Closing Arguments: Part 1

I decided, now that we're down to decision time, that I should state the case both against Obama and for Mitt Romney, for why I'll be voting for Mitt Romney in 5 days.

To start, we'll look at why Barack Obama does not deserve re-election.

When Barack Obama took office, we had a recession which, while not yet a recovery, had hit its "inflection point" about the time of his election the previous November.  Things had not started turning around, but they had stopped getting bad as quickly- which, in a normal cycle, would indicate recovery was about to come.  Instead, he and the Democrat super majority in congress shoved through the Stimulus, which was really just a pay-back bill for Democrat constituencies.  They passed the Dodd-Frank regulatory nightmare.  And then they began preparing the way for ObamaCare.

As a result, the economy tanked.  It re-inflected (I just made that term up) and started getting worse faster again.  Unemployment shot up to above 10% by official numbers, by real numbers it got as high as about 20%.  It has, indeed, come down some in that time, but not nearly to where it should have.  GDP is growing slower than inflation.  Unemployment remains locked around 8% (7.8% was the last number, the new numbers are due out tomorrow), but even that lowering of unemployment requires a drop in the labor participation rate.  Labor participation is near record lows.

Politicians call this a "recovery."  Depending on the political persuasion of the pol, they'll call it "the worst recovery since x" or point to "very positive signs of recovery."  They're wrong.  There has been no recovery.  Gas prices, while not quite the "more than double" they were just a few weeks ago are still significantly higher than the roughly $1.80 per gallon they were when Mr. Obama was inaugurated.  Mr. Obama points to the fact we're producing more oil and gas now than we were 4 years ago, but fails to mention the fact that's all on State or private land.  Federal leases have been slashed.  The increase in energy production in the US has been despite Mr. Obama's efforts, not because of them.

Then we can look at the stimulus scandals.  Solyndra jumps to mind, as do other "green energy" companies.  Billions of dollars wasted, spent on Obama's cronies and boosters.

Fiscally, Barack Obama has been a miserable failure.

Then we can look at social policy.  Never forget that, as a State Senator in Illinois, Mr. Obama voted twice against a law that would have required babies born alive after botched abortions to have protections.  Specifically to stop the practice of allowing such children to die of dehydration or exposure in some closet somewhere.  Mr. Obama, who normally voted "present" on any issue of actual importance, broke that general rule to vote in favor of allowing babies to die, cold and alone.

Realizing this, Barack Obama decided to get rid of Don't Ask Don't Tell.  The removal of that policy has already created problems with "transgender" soldiers demanding special consideration.  He refuses to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.  Now, a full discussion of homosexual marriage is beyond the scope of this particular post, but I'll just say his morals obviously don't align with mine.

His Administration has cut off funds to Texas because Texas decided that Planned Parenthood should not get money which was earmarked for cancer service providers.  Now, we in Texas don't see anything wrong with that, since Planned Parenthood provides no cancer services of any kind.  Mr. Obama decided that was beyond the pale, however, and cut Federal funding.

Socially, Barack Obama has been a miserable failure.

Then, foreign policy.

A litany of Barack Obama's failures would simply take too much time and be too long to expect anyone to read.  They are legion.  From the "reset button" to asking Putin for "more flexibility;" from Fast and Furious to the fact we're arming Al Qaida in Syria.  Three illegal (no Congressional Authorization) wars.  The Benghazi attack.  I could continue for weeks.

In foreign policy, Barack Obama has been a miserable failure.

At everything a President is expected to do, Barack Obama has been a miserable failure.  In the powers he's seized, he has been a miserable tyrant.  Barack Obama deserves no one's vote on Tuesday.  Don't give him yours.