Why I can’t vote for Barack Obama

As the presidential election draws near, I felt the need to put some of my personal thoughts out there about how I see the whole deal. I am a white, Christian, Southern, middle class, 30-something male. I’ve paid more attention to this presidential race and the candidates than I ever have and with good reason. While I will say honestly and up front that I don’t agree with everything that John McCain has said, I can say that I do not agree with anything that Barack Obama stands for. There are a number of reasons that I will not vote for Barack Obama and they have a lot to do with who I am.

According to the thesis that his wife wrote, the fact that I’m white is a problem. As a white person, I am seen as someone who cannot look upon a person with a different skin color and see them for more than that. According to Mrs. Obama, I can’t get by her skin color. I could talk about this in depth and the problems with it, but that’s not the scope of this blog post. From what I’ve seen of Barack Obama, he doesn’t feel any different. He has definitely tried to play the race card in this presidential race and it seems to be working. There is even some question as to whether or not Obama is really African-American. His father was from Kenya and his mother from the U.S. If it is just DNA (nature) that makes someone African-American, then Obama could qualify. But, if it’s the environment that someone grows up in (nuture) that also contributes to whether or not someone is African-American, then Obama is on shakier ground. According to some reports, he was born in Honolulu and lived there until he was age 6 (some reports have him being born in Kenya). He lived in Indonesia from ages 6 to 10 and then moved to Hawaii to live with his maternal (white) grandparents until he left for college. Does this qualify him as African-American? While he was in Hawaii, he went to a private school that had tuition of $15,000. Is this what most African-American children are doing? While he may have DNA that is similar to most African-Americans, can he really identify with the majority of African-Americans? In a speech given in Selma, Alabama, he said that he was “coming home”, but according to all that I’ve read, he and his family had nothing to do with events in Selma…To be honest though, I could overlook this and still have a list of reasons not to vote for Obama.

From the beginning of his campaign he’s been surrounded by controversial people. He has been linked to Bill Ayers, a domestic terrorist from the Weather Underground group who took responsibility for terrorist attacks in the 70’s. His former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has been outspoken about the different things that he believes, including a hatred for Jews, Caucasians, Italians, and America. He is known to have given $20,000 to the church. Am I supposed to believe that Obama has sat under his teaching for 20 years and has not been influenced? How is that supposed to look to me? If this was the only instance it would be one thing, but unfortunately, it’s not. As recently as late 2007, he was seen campaigning for Raila Odinga, a Kenyan man who called for ethnic cleansing because he lost the presidential race. Odinga is from the same Lhuo tribe as Obama’s grandmother and has called him a cousin. While their actually relationship hasn’t been determined, their campaigns share a lot of interesting similarities. He has also been linked to Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan has been quoted connecting Barack Obama to the Messiah, either as a herald of the Messiah or as the actual Messiah. While I have to wonder which Messiah Farrakhan is talking about, I know that it’s not the true Messiah – Jesus Christ. Farrakhan has also spouted racist views and misused scripture (Psalm 118:22 and others) in order to promote Obama. While I understand that the people surrounding Barack Obama are not Obama himself, I can’t deny the fact that they are supporting him. They call him “brother” and “friend”. Some will gloss over this and say that Obama has distanced himself from many of those controversial people, but I look at scripture and see where Paul tells the Corinthinas, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33), and I can’t help but wonder.

In the last debate, Obama laughed at John McCain for bringing up his lack of experience. But, he never truly replied to that question. In looking at Obama’s record, he has no real experience and even confessed his inexperience at one time. If he’s inexperienced, then why is he running for president? He hasn’t served in the military at all and has little experience in the Senate. Our country doesn’t need someone who talks pretty or is handsome. We need someone who knows how to react to and deal with the various situations that will affect the 300 million people in this country. Obama doesn’t have that experience.

The scariest thing about all of this is the fact that a large number of people are following Obama just because he gives good speeches and tells people what they want to hear, even if that changes next week. Either these people don’t care, don’t know, or choose to remain willfully ignorant of all of these things. Obama has flip-flopped his position on a number of various subjects and issues and nothing is said. Obama has also been caught in a number of outright lies. He said that union contributions to Democratic competitors was “special interest” money but changed his position when he started getting his own union contributions. In 2004, Obama said that we should end the embargo on Cuba because it has “utterly failed”. In 2007, he told an audience in Miami that he wouldn’t touch the embargo on Cuba because it is an “important inducement for change”. In a 2004 questionaire, Obama said that we shouldn’t crack down on businesses that hire illegal workers. Could that be because his wife was on the board of directors of a company that used low paid Hispanic workers? Then, in a debate early this year, he said, “we do have to crack down on those employers that are taking advantage of the situation.” Why the change? He has said that he doesn’t take money from oil companies but the truth is no one does. This doesn’t mean however that he doesn’t get money from them. They cannot give him the money directly because that is illegal, but their employees can give him money as individuals or through Political Action Committees (PACs). He’s received at least $214,000 from oil company executives and their families.

