BIRMINGHAM —
I come from a fiscally conservative, socially responsible, mostly Republican family. However, the politics of “no compromise” displayed by the majority of Republicans in recent years has given me pause to rethink my party affiliation. Throughout the last four years, senate Republicans have followed lockstep behind their leader Mitch McConnell, whose top priority has been to “make sure President Obama is a one-term president.” This putting party before country has been occurring during a time when our country was in two wars and facing a potential second Great Depression, none of which was caused by President Obama.
I want a president who will represent all Americans. To automatically write off 47 percent of Americans for not paying federal income taxes is reprehensible. Most of these people have worked and paid taxes throughout their lives and many have probably paid a higher total tax rate than Gov. Romney in many years. I am sure most who are now unemployed would love to be paying taxes again like they were before the Great Crash, which was caused by an unregulated Wall Street run amuck. Why would we want to undo, as Romney proposes, those regulations to rein in Wall Street that have passed in recent years?
Top reasons to support the president’s reelection are:
1. The Iraq War is over, Bin Laden is dead and the war in Afghanistan is winding down.
2. The economy is recovering. President Obama inherited an economy that was going through the toughest times since the Great Depression. He didn’t give up on America, and he didn’t give up on Detroit. When he took office, the U.S. automobile industry was in such a state of disrepair that most experts (including Gov. Romney) thought it stood no chance of survival. Obama took serious heat for agreeing to bail out U.S. automakers, but the program was a success. Today the big three automakers are turning profits, opening new factories and hiring again.
3. The Affordable Care Act is here. Although this law may not be perfect, it goes a long way toward achieving the dream of universal health care pursued by Democrats and Republicans for the last 40 years. Americans should not have to face the specter of bankruptcy because they cannot afford the cost of health care.
4. Final Reason: Gov. Romney still hasn’t released his tax returns. What is he hiding?
Jennifer Hoy Steffen
Birmingham
Letters to the Editor
October 25, 2012
A few reasons to vote for Obama
- Letters to the Editor
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- Address mental health concerns for veterans Memorial Day will soon be here and we will pay tribute to our deceased loved ones. This Memorial Day, let's pay special tribute to our deceased veterans — like my dad — Don Butts, who served in World War II (Battle of the Bulge — one of the worst bat
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