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I'm a small-l libertarian, and I support Barack Obama for President.
My decision was heavily influenced by several months of lurking here on Democratic Underground. I've read numerous pro- and anti-Obama threads and posts, and found myself agreeing with most of the pro-Obama dialogue. Then I donated to his campaign. Then I started telling friends and coworkers to listen to him--even encouraged them to go vote. Then I watched the "Yes We Can" video after coming across the link here a few days ago, and forwarded that link to all of my family & friends.
As a small-l libertarian, I'm usually inclined towards mistrust of the government and government solutions--but when someone like Obama comes along, the inspiration of his message, his actions, and his ideas overcomes that tendency to suspect motive. So many politicians are just in the political racket to gain power over others... but Obama seems different, and his message is one that we desperately need in this country: unity, cooperation, and trust in each other.
His message stands in stark contrast to the Bush/Cheney mantra of constant suspicion of our neighbors, mistrust of everyone but the government, and mass fear at all times. We've been told that we're constantly in danger, and each day we're told of new assaults upon our civil liberties--told that our freedoms are being taken away to protect our liberty. WTF? 1984 was supposed to be a fictional work, not a blueprint. We need to throw off this shadow that has smothered our national psyche for so many years. We need to take back our government, and we can only do this as a united people, a united nation.
Obama offers the opportunity for real discourse across party lines. There are many of us out there: non-liberal Americans who will support a candidate who proposes liberal, even extremely liberal, ideas so long as the arguments aren't couched in language that is insulting or demeaning to those opposed. Hillary has made a career out of insulting and demeaning anyone who opposes her: to many of us, this seems to be an extension of the Bush/Cheney message of mistrust, suspicion of our neighbors and fellow Americans, and constant fear. No thanks!
So while many hardcore Democrats might be uncomfortable with Obamacans and Obamatarians jumping on the Obamabandwagon, please take heart: you've got a real winner in Barack, and we really do want this guy to win. Because even if we might disagree philosophically with some of his political ideas, we trust him, we believe in his message, and we think he is one who will help us to find our way back to "E Pluribus Unum"
And if electing him means that the whole Democratic Party platform gets enacted into law in the first year of his presidency, well you know what? That's ok by this small-l libertarian voter.
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