His views on Israel have changed too. When speaking to over 7,000 people at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference, he said, “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided”; but the next day, a campaign adviser clarified that Obama meant that “Jerusalem is a final status issue, which means it has to be negotiated between the two parties as part of an agreement that they both can live with.” He’s also changed his mind on Iran being a threat (first it isn’t, then it is), and whether or not North Korea should be removed from the US terrorist sponsor list. He said that we should keep the PATRIOT Act, and then said that he would repeal it. Ultimately, he voted for it. He’s flip-flopped on whether or not he would talk with leaders of foreign nations, especially Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Although Obama’s campaign leaders denied it, one of his senior campaign leaders told the Canadian government that when Obama talked about killing NAFTA, “it was just government rhetoric”. Two different high-level Canadian officials have confirmed this. Why the lie? Obama has been linked to the non-profit organization ACORN, which has been beleaguered with voter fraud, “big stick” tactics on banks, embezzlement, and other criminal activities. His “Fight the Smears” website (if he’s an upright candidate, why does he need a website like this?), said that he was“never an ACORN community organizer; ACORN never hired Obama as a trainer, organizer, or any type of employee; ACORN was not part of Project Vote, the successful voter registration drive Barack ran in 1992”. But, other information shows something completely different. In 1992, Obama was part of ProjectVote, who’s incorporation papers show it’s parent company to be at the same address as ACORN and many ACORN affiliates reside. His website also claims that he’s never been hired by ACORN, but failed to mention that he was an unpaid trainer for ACORN. This was confirmed by Lewis Goldberg, a spokesman for ACORN.  I can’t imagine why an “agent of change” like Obama would need fraudulent voters to help him out. If he’s truly everything that he says he is, then he should have no problem getting the necessary votes without the fraudulent voters.

I have heard Obama’s speeches and comments and have not been impressed at all. I’ve not heard him answer one question with a clear, concise answer. He’s talked and talked and said nothing. America doesn’t need someone in the White House who talks the talk but cannot walk the walk. His words are empty and have no value whatsoever except where they can get him. I watched the last debate and was amazed at how little he really said and how many times he failed to answer the question asked, even though he consistently went over the time limit and broke the rules that he agreed to. Judging from his continuous flip-flopping on positions, he ultimately says what the people he is in front of want to hear and then changes his position to suit the next group of listeners. This is not the type of person we need leading our country. If someone agrees with everything, then he or she stands for nothing, and that’s exactly what Barack Obama has been doing since he’s been in office.

While all of these things are concerns that have been growing since this all began, the main reason that I cannot give my support or vote to Barack Obama is because I’m a Christian. Barack Obama has said that he felt God’s spirit beckoning him and that he “submitted himself to his will and to discovering his truth” (lack of capitalization was Obama’s). While I understand that there are passages in the Bible that are still hotly contested as to their meaning, there are many that are quite clear including the ones on abortion and homosexuality. Obama supports the murder of unborn children through abortion and even supports infanticide. Nurses who saw babies being left to die on soiled utility room shelves in Illinois hospitals have supported this and even testified to it in the Illinois state senate, in front of committees that Barack Obama chaired. This is not a Christian attitude. The Bible says that murder is wrong. In the last debate, he tried to show a concern for kids by attacking Senator McCain saying that he voted against an expansion that would provide health insurance to more children. Is he really concerned about kids and their health if he’s willing to kill them in or out of the womb? Sadly, many “Christians” are rallying behind Barack Obama because he wants to “reduce the number” of abortions. Unless I am really dense, this still means that he supports the murder of children. How do these “Christians” reconcile this with the truth of God? To veil it behind the lesser numbers, the right to choose, or the inability to decide when it’s still a baby is a weak-willed cop out that dishonors God, humiliates His church, and taints the view that unbelievers have of real Christians.

Barack Obama also supports homosexuality and “gay marriage”. This is clearly seen as sin and perversion throughout scripture (Lev. 18:22, Judges 19, Romans 1:26-32, 1 Cor. 6:9). For someone to call themselves a Christian and openly support a lifestyle and sin that God calls an abomination is again either ignorant or rebellious. Obama would fight against traditional marriage and further erode the Judeo-Christian foundation that our country is founded on. According to scripture, homosexuality is a sin and a choice. It is not something people are born into. The great news is that people in this type of lifestyle can be born again and not bear God’s wrath. This is not the message that Obama, who claims to be a Christian, is giving. If someone claims to be “submitted to God’s will and to discovering His truth”, should that person be aggressively for something that the Bible clearly condemns? Is that submission to the will of God? Does that show a desire to discover His truth? If you discover His truth and don’t apply it to your life, then what’s the point? His truth obviously doesn’t mean anything to you and it’s all just talk. This is all assuming that Obama’s “God” is actually the God of scripture. If it’s another “God” like Allah or Buddha, then it has nothing to do with the God of the Bible and makes his positions a lot more clear. Regardless, it shows that he’s willing to say whatever it takes to get votes, even if it means posing as a Christian.

