I Won't Vote for Obama

I am a sucker.

In 2003, I believed we needed to invade Iraq. In 2008, I thought Barack Obama was someone I could believe in.

So yes, I am a sucker. I've eaten up my fair share of bullshit lines in my day. I do, however, at least try to learn from my mistakes. I have become much less hawkish (or chickenhawkish, as it were) on military matters, and I'm never, ever, going to vote for Obama again. What's more, I'm never, ever going to believe another word that comes out of his mouth. The man is a liar, a sociopath, or both.

He ran on hope. He ran on change. And what did we get? The man who will destroy the last vestiges of the New Deal. Even George W. Bush was not so bold.

Obama wants to be reelected and, I think, wants to craft a legacy. He believes that to do this, he must seize the center. He must transcend partisanship. To do that, he has sold every one of us who believed in him down the river.

There won't be a primary challenge, the plutocracy won't allow it. Think of it: the setup they have now is perfect. A psychotic Republican to inspire the lunatics in the Tea Party, and a center-right DINO to collect the fear votes of everyone else.

American democracy is a sham and a lie. This country is run by the rich, for the rich, and we let it happen. We took the bait, and we elected a man who left his conscience far behind for the world of political ladder-climbing. To his credit, he's playing the game well. I believe he got the cuts he wanted. I believe he'll be able to write his memoirs in ten years, taking credit for "saving" our country from the crushing weight of its "inefficient, overburdened welfare state".

And the corporate media will fawn. History, they'll say, has judged President Obama kindly. Surely, there were great battles with the Tea Party, with John Boehner and Eric Cantor, with the "fringe" of his own party! But he weathered the storms, and now taxes are lower than ever, government outlays as a percentage of GDP haven't been lower since before the New Deal!

Success!