The kitchen was cleaner, dad was walking without crutches, and the refrigerator was fully stocked full of food. I feel bad that I won’t be there to drive my dad to the voting polls. Unlike him, I truly want him to have a voice and exercise his right to vote, even though I don’t agree with his political views. However, my mental health can’t take being around him right now.