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HomeCommentaryI’m the Undecided Middle Class Voter

I’m the Undecided Middle Class Voter

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As the presidential candidates continue their delegate gathering with speeches, tweets, videos and talk show appearances, I find myself perplexed. Why does this national political conversation seem to be a dialogue from the edges? I’m an undecided voter that has been left in the dust by the race to the extreme margins on both sides of the political aisle.

I am bewildered by the cast and the colliding contradictions that my fellow Americans seem to be accepting or celebrating. I thought being old, white and a man, was the anti-christ to progressives and yet Bernie Sanders is now a cool outsider? As for Trump, calling him an evangelical is like saying Gandhi carried a Glock. What is going on in America?

The hysteria over Trump and Sanders is nearing fever pitch in some circles. The result has  made me open to hearing more from Hilary Clinton. Unfortunately when I started tuning in, what she was saying alienated me even more:

“The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights…That doesn’t mean that we don’t do everything we possibly can, in the vast majority of instances to, you know, help a mother who is carrying a child and wants to make sure that child will be healthy, to have appropriate medical support.” -Interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press”

Then in an apparent effort to drive moderate swing voters off the cliff, she expanded her disdain:

“Trump may be the most outrageous of the Republicans, but he is saying what all of them believe…They want abortion to be illegal, and they do want to punish women and doctors. Trump just committed the sin of having telling people what they think.” -Speech at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn

As a voter that was hoping this new presidential race would provide a candidate that would build bridges instead of barriers in this country, I’m out of luck again. The last two terms have been exhausting to endure and yet it appears Americans want dead locked, polarized politics in Washington.

What are the issues have blaring through the media loudspeakers that leave you tuning the candidates out in this campaign season?

If you are undecided, what are some of your reasons?
Eric Blauer
Eric Blauerhttp://fcb4.tumblr.com/
I am Frederick Christian Blauer IV, but I go by Eric, it sounds less like a megalomaniac but still hints at my Scandinavian destiny of coastal conquest and ultimate rule. I have accumulated a fair number of titles: son, brother, husband, father, pastor, writer, artist and a few other more colorful titles by my fanged fans. I am a lover of story be it heard, read or watched in all beauty, gory or glory. I write and speak as an exorcist or poltergeist, splashing holy water, spilling wine and breaking bread between the apocalypse and a sleeping baby. I am possessed by too many words and they get driven out like wild pigs and into the waters of my blog at www.fcb4.tumblr.com. I work as a pastor at Jacob's Well Church (www.jacobswellspokane.com) across the tracks on 'that' side of town. I follow Christ in East Central Spokane among saints, sinners, angels, demons, crime, condoms, chaos, beauty, goodness and powerful weakness. I have more questions than answers, grey hairs than brown, fat than muscle, fire than fireplace and experience more love from my wife, family and friends than a man should be blessed with in one lifetime.

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Brad Thompson
Brad Thompson
7 years ago

“I thought being old, white and a man, was the anti-christ to progressives and yet Bernie Sanders is now a cool outsider?”

It’s never been about age, race nor gender; at most, it’s been about the values you’re likely to adopt when the rest of the world treats you a certain way based on those ultimately meaningless details. Look at it this way: Caitlyn Jenner isn’t a man, but she *thinks* just like a rich, white man because that’s how people have treated her her entire life. She views the world from the perspective of extreme and unearned privelege, and consequently holds some pretty odious views.

Similarly, Bernie Sanders’ appeal isn’t about his demographics, but about his values. (And it’s interesting–to me at least–that he’s held on to thise values despite being an old white dude.) His appeal, for me, lies in the fact that he is willing to challenge the moneyed interests, rather than being their puppet. He is willing, and has shown himself to be able, to work with even the most divisive players in Washington, to make progress by adjusting a thousand tiny details to make the laws being cranked out marginally more just, rather than just trying to slap his name on anything that comes within reach–whether those be bills or buildings.

