We’ve been clipping coupons for awhile now. Ok, my husband has been clipping coupons for awhile now.
This weekend I cut both my son and husbands’ hair myself. I only drew blood once.
These are not huge things, but they are a sign of the times. In case you missed it, the Dow is down by 500 points, Lehman Brothers, a firm that survived the American Depression, has filed for the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. history, and everyone is running around going ‘aaaaaahhhhhhhh sssshhhiiiiittttttt!!!!’
I don’t know about your family…but mine is pretty much going…’umm, yeah….we know…join the coupon clipping party.’
I have friends who are now sending their kids to preschool only twice a week, to cut back on bills. I have family considering moving in with other family members so they don’t charge another grocery store trip. While my husband and I would consider moving out of Los Angeles, our home is now worth about $150,000 less than what we paid. I’ve taken a full-time job. My mother is now working simply for the health insurance. Sign. Of. The. Times.
What the hell is going on? And how do we fix it? Because as much as I don’t mind sitting in my backyard cutting hair…I can only nick so many ears before my family demands better.
I also write this, somewhat hesitantly, because I know we are the lucky ones. We have jobs. We have a home. We have little to complain about. But I would be remiss if I didn’t think of my friends, my family, my neighbors, and the rest of the country when I see the headlines and watch the reports.
But here is the thing…and it’s the thing that got me writing this blog post and the thing that drives me…I firmly believe Senator John McCain is NOT one of us. I realize that is a harsh statement…but…DAMN. With an heiress wife and a lack of knowledge of ANYTHING relevant to ME…he just has no clue.
I wasn’t the only one who heard it.
The Obama campaign picked up on it too. John McCain told Judy Wudroff – “It’s easy for me to go to Washington and, frankly, be somewhat divorced from the day-to-day challenges people have.”
To which I yelled at my tv “NO FUCKING SHIT ASSHOLE!”
I realize that is a bit harsh. But it’s how I felt.
John McCain has no clue- NO CLUE– what average Americans go through. NONE, except for what is put in front of him in a memo as he sits in one of his MANY homes. I do not believe for ONE SECOND that he understand the out-of-work Detroit auto-worker or the single mother. NOT FOR ONE SECOND.
Which leads me to why I think Senator Barack Obama does…and frankly, it’s easy.
He’s lived it.
He’s doing well now, sure. So am I. But he at the very least GETS IT, and I will go a step further: he gets it and RESPECTS it. Maybe that’s the bigger key…he RESPECTS it.
Go ahead and laugh at me. Tell me I’ve been taken by yet another politician and that this guy doesn’t get it as I’m a dreamer for thinking he does. But I will tell you something…and I will tell you it FROM MY TOES…I have met him. I have met hundreds of politicians and done hundreds of interviews. You can tell when they spout statements and taking points. You can tell when they speak what you want to hear, not what needs to be said. You can also tell when they speak from experience. Which is exactly what Senator Obama does when he talks about having little money and having a single mom and speaking with people on the streets of Chicago.
However, you can’t just take my gut as a reason to vote. You can’t. While I wish you would all take my gut as a reason…that would be stupid. So…Just having lived it and ‘getting it’ isn’t enough. And while we all want someone we can related to running things ( see: conservative women finding kinship in Sarah Palin) I am smart enough to know just ‘getting it’ won’t fix this country’s problems.
Thus Obama’s plan. It does not favor the rich. It does not favor those running large companies and it most certainly does benefit women, families, and the working class. While I don’t want to punish the rich…I want the working class to be empowered. I want women to be empowered. I want families to be empowered.
I, very simply, want my parents to have health insurance and I want to send my husband and son to get their hair cut at a salon.
I want…I want many things. But I want leaders that know and understand what needs to be done and just WHO needs help. Please, listen to Senator Joe Biden at MY high school in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. MINE. Where I was the editor of the paper and where I played varsity basketball. MY HIGH SCHOOL.
