An open letter to a man who will never read it

"So, yes, if you read DWT you know with which utter contempt I hold Republicans and conservatives and corporate whores and you know I agree with all that horrifying stuff Nick Kristof claimed about the Republican war against women in his NY Times column yesterday. Would it be catastrophic if Obama were to lose and Romney win in November? Yes. And if I lived in Ohio or Florida or Colorado or Wisconsin or any other swing state, I might even hold my nose and vote for Obama. But I live in California and I care barely wait to go to the polls and not vote for him."

Dear Mr. Epstein,

It was with much disgust that I read the post from which the above quote originated.  To be perfectly honest, with "Liberals"--oh, excuse, me you're probably one of those gutless wonders who won't stand up to republican bullshit and prefers the\ term "Progressives"--like you, we don't even need republicans.

For all your bullshit about helping the "common people" your voting decision shows that deep down inside you really couldn't give a shit less about people like me.  It must be really nice to live in your little cocoon of a world where you can make conjecture about what President Obama "might" do in his second term and base your precious vote--or rather gutless decision not to vote--on that.

We common people don't have that luxury.  Let me share a bit with you about what our world is like.  My wife lost her job five years ago thanks to the idiotic policies of the Bush the Lesser administration.  She was in the mortgage industry and you can guess what happened when the bubble popped.  Because our son has a chronic illness (not to be overly dramatic, it isn't life threatening), it has been impossible for her to find a job, and even if she had, she'd have lost it by now due to having to call in sick for all the school days he's missed.  Myself, I lost my job earlier this year.  Most of me losing my job can still be blamed on the W. Bush administration, but people like you who stood by based on your "principles" in 2010 share at least some of the blame.  By the grace of God I was able to find a job in ten weeks, but I took a 20% paycut. 

We common people spend nights tossing and turning in bed worrying if our savings can make up the deficit in our pay until the economy gets stronger, if we're going to be able to feed our families, if we're going to be able to continue to make the mortgage payment on our small homes.  I know you're probably thinking that if we had elected "Progressives" my family might not have these worries.  You may be right, but we can't afford to live in La-La Land.  We have to play the hand we're dealt, and President Obama is that hand.

No, I'm not thrilled with eveything President Obama has done, either.  And though I live in a relatively safe state for the President (Michigan) I can guarantee you he's getting my vote.  Part of it is the auto bailout--us common people here in the greater Detroit area would be living through an economic depression if not for his leadership on the issue.  Part of it is Obamacare--even though I lost my job this year we will be able to get health insurance for our son through my current employer thanks to the wisdom of not allowing insurers to deny care to children because of pre-existing conditions.  But the main reason I will be voting for President Obama is because that tossing and turning I do every night worrying about whether I'll be able to continue feeding my family will more than likely (I'm old enough to know there are no guarantees) remain just a worry.  Under a Romney Presidency, the reality of my family going hungry (and the often stated republican lack of compassion for those living in poverty) is just a little too close for comfort.

Digby and Noam Chomsky may respect your right not to vote, but I don't.  To me, you're no different than those rich people who donate to homeless shelters and food banks and then vote for republicans who do their best to see that as many Americans as possible end up in poverty.  Frankly, you're nothing more than a poser and you can blow your "principles" right out your ass.  You don't give a fuck about common people.

And in case I didn't get my point thoroughly across:  fuck you.

Peace,
emaycee