Furthermore, he’s the only candidate in the race who will use our military not to score points with potential voters, but to actually pursue our interests abroad, with the least loss of life possible. His economic policies–and this confirmed by economists who support his opponents–would lead to a budget surplus and, more importantly, put the economy back on the path of growth that was disropted by the financial crisis. He’d create real jobs, building up real infrastructure, and creating the conditions for us once again to be an exporter of manufactured goods, rather than just natural resources. He’d stabilise social security, so the elderly and disabled don’t have to worry about not having necessary medicine, food, or even a home. And he’d push the minimum wage higher, which would have a twofold effect: first, that adults working full-time would be able to feed their families without government assistance, and second that those workers would put most of that money back into the economy, increasing demand and profitability and thus creating jobs. (Despite right-wing propaganda, employers don’t create jobs. Consumers do.

Of course, all this invites the criticism that such radical changes are impossible, given our current system. And that may or may not be true. But if my brief experience in the legal profession (and my lengthy experience haggling at yard sales) has taught me anything, it’s that you hardly ever get everything you ask for, and rarely even get more than half. Given the reforms needed, we need a leader who will start with bold proposals, and then hammer out the details with a recalcitrant opposition, rather than trying to appease that opposition and accomplishing next to nothing. (We also need a movement on the ground to hold politicians accountable, and that’s where his supporters need to step up.)

Ultimately, there are many reasons why Senator Sanders is my candidate of choice in this election–not the least of which being that the others are all varying degrees of unacceptable to downright horrific. I probably haven’t expressed those reasons as well as they deserve, but those are my preliminary thoughts.

Eric Blauer
7 years ago
Reply to  Brad Thompson

One vote for Bernie.

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

Being an old white dude isn’t the same as being an old Jewish white dude. Ask anybody who was shut out of medical school, social clubs, professional organizations, and on and on in the 20th century.

Eric Blauer
7 years ago
Reply to  Neal Schindler

Two votes for Bernie.

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

I mean, Hillary will be the nominee, so I’ll be voting Hillary. And yes, some of the articles saying Bernie’s ideas aren’t well thought out or wouldn’t be realizable with any kind of conceivable Congress give me pause. Bernie stands for a lot of what I stand for, but I don’t know if the U.S. of today is ready for Bernie. Especially the North Carolina and Mississippi parts of the U.S.

Brad Thompson
Brad Thompson
7 years ago
Reply to  Neal Schindler

I’d say it’s a little early to give up hope at this point. The Clintonistas want everyone to believe that her nomination is a foregone conclusion, and she clearly has the advantage right now, but the race is far from over. (And even if it were, I’m not sure I could in good conscience vote for Clinton.)

(This is the part where party loyalists threaten me with the unthinkable in order to continue selling me the unconscionable.)

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

Also, identity politics isn’t a mathematical formula you plug stuff into and easy answers pop out. The point is not to disqualify anyone who fits criteria A, B, and C on paper. The point is to be aware of what it means in modern society, and what it has meant historically, to be identified as a particular gender, race, class, religion, etc. Identity politics means not believing the lie that one can go through life never seeing color or age or gender expression or religious expression or anything else that makes us different from each other. “I’m not racist, I don’t even see color” is a lie, but I can understand why people tell it. Why? Because identity politics taught me to understand.

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
7 years ago

“Trump may be the most outrageous of the Republicans, but he is saying what all of them believe…They want abortion to be illegal, and they do want to punish women and doctors.”

Even Kasich, the moderate Republican candidate, defunded Planned Parenthood in Ohio. Making abortion difficult/impossible to access or even illegal won’t stop abortion, it’ll just force women to get unsafe ones. I don’t think Hillary’s statement is off the mark. I’d love to hear from a Republican who doesn’t want abortion to be illegal. I know they’re out there, but they’re keeping pretty quiet these days. I’m not sure she’s building barriers so much as pointing out how polarized our politics has become.

Eric Blauer
7 years ago
Reply to  Neal Schindler

That feels like a microagression.

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

Really? I mean, look, if peeps think outlawing abortion will on the whole make life better, of course that’s a valid opinion. I can’t predict exactly how it will all go down if Roe v. Wade is overturned. I don’t think “all” Republicans believe what Trump does about abortion, regarding making it illegal, and certainly not about punishing women. I’d be surprised to find more than a fringe handful of anti-abortion peeps who would want women to be punished. I do think that outlawing abortion could end up punishing women, and of course also doctors who try to perform the procedure safely, since safe or not it would be illegal.