Yes, Senator Obama knows and understands what is happening enough to send his Vice Presidential candidate to the South Lake High in St. Clair Shores- because he KNOWS how many of my friends are now out of work. Because he KNOWS how many of MY family members need tax relief. Because he understands what has happened in the home town I love.
People I know need help making their next mortgage payment. People I know want to send their kids to better schools. People I know just want a job.
Please watch Senator Biden. Please listen to what he says about the Obama-Biden ticket. Please hear his rant against McCain. Then head over to BlogHer.com and read Michelle Obama’s latest blog post on equal pay.
Listen. Read. Watch.
Watch and understand this is from where I spent 4-years of my life in school and 19-years growing up. THIS right here is how much the Obama campaign gets it…
What adds insult to injury is when I remember the surplus we ( ie the United States) had when Bill Clinton left office.
I hate what Bush and his cronies have done to our country. Then to hear McCain/Palin talk about how they’ll ‘change things’…I mean WTF? McCain, IS part of the problem. If he couldn’t use his influence over the last 8 years to ‘change things’, why should we believe he will change things now?
McCain/Palin scare me to death. I want someone that looks out for me, not someone that controls my health choices and what I can do/not do in my life.
Obama/Biden all the way.
I am living the republicans “psychological” bad economy.
My hubs lost his job at the beginning of the year & he can’t find a job to save his life right now, “psychologically” speaking. We haven’t had healthcare since the beginning of the year and even when we did it cost us more than a third of his monthly income to cover two adults and a teenager. We are “psychologically” losing our house to foreclosure and are taking a huge, HUGE step into the unknown by moving our family to an area where jobs will, hopefully, be more readily available for both of us. And hoping that things fall into place so that we are not homeless between now (selling our house) and then (moving and finding jobs).
Obviously, though, that is all in my mind, just a “psychological” phenomenon of the “fundamentally strong” economy. *snort*
I’ll give them “psychological” phenomenon! *shaking fist* *changing alliance ~ voting obama*
See what I mean? One gets it..one has more houses than I do Sarah Mclaughlan Cds. AND I LOVE HER.
I really hope everyone’s families get through this. Because it won’t just end up an election. It will end up a REVOLUTION.
great clip, erin. i am truly enjoying your blog. this is the first time i have ever registered to vote….i am 33 and i am voting for obama. thank you for all of your work and insight!
Thank you for ‘saying it out loud.’ Someone had to. Our family is blessed to have an income, and a home, and the ability to pay our bills. That is not the case for many of the people around us, and it’s not for their lack of trying. My own mother, like yours, works just so they have healthcare benefits…she’s in her 60s. My father also works full-time, but his benefits are unaffordable on their income. So, it’s up to my mom. Fucking ridiculous. Two people who’ve worked their whole lives, and they have to keep on working just to have semi-affordable medical insurance. Crock of crap!
BC! BC knows-he went to high school just around the corner.
Glad you registered, and damn glad you’re voting.
My friend had tickets for Biden at your school yesterday, but I figured that skipping my first exam for the semester wouldn’t be such a great idea… but the thought crossed my mind! LOL
Did you see McSame on Today this morning? What a joke. I can’t even watch that guy without wanting to kick a hole thru my tv screen (but since I can’t afford a new one, I refrain…).
Michigan is hurting bad… yet McSame is running neck-and-neck w/Obama in the polls here. WTF? I can answer that: Racism. The great Detroit vs Suburbia divide (not helped any by Kwame Kilpatrick), 1968 is alive and well, and the idiots that surround me are more afraid of the “black guy” than they are of losing everything – jobs, savings, homes, freedoms – they don’t care. Read this message I got yesterday from an educated, professional friend of mine (who was born in Baghdad and has family over there, no less):
“and politics.. i don’t know, i don’t think i will vote.. maybe yes or not, i don’t like mccain cause i think he will follow bush.. not necessarily that hes a bad guy.. just not a real leader, more like a follower and sorry, but barack, well i m not buying it either..
putting a black man as president, #1, u know what that will do to the blacks.. give them more fucking power and we don’t need that.. remember the church he belongs to and his fucking pastor.. a man of God that is racist AGAINST US WHITES.. could a white pastor have said what that black pastor said?? come on.. thats bullshit
and really laurie, barack comes from a family that is muslim.. all the chaldeans and arabs have been saying it for months. his grandfather was muslim..
he scares me… i cant believe fuckin hillary stepped down..
we’ll see what happens.. be careful. research him on ur own, not what ur told.. go look obama up and even his name “barack” is arabic or in arabic it means “blessings or gifts” so just watch out..”
