The Ayn Rand Question

Dear Mr. President,

My brother-in-law once told me, “most people don’t understand what’s in their own best interest.” That bit of wisdom stuck with me and I’ve witnessed its truth over and over again. A New York Times column last week by James Stewart once again illustrated the point. Stewart went to Wentzville, Missouri and Lordstown, Ohio, two towns doing pretty well thanks to your bailout of GM. However, in spite of the bailout, these places support Romney and not you. Arno Hill is a retired tool-and-die-maker and a 32-year member of the UAW, but he is also the current mayor of Lordstown and a Republican Romney supporter. “I believe in less government and lower taxes and that people should have personal responsibility.” The Republican mantra. Resentment still simmers over the bailout of corporations and Wall Street Banks and nothing for underwater homeowners or people whose pensions have been cut or eliminated. Most telling in the article is this quote from Mayor Nick Guccione of Wentzville: “Both parties, they don’t care about the people,” he said. “They just care about being re-elected.” You disillusioned a lot of people, Mr. President. You were a Trojan Horse for the 1 % in 2008 and people get that; some are still in denial but even your hardcore defenders have mostly gone silent. Your campaign is anemic and the strongest thing you’ve got going for you is the fiction that you’re the lesser of two evils. But as long as Romney continues to reveal himself as a clueless doofus, you’ve still got a shot at winning. And there’s also the Ayn Rand question, the philosophical underpinnings of the Republican Party that are frightening and clearly not in anyone’s best interests. As Paul Krugman puts it in his column today: “The GOP has been taken over by an Ayn Rand-type vision of society in which a handful of heroic businessmen are responsible for all economic good, while the rest of us are just along for the ride.” Romney’s belief is apparent and his running mate an open acolyte of Rand, but hard times and no hope scare people, they fear losing what little they have and even though you still speak soothing Democratic lies, few trust you. You’ve had four years, shown yourself to be a war criminal, disdainful of the law and human rights AND a protector of the 1%. The choice between you and Mitt is a false choice. So maybe it’s not so much that people don’t understand what’s in their own best interest as they just don’t see much choice. Jill Stein for President!