Eric Blauer
7 years ago
Reply to  Neal Schindler

Nearly half (45% or 2.8 million) of the 6.1 million pregnancies in the United States each year(2011) were unintended.

Birth control, birth control, birth control folks. Half! What on earth, is it really that complicated?

GRB1
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

Of course! Birth control! Not that the Catholic church, the largest church organization on earth, hasn’t condemned that. Not that Planned Parenthood, which continues to lose funding by conservatives, isn’t one of the largest suppliers of birth control. Not that access to information about birth control hasn’t been reduced by abstinence only education in schools.

Yeah, I mean, obviously. It’s such an easy, uncomplicated solution.

Brad Thompson
Brad Thompson
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

Fair enough. So perhaps you’d support expanded funding for the nation’s largest provider of birth control, especially to poor families?

Ultimately, if we want to reduce or eliminate the number of abortions in this country we need to provide viable options. That means making sure everyone, everywhere has access to contraception. It means scrapping “abstinence only” propaganda in favour of sex education that will help young people make intelligent, informed decisions. It means making family leave available so that parents aren’t forced to choose between having a child and earning the money to feed that child.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of Feminists for Life and what they’re trying to do. Saying women have a choice is often a cruel irony, given the “choices” society actually offers them. Ultimately, I’d be content with a world where, when women *did* choose abortion, they didn’t do so out of coercive fear of the alternatives.

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

I think what upsets me more than blatant efforts to outlaw abortion is the “death by a thousand papercuts” method of insisting that abortion clinics and providers meet an ever-more-stringent set of standards that begin to seem designed not to ensure women’s safety but instead to make operating a clinic nearly impossible. If you want abortion to be unavailable, just come out and say it. Don’t hide behind disingenuous campaigns that say they’re about women’s safety but are really about reducing women’s options.

Eric Blauer
7 years ago
Reply to  Neal Schindler

Oh my progressive brother, you nailed my conservative existential angst with your description: “death by a thousand paper cuts” which is how I’ve felt for the last 20 years. I guess everyone hates it.

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
7 years ago

Also, as far as unifying is concerned, note what one Democratic senator said about Obama’s Supreme Court nom: “He will be a unifying force if confirmed.” But fat chance that’ll happen!

Eric Blauer
7 years ago
Reply to  Neal Schindler

“Should a justice resign this summer and the president move to name a successor, actions that will occur just days before the Democratic Presidential Convention and weeks before the Republican Convention meets, a process that is already in doubt in the minds of many will become distrusted by all. Senate consideration of a nominee under these circumstances is not fair to the president, to the nominee, or to the Senate itself.

“Mr. President, where the nation should be treated to a consideration of constitutional philosophy, all it will get in such circumstances is a partisan bickering and political posturing from both parties and from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. As a result, it is my view that if a Supreme Court Justice resigns tomorrow, or within the next several weeks, or resigns at the end of the summer, President Bush should consider following the practice of a majority of his predecessors and not — and not — name a nominee until after the November election is completed.”
-Joe Biden, 1992

GRB1
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Blauer

“Nearly a quarter century ago, in June 1992, I gave a lengthy speech on
the Senate floor about a hypothetical vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Some critics say that one excerpt of my speech is evidence that I oppose
filling a Supreme Court vacancy in an election year. This is not an
accurate description of my views on the subject. Indeed, as I conclude
in the same statement critics are pointing to today, urged the Senate
and White House to work together to overcome partisan differences to
ensure the Court functions as the Founding Fathers intended. That
remains my position today.” – Joe Biden, 2016

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/02/22/3752298/no-joe-biden-didnt-say-that-the-senate-should-block-supreme-court-nominees-during-an-election-year/

You can use Google to get accurate information, too.

Eric Blauer
7 years ago

No constitutional rights even up to birth.

The View, co-host Paula Faris asked Clinton, “At what point does someone have constitutional rights, and are you saying that a child, on its due date, just hours before delivery, still has no constitutional rights?” Clinton responded,

Under our law that is the case, Paula. I support Roe v. Wade because I think it is [an important] statement about the importance of a woman making this most difficult decision with consultation by whom she chooses.

Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/hillary-clinton-addresses-her-controversial-abortion-comments-unborn-have-no-rights#o2lse37wXgrG1CDt.99

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