Can D.C. trust Obama and the Democrats?

[William769]

I want to answer the question, can we trust President Obama and the Democrats, with a loud “yes,” but after the last minute budget deal made on Friday night that avoided a government shut down, I am not so sure. It pains me to say that.

I grew up a Democrat in New York supporting and working for Democratic candidates since I was 12. I have always believed in the principles of the party. My parents were immigrants who came here to escape Hitler. My mother’s parents came too but my father’s died in Auschwitz. I was brought up to respect all people and to believe that government is fair and can provide a safety net for the least among us and for anyone in times of crisis and need.

I became a civil rights activist, community activist and anti-war activist. It was, after all, the 1960s and 70s — an exciting time and a time of struggle. I became a teacher in Harlem and joined the union, fought City Hall and supported the PTA when they padlocked the school and demanded the city build a new one. We taught our students in the local RKO movie theater until the city acquiesced. I then joined Rep. Bella Abzug’s (D-N.Y.) staff and fought for women’s rights and finally became true to myself after moving to D.C., came out and have been fighting for LGBT rights ever since.

Last week many people in D.C. and around the nation held their breath while negotiations went on to avoid the first government shutdown in 15 years. Friends were going to be without paychecks both in the federal and D.C. government. Along with others I was appalled that the current Republican leadership in Congress wouldn’t even do what Newt Gingrich had done 15 years earlier passing a bill allowing the D.C. government to stay open and spend its own money. Money that the taxpaying residents of the District pay to secure services from our Department of Sanitation, Department of Transportation, Office of Motor Vehicles and other basic services.

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/04/11/can-d-c-trust-obama-and-the-democrats/

[Monique1]

1. I trust the president but

do not trust the right or the media.