31 October 2008

US politics - final push

Continuing emails from the US have pushed me to make my final contributions to the campaigns I support. Scratch that - there may be another contribution or two over the next few days.

My absentee ballot still hasn't arrived in Seoul, and I will need to fax in my ballot, it seems. But until then, I will do everything in my powers to block the Republican and 2MB agendas in America.

The Obama campaign is in overdrive mode, campaigning in McCain's home state of Arizona - of all places! He needs all the help he can get, and I am glad to pitch in a bit more. I don't want Obama to just win; he must win by a landslide, so that America's will becomes crystal clear to the world. All the Moonie-funded McCain smears on Obama (all of them false, at that) have enraged me. The Moonies and 2MB both need their behinds kicked, and I must ensure an Obama presidency, so that he can actually do the ass-kicking for me (and for America and the rest of the world).

I also got a last-minute email from No on 8. Proposition 8 is still losing 42-47, but I still believe it has a chance to win - and enshrine discrimination into the California constitution. I certainly don't want that, so I forwarded another $100 to the No campaign, to be matched 1:1 by a gay philanthropist couple. I had had absolutely no intention of forwarding any more money to the No on 8 campaign, but changed my mind, since the newest ad, featuring African-American Samuel L. Jackson and honing in on the false smears of the Yes campaign (as well as re-iterating the fairness theme), seemed to be very convincing. I also read campaign materials in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese - the four official languages of California's homophobia; even though these materials do not specifically address the cultural concerns of the ethnic communities involved, they still make a good argument, backed up by dozens of ethnic organizations endorsing the No campaign.

I do know that the majority of Latinos, and the overwhelmingly majority of Korean-Americans, will vote Yes on 8, thanks to all the politicking by the churches and South Korea's government. The Yes vote is also quite strong in Chinese-American and Vietnamese-American communities, as both communities are far more Christian than their home countries. But it does look close enough that every vote WILL count. A few Latino and Korean defectors to the No side may be all that California will ever need, to preserve its tradition of tolerance.

I don't want any regrets when the votes are counted. This is the last opportunity for me to make a difference, and I must. Glad to be able to help.

Barack Obama
No on 8 (multilingual pamphlets)