Romnify: V. To deliberiately mislead or fabricate.

Man, Romney is certainly on a roll. Too bad it isn't necessarily a good one. Too bad, that is, for him. In a recent interview, Romney claimed Obama's stimulus plan was the definition of "insanity". You know the one: repeating the same action, but expecting a different outcome. If I wasn't so irritated with the steady stream of disinformation from the Red corner, I'd find this rather hilarious, considering that his economic and foreign policies are pretty much just the same failed policies enacted under the Bush administration, which is no surprise since he's working with the same advisers. Romney doesn't even have the decency to repackage it. The talking points his campaign have spewed are the same ones we've been hearing for the last decade.

The cherry topping the entire shitstorm sundae is Romney's refusal to disclose anything more than his last two tax returns. Both sides have agreed, he would benefit from the disclosure, unless he is, in fact rather than speculation, hiding something. He's running on the platform of a common sense businessman, who plans to put the American economy back on track. Showing the voters how much he pays into the services we all use would do wonders for his credibility. Unless he utilizes offshore accounts to stash his millions, depriving the American economy of any sort of benefit. Actually, he does. It's well-documented. Perhaps his reluctance stems from his prosperity through clever manipulation of the tax code. Hell, that'd sure put a damper on his claim that he's good for American business.

Another recent development is with his "tax plan" which would place a greater burden on American's making less than $200,000 a year while reducing the Upper-Class's tax burden by an average of $87,000 a year.  Now tell me, how many small business owners gross $200,000 a year in profits? For someone who acts as if he's the champion of small business owners, his tax plan sure seems to do a lot of damage, especially when you factor in the exemptions and deductions he plans to cut. Maybe it's a matter of definitions. Maybe to Romney a small business is like T-mobile, you know, compared to AT&T.

Honestly, his dishonesty is so readily apparent that if anyone who makes less than $200,000 a year actually votes for him, I don't think I can take their opinion seriously. He's the embodiment of Big Business and Corporate Fat Cats. If you think anything else, you might just be delusional.

Oh, Romney...

Romney is definitely having a rough week. After being publicly outed by the Obama Administration for his extremely misleading (and factually inaccurate) attack ads, the first leg of his "Charm the World" tour landed flat on its face. Insultingly ignorant, he paraded about, leaving a slew of offended British diplomats in his wake. By forgetting names and criticizing the London Olympics, he displayed a stunning lack of the finesse necessary to conduct foreign affairs. As good as that will make Obama look in the months leading up to the election, this also motivates me to take part in the campaign.

Backed by the deep pockets of big business, war-hawks, and right-wing fundamentalist PAC's of all sorts, Romney is a viable candidate. The polls show candidates locked in a neck-and-neck race. Between the money and the right-wing's ability to twist and manipulate the vote,  Romney actually stands a chance at winning this election. This terrifies me.

Touting reinstatement of failed Bush-era economic policies, aggressive military tactics, and a low opinion of those who make up the working class, a Romney presidency would mean four to eight years of steady, and possibly, rapid decline. The tax loopholes, from which he benefits, are the same ones that are aiding in the deterioration of the American middle-class. He has adopted the opinions of his handlers, who happen to be Cold War era, warmongering, fat cats with a tendency to make a profit off of war, as well as at the expense (see what I did there?) of the consumer. With Romney at the helm, another war seems likely, if not inevitable.

Is Obama a decent alternative? I don't know. In his first term, he met opposition at every turn. His ideas were big. His plans were long-term transformational pieces of legislation. All of this is admirable. His list of accomplishments versus failures seems to balance out. In recent months, on issues like gun control and equal rights for homosexuals, he has started to jump into the fray, rather than letting the dust settle. Perhaps if granted another four years, this aggressive demeanor will take root and thrive.

There's no doubt in my mind that Obama is the candidate that is best (at the moment) for America. Especially after seeing Romney's inability to conduct matters in a professional, non-offensive manner. Left to his own devices, I am sure he would be harmless, but he seems to be another Bush. Another puppet maneuvered to enact neo-con policy. That is a dangerous person to hold office in such volatile times.

Random Presidential Race Rant (Casting In With...)

Hip-hop on the speakers, pundits on the tv. It's times like this that my brain seems to take off to explore every tangent. Thanks to my grandfather, it frequently stumbles upon some political event, and languishes in the event's absurdity.  The persnickety campaign coverage, with its Escher-like logic, never fails to leave me flabbergasted. The talking heads love taking a ten-word statement and spinning an entire, and usually inaccurate, narrative. With sensationalist muck-raking and deceitful pundits spewing blatant propaganda (both sides are just as guilty of this, but in completely different ways), the media has become a cesspool of amateurism, half-truths, and shaky ethics. Still, I stay tuned in, but, always, I wonder why. Perhaps I'm a masochist.

In respect to the on-going presidential race, I've already decided which candidate will get my vote. Obama's first term left me with mixed feelings. He's had a start-and-stall presidency, thus far. When he took office, I was hopeful. I truly believed that he would follow through with his promise of change, but faced with the "just say no" policy adopted by house and senate Republicans, and the utter lack of cohesion amongst Democrats in congress, most of his more promising initiatives fell flat on the floor (pun intended?).

Almost every day, I hear someone refer to Obama as a socialist. If these people read a book every once in a while, or, you know, read a newspaper, they would see the sheer idiocy of that statement. A candidate who willingly takes money from monolithic banking institutions, can not be, in any sense of the word, a socialist. However, the fact that he's been paid for by Goldman Sachs wears on my nerves. Part of why I wanted him in office was I believed he could bring forth some common sense economic measures.

In spite of all his faults, I still cannot bring myself to abstain from voting. Romney is the embodiment of the culture of ignorance that we need to be fighting tooth and nail. Putting a corporate fat cat, with a penchant for switching up his ideology when it benefits him or his backers, in the White House would be disastrous for the American people.

So, with only a bit of reluctance, I will be casting my vote for Obama, out of fear of Romney and hope that Obama will be more aggressive with his initiatives in the future.