We must vote

In 2008 with the country in a deep recession and slipping slowly into a depression, Blacks, liberals, moderates and—quiet as it’s kept—many conservatives voted for change, which led to the first African-American elected to the White House.

Now less than two years later, as the country gradually recovers from the reign of George Bush and Dick Cheney and a Republican Congress, the same people who put us in this predicament are masquerading as the Tea Party in an effort to rid the country of President Barack Obama by placing do nothing obstructionists in the Senate, House and the governor’s offices throughout the country.

Many of us fought hard to get the first Black man elected in 2008, but one of the key reasons he was able to win by a landslide was the condition this country was in. And for some reason people throughout this country have a short memory.

Some people have expressed their concern that Obama is much more moderate than they would like; they don’t like his war policy in Iraq or Afghanistan; and he didn’t go far enough with his health care program. No, he is not perfect, and he hasn’t been able to please everyone, but when you compare his policies to what we will get with the Republicans back in power, or in control of the House or Senate or both, it’s very clear which direction we must go in this election.

Neither the Tea Party nor the GOP has made any effort to demonstrate to us why we should vote for the Republican Party.

The local races are a reflection of what’s going on nationally, and the results will be key to Obama’s effectiveness. Will he get supporters or obstructionists?

Republican Pat Toomey vs. Democrat Joe Sestak

Pat Toomey has proven to be more conservative than George Bush. He’s more in a class with Cheney. When in Congress he was a solid supporter of the Bush administration. With many of the programs he’s pushing now, such as privatizing Social Security and repealing the health care plan, he has made it very clear that he will vote in lock step with the Republican Party in their do nothing effort to defeat everything the president puts on the table. Whereas Sestak has made it very clear that he may not support everything the president does but on the whole he’s in support of Obama’s efforts to move this country out of the recession. He has stated that small business and education are the key to this country’s recovery. He says he supports tax breaks and other legislation that would make it easier for small businesses to exist and grow as well as being easier to start as they create 80 percent of the jobs in this country. Education, he says, is the key to stopping street violence and moving people out of poverty. He would invest more in these two areas whereas Toomey would cut, sending more money to corporations.

Democrat Dan Onorato vs. Republican Tom Corbett

Once again Tom Corbett has made it very clear that he will do all in his power to defeat anything the president does. He has already begun a campaign to repeal the health care plan, joining many of the Republican-led southern states. Whereas Dan Onorato has seven years of experience in running a government as Allegheny County’s chief executive, Corbett has none. Onorato’s biggest accomplishment has been no property tax increase on his watch. Even though he upset some with the drink tax, he said, “Which would you prefer, drink tax or property tax?”

In an effort to get Toomey and Corbett in for an editorial board meeting where they would have the opportunity to state their case as to why Blacks should vote for them, Toomey never returned several calls, and Corbett’s office stated he was booked, whereas Sestak contacted the Courier, letting us know that our readers’ votes are very important to him, as did Onorato who did come in when called.

We also encourage you to vote for Mike Doyle who has been a friend to the Black community for a number of years. All the other candidates we support are running unopposed.

So for all who support Obama and what he’s trying to do to move this country forward, we must come out and vote Nov. 2. We must vote for Sestak, Onorato and Doyle. Send a message that we voted for change in 2008 and we are voting once again to make sure President Obama is given enough time to implement that change.

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