Barack Obama has rallied his followers around a banner of hope. He claims that he is the one that America needs to bring about change. He seems full of himself and narcisstic to the point of self-delusion (an interesting article on this can be found here). The absolutely disgusting part of all of this is the comparisons of Barack Obama to some kind of political “Messiah”. He has been called by some Alpha and Omega (seen here). These are titles that belong clearly and only to Jesus Christ. Barack Obama will never be able to do enough to deserve these titles. Not to mention the fact that if he were really a Christian, he would be the first person to publicly denounce those titles being applied to him. Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. Christ is the only Messiah. He is the only true hope of America and every other nation. The truth is that even if Barack Obama could actually accomplish the things that he claims, they still won’t save Americans from their sin or from going to hell. That is America’s biggest problem. This country has had a number of leaders who have done much more than Barack Obama has (many of whom were Christians by the way…). George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others were great leaders who helped to guide our nation. None of them were ever called Alpha and Omega or compared to a political Messiah and every one of them would have rebuked the public if they were.

The worst part of it is that many Americans aren’t taking the time to research this or are just closing their eyes to it all. Even if you’re not a Christian, but are still a patriotic American, you should have plenty to be concerned about. Barack Obama is not a patriot. He has a degree in Constitutional law but doesn’t even know how many states the nation that he wants to lead has! He has no idea that Canada, the country to our immediate north, doesn’t have a president! How can he lead this nation if he lacks the information that most second or third graders know? He claimed to have an uncle who was one of the first American soldiers to liberate Auschwitz. The story, according to Obama, was that after his uncle came home, he locked himself in the attic for six months. There are two major problems with this. First, there are no records showing that Obama had an uncle who was an American soldier. Second, it was Russian troops and not American ones that liberated Auschwitz because Poland was under Russian control. How does someone not realize or recognize that? What is the point of deliberately making up part of your history, unless it’s to project a greater image than you really have and get votes? He also seemed to be confused when he spoke at the Selma Voting Rights March on March 4, 2007. In his speech (where he portrays himself to be a “brother” to those present who were in Selma during the Civil Rights issues), he stated a lot of things about his own family and tied them to things happening in the Civil Rights movement and none of it adds up. He tried to assume the mantle of a co-sufferer along with those who were actually there. He used “we” an awful lot even though he couldn’t be part of the “we” at all. He uses the story of his grandfather in Kenya. He talked about how his grandfather was a “cook and house boy” and implied that he was some kind of slave, even though there is no indication of this. Supposedly, his grandfather was inspired by the events in Selma in 1965, but he would have been around 70 years old then. He also implies that Selma had something to do with his existence. I don’t understand how that would be possible. His parents supposedly met at the University of Hawaii in the 1950’s and Obama was conceived in 1960. He was born August 4^th, 1961. This is three years before the events in Selma. He was in Hawaii at the time. Was he really “experiencing” the civil rights movement? Could those things that happened in Selma really affected his dad and brought him to America when he was already here and studying at UH? Nope. It seems like Obama needed some kind of inspiring story to capture the hearts of those listening and, since he couldn’t find one in his own family history, he made one up.

With all of the controversy and questions surrounding Barack Obama, it amazes me how many people still whole-heartedly support him and will vote for him. Sadly, many of those voting for Obama will most likely do so for reasons other than the truth. Some will vote for him because he’s a Democrat and that’s how they’ve always voted. Others will vote for him because he proclaims an African-American heritage and calls himself black. Still others will vote for him because of his passionate but empty speeches and his dapper looks. Some will vote for him because he professes to be the one who will bring change. Then there are those who aggravate me the most. They are those who claim to be Christians and follow the One True God. They are those who claim to put God above all else. These “Christians” will cast their vote for a man who is surrounded by lies and suspicion, makes himself to be something that he’s not, and openly and aggressively supports things that go directly against the authority of scripture. They either refuse to study the scriptures or purposefully ignore what is written in order to soothe their consciences. Our country doesn’t need a lying, double-minded man who will make empty promises one day and then turn around and do the opposite thing the next. What our country needs is leaders who care about the people more than they do themselves and people who pay more attention to what their leaders are actually saying instead of what they’re speaking….