Obama Landslide in 2012

It was no surprise that Barack Obama became a two term president, but the overwhelming support that was shown by his landslide victory gives him incredible political clout. Unlike the “political capital” that George W. Bush claimed after his narrow victory over John Kerry Obama’s large percentage shows he has the will of the majority. The Obama victory can be tied to two political events that altered the Republican party and aroused the sleeping giant of the formerly apathetic non-voting bloc. These were aided by a third voting group that was alienated by the conservative movement.

The first event was the formation of the so called ‘Tea Party Movement.’ A group of people who rallied around the cry of back to basics and an adherence to the principles of the founding fathers decided to ignore the “all men are created equal” statement by allowing racist overtones to invade their platform. The racism wasn’t initially a part of the movement, but the denial of the racist component and the fear of ‘minority’ empowerment degraded the initial intent of the movement.
The documented proof of this racism occurred during a rally in Washington DC where a subset of the “Tea Baggers” were heard shouting the “N-word” at several members of congress who were African-American. Representative Barney Frank Also reported that members of the group called him a faggot. Rather than address this internal issue and publicly denounce the behavior it was blamed on the media and ‘infiltrators’ trying to disrupt the movement.

The second trigger event was the passage of Arizona SB1070 in early 2010, which was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer. The law gave police broad powers to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. The demand for “papers” from anyone potentially illegal brought to mind events in Nazi Germany. The obvious racial profiling seemed to be condoned by many on the political right.

A third group, separated by the above two segments because they belonged to no particular ethnicity was the GLBT (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender) contingent. They also had, and have, continue to be pushed down by the far right Christian Conservatives who seem to have a death grip on control of the Republican party.
So this political entity, the Republican Party, allowed momentum of “anti-liberal” joiners to swell their ranks. But from those joiners the ranks became rank. Encouraged by the momentum that seemed to be building within the conservative movement there was no outcry at the radical elements who would have in other circumstances possibly been thrown to the curb.

A growing sentiment of elitism and racism within the party eventually united the people that they were trying to put down. The party of Lincoln (remember him) now was a group that brought racism into their fold, and from that empowered those people they felt would fold. The mistake awakened a sleeping giant.
African Americans make up 12.4% of the country. Hispanics make up 15.4% of the country. Non religious people make up 13% of the population. GLBT make up 4% of the population. 37% of the population are socially progressive white folks. Even with the obvious overlap this still makes a huge percentage of the population that isn’t buying into the hate.

Conservative media slammed ACORN for activism and registering voters who had been part of the oppressed minorities, but in the aftermath a purer voter registration group, the League of Women Voters saw a tidal wave of registration unlike any seen in the history of the country.

It’s OK To Brag. “Aw, Shucks, Little Ol’ Me” Doesn’t Inspired Confidence

Yesterday I told my daughter that she was beautiful. As a father I may be a bit biased on that, and I can accept that. But it doesn’t diminish the fact that she is beautiful by standards other than mine. Yet she doesn’t take a compliment well, and I think that is a problem with a lot of people, me included.

Somehow the rules of our society make it almost a crime to say that something you did is praise worthy. That is a load of bologna. (To people not familiar with that phrase, it’s a polite way of saying it is BS) It’s OK to be proud and to speak of your accomplishments. It’s not OK to run them in someone’s face or to talk about them as a way of hogging the spotlight or putting other people down, but you worked hard to accomplish the things that you have done and it is just fine to claim them as your own.

I graduated from college with a 3.92 grade point average. It was a lot of work to maintain that average and I bypassed many opportunities of a social nature to make sure my work got done and that my papers and tests deserved the scores that they got. I am proud of that work and won’t hide it, but some people don’t even want to admit they went to college when they get into a certain atmosphere. “Oh, you’re a college boy, are you?” was a line of derision on an old TV show I used to watch and that attitude still pervades the manufacturing community to some extent. Hard core blue collar workers (my co-workers at one point) would deride me for taking classes at night. I was somehow sucking up to the bosses by trying to better myself. I never understood that attitude.

Although I have used my personal experiences as examples here, this isn’t about me. It’s about being able to take pride in a job well done and being able to say “Yes, that was me.” You worked hard to get where you are and it’s OK to brag. Not an “in your face” brag, but a standing tall brag. You don’t go into an interview and tell a potential client or employer how unworthy you are so don’t go into the world like that. Hold you head up and be proud of your accomplishments and yourself.

Next time you get a compliment don’t shrug it off; thank the person and take the compliment to heart. Don’t deflect it by returning a compliment, just relax and enjoy the glow it gives you. Use your gifts to make the world a better place and enjoy your place in it. You are a gift to the world and never ever forget that.

Oh, also working on a new website - Britt-Marketing go check it out. Thanks