You Didn’t Do It Yourself!

Back in July, candidate Obama reminded us that success, even entrepreneurial, is not an individual accomplishment when he said “…if you started your own business, you didn’t build it yourself…” Of course, the Romney campaign took that phrase out of context and tried to bash him with it.

Well, I do not want to bash President Obama but I do want to remind him that he spoke the truth. Mr. President, you didn’t do it yourself! You had help from your fantasy-land opponents who were and are so unaware of and unconnected to those of us outside the Beltway. Your tears this past week indicated that you are aware of the awesome ground game put forth by your campaign staff and volunteers. You are not going to be President for another term on your own doing.

Do not forget that it was those of us who voted early in Ohio weeks before November 6th, those of us who stood in lines for more hours than many put in for a work day, those of us who refused to be intimidated by attempted voter suppression by the Republicans who have given you four more years. We did that not because we like you. Truth is that we do not really know you personally well enough to call you a friend. We voted to give you four more years because we really want the kinds of progressive change evident throughout results of voting across the country. Women won in precedented numbers. The right to marry whom one loves was supported by referendum. A more rational approach to recreational drug use was affirmed by State majorities. Radical ‘right to life’ politicians were run out of town in two States where they had every expectation of winning easily held posts.

What we did, what we, the overwhelming majority of The People, did, was at the very least, brought our nation to a tipping point toward a progressive future. You have done all that is either necessary or decent in congratulating Governor Romney and his running mate on their effort. There is absolutely no need for you to play nice with Republicans. There is absolutely no reason for you to compromise the positions you have taken. Do not, for the sake of those of us who have supported you one more time, do anything to tip us backwards by so much as an ounce!

The Republican Party has demonstrated that they do not differ by degrees from the majority of the population, they are totally opposed to the ‘rest of us.’ Do not compromise on the basis of promises that are made by a Party that has just made prevarication a basis for a campaign. They cannot be trusted and cannot be met half-way. The House Speaker speaks compromise but he does so only because he was forced by the election result. They do not respond to nice, they respond only out of necessity.