Romney Implementing Etch-A-Sketch Strategy

In the wake of his uptick in the polls, Mitt Romney is in the process of reinventing himself as a populist. Everybody by now knows the first Presidential debate was disappointing for Democrats, with an unenthusiastic effort by President Obama. As a result, the race has tightened. Challenger Mitt Romney is doing exactly what he said he’d do, shaking the political “Etch-A-Sketch” and becoming a more moderate and compassionate-seeming candidate, presumably to persuade more Americans he is the better choice for the country.

There can be no doubt whatsoever that he is not the better choice if you are a woman, or gay, or struggling financially, or care about the environment. He embodies the Wall Street mindset. He is enthusiastic about coal, oil and gas; disparaging towards renewable energy. He will lead us further into the myopic, heartless, gutless world of the bottom line built upon and kept in place by fear and superstition. He is wholly motivated by his own ambition. If America elects him, I won’t be blaming all the extra millions pumped into his campaign by a handful of powerful donors, mostly representing Wall Street. I’ll be blaming my fellow Americans, for being so easy to fool all of the time.

Not that Barack Obama is the candidate I’d like to vote for either. He is weak, at best, on issues I think are of utmost importance: global warming, ending war (especially war by drone attack), indefinite detention, protecting worker rights, even education. And still better on all these issues than Romney. On women’s rights, there’s no contest. Romney has said he would like to see Roe V. Wade overturned (so has Justice Antonin Scalia, by the way) and would appoint pro-life Supreme Court Justices. He has promised to de-fund Planned Parenthood. As part of his “Etch-A-Sketch” remake, though, he is playing dumb about his stance on women’s issues.

The Republicans have enshrined their misogyny in their platform– it’s there in black and white. And yes, I do believe that the rights of half the population are more important than the deficit. To spell it out to my male relatives who think that’s a crazy stance.

I am sick to death of the “lesser of two evils” argument. Both parties are corrupt, both candidates shill for corporate America. But of course I’m going to vote for Obama because, yes, he is by far the lesser of the two evils.

Congress and the President are supposed to be advocates for the people and steer a course to a better, more secure future. And yet, in a heartbeat, a candidate for President will change his stated views to win an election. That’s not honest. It’s not good for democracy. Americans need real debate and real facts. It’s interesting that in the debate, Romney charged the President with not being entitled to his own facts, since Romney’s own campaign has stated they will not be bound by facts. Indeed Romney apparently won the debate by making up his own facts.

The records are there for all to see. But if Americans are solely persuaded by the volume of ad-buys- and they might be- then, it’s all over anyway, and probably has been for a long time. Yes, Obama did not debate well. But Romney presented himself as a wholly different candidate to the American people that night; he didn’t just tell lies, he was, himself, a lie.