And this, from my own SISTER:
“Hey please don’t send me political stuff. I just erase it and I don’t have time to look at it.”
Ok, so go ahead and bury your head in the f*cking sand while your husband is working TWO jobs (the “uniquely American” way, according to GWB) in order to support your family!
I want to scream.
But I won’t give up, and I’m alienating everyone (even my boyfriend who I will wind up killing before November, esp if he ever walks into my house wearing that f*cking McCain/Palin hat ever again) but I don’t give a rat’s ass, because this is far too important to worry about “offending” some white-bread yuppie (who McCain would throw under the bus in a NY minute), or losing my boyfriend – my kid’s and your kid’s futures are at stake, hell, our entire world as we know it is at stake, so I will continue to fight for what I believe in, and damn the torpedoes… I love ya, my Polack friend, and I will always have your back! muah!
Peace out…
This election scares me. I mean SCARES me. So much is riding on it. Obama seems like the common sense choice to me. Of course, I have been a democrat all my life, so perhaps I have a bias, but COME ON. This is our country, our family, our homes. These are our soldiers, our jobs. This is our health. This is what this election is about. Yet the American People were distracted by lipstick last and farm animals last week, and the talking point that “Tina Fey is a sexist” so far this week. And unfortunately, the media keeps that going. STOP. ENOUGH. THESE ARE REAL PROBLEMS.
Why do you think that the McCain campaign is trying to distract you (and yes I know both sides do this from time to time, but, there is NO DOUBT McCain is using is SO much more)?
If he is doing it now, what about when he gets into the White House? Is he going to be, ” I know you are about to lose your home, but look over here, a birdie……. or an INVISIBLE nuclear bomb”
I have an idea. Forget about the big government vs. small government argument that divides parties in this election. Look at who really has the better policies, at who is really going to protect your interests, and who is going to use diplomacy when necessary and go after those who actually threaten us. Then make your choice. Don’t make it on a bed of lies. We did that last election…… look where we are now.
As an American who left the mess that Bush made to live in Australia a couple years ago, I’m shocked that the polling is anywhere near close. I’d say that if Americans “elect” McSame this november they deserve him, but that wouldn’t be fair to the other 3/4ths of the country.
Hear Hear! I’m in my 60’s and got laid off after 16 years! I work part-time now and applied for early retirement just to be able to pay our bills. Thank goodness my hub still has a good job and health insurance for the both of us. (He’s 12 years younger than me…..can you say Cougar?) hehe!
A big fear of mine is China! What the hell are we doing borrowing/owing money and being indebted to them!! I HATE that! I hate that so many have died needlessly in a bogus war. Oh Well, I could go on and on. But ya know what I REALLY don’t understand? Why……Why! is this race so close? It should be a runaway, no question, no contest!!! What is wrong with everyone? sighhhhhhhhh.
Sorry about the no link back, I’m working on starting a blog LOL. Have no idea what I’ll talk about but want to be able to link back to me LOL.
Thank you for continuing to advocate for our future choices, even at the risk of alienating the other kindergarten parents. I, on the other hand have only succeeded in alienating my own family – which consists of 6 adults in one house because of the economic costs – but they still can’t see the wool being pulled over their eyes by the GOP. Thank you for making me aware that I’m not alone – and we really can make a change happen!
Obama/Biden ’08!
Found your blog through Miss Zoot’s site, and I love it. Thanks for saying what you say. I wish more people would read and LISTEN!
I’ve gotta agree with Laurie about the racism issue. I’ve heard that, too, from well-educated, well-off people. Drives me insane. “He’ll give blacks everything. There’ll be more welfare.” WTF? Have you read any of his plans?
I just don’t see how anyone could think McCain-Palin is a good choice. I can’t wrap my head around it. All I ever hear from my GOP relatives is “They’re against abortion and gays.” Yeah, so? What’s that got to do with you? You won’t have a house, a job and your kids won’t have shoes, but by gosh, those two gay guys won’t be able to get married. Woohoo!
Sigh. I need to go blog about this. Mind if I link to you?
A-FREAKING-MEN!
I honestly don’t know how to convince all those people that they’ve been had. I read an outraged editorial yesterday by a commentator who was going to vote against the Republican ticket for the first time in fifty years, and even he didn’t get it. “How did the Republicans, the party of business, come to this?” Uh, dude. No. The Republicans are not the party of business. they are the arty of wealth. How they manage to get non-wealthy people to vote for them is the greatest triumph of propaganda since, well, you know (insert cliche here).
Links are always welcome Tiffani
You know the situation my family is in. I just wrote more about it today on my blog, actually.
We’re a mere 1-2 months from falling behind on the mortgage. Things are too serious for me to get caught up in lipstick and pigs and false claims of sexism and trying to steal the idea of change. Like you, I’m all about the issues, and right now the issues scare the shit out of me.
I’ve never been one to proclaim my politics far and wide, but this year we’re putting a big-ass Obama/Biden sign in our front yard and I’m making sure my friends and family understand the issues and see through the lies. We need real change.
Do people realize McCain voted for the bills his friend and advisor Phil Gramm wrote that allowed for this mortgage/broker/bank/lender mess to occur? Prior to 1999 we had laws that kept them from tying their business dealings together for a reason? This is worse than the Depression because back then the US didn’t borrow money. Everyone was forced to ride it out wealthy and poor alike. Nobody wants to sacrifice or do without today. It’s the voters’ fault for being ignorant of what their elected officials actually do. It’s also our fault for spending and not saving. I used to watch the Suze Orman show and would cry afterwards because she warned against taking out interest-only mortgages and not curbing credit card debt. Her advice just seemed to be the opposite of what was being pushed by Greenspan and society in general and I found it very frustrating and scary. But she was right. And Obama is the better choice but so many are invested in white supremacy I’m not sure there’s enough to counterbalance it. But I hope so.
Erin, this is a great post.
yep I am working simply for the health insurance. And McCain is totally clueless.
Donald Luskin (McCain’s new financial advisor since Phil Gramm was pulled from the spotlight) had a brilliant editorial in Sunday’s Washington Post. The timing couldn’t have been better…
A NATION OF EXAGGERATORS
Quit Doling Out That Bad-Economy Line
http://tinyurl.com/69py6z
As I’m sitting at Violet’s desk freaking about about the financial world imploding before my eyes, I see this clown’s editorial saying that “it’s really not that bad”.
Out
Of
Touch.
P.S. We’ve been clipping coupons and buying store-brands, and I’m one of the lucky ones with a solid job and house still well above water (for now).
I really FEEL the pain here.
Since I live in NYC, I have always lived on a budget but now I have to get more realistic with this health insurance situation because I work as a consultant where I don’t have it..so, I am definitely switching jobs AS SOON as I find one with health insurance so that I am not waiting too late and I don’t have money to afford to go to a doctor.
I think I am going grey over this election and I am only 34. I am not going to dye my hair but if I go completely white, it is a reminder to me of how stressed out I have been over this election.
Let’s pray and get people to VOTE!
When Senator Obama mentioned in his DNC speach that he remembers his mother on the phone fighting with her health insurance company as she was dying, that spoke to me. He may be well off now, but he knows what it is like.
Ok its been 100 days of TheBama and the economy has gotten steadily worse despite giving billions and billions of dollars to the jackasses who got into this mess in the first place so tell me more about how I was supposed to vote for him??