Friday, November 02, 2012

Why One Gay Man Is Voting for Romney (or, How I Wound Up at the Soup Nazi)


For those who wonder why a gay person would ever vote Republican, this might interest you a bit. Normally I do not even allow myself to get into this situation, but I was at a friend's apartment getting ready for work today -- still no power at my place-- so I figured the least I could do was hear him out since he let me use his bathroom. (I might have been extra calm too, because I had just taken a hot bath. He's European so doesn't have a shower.) A little background: The guy is the boyfriend of Michael's best friend, is a recently naturalized American (Russian born) and is a surgeon. He said all of the negatives about Mitt Romney are things that are unlikely to actually happen -- the constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, the women stuff, etc. -- but that the negatives about Obama -- namely taking more of his money -- is definitely going to happen. "Why would I vote for someone who wants to take more of my money?" Blames the Affordable Care Act for chipping away at doctors' salaries, says Obamacare is a disaster -- didn't take into consideration the fact that many of those 44 million uninsured people "don't want" health insurance; made no provision for correcting malpractice issues; no provision for actually cutting the cost of healthcare; no provision for training more physicians to handle all of these "new" patients (and so on). As for women, he said he didn't exactly see that many of them outraged or protesting over this assault on Roe v. Wade, contraception, etc. -- Romney's popularity with women actually went up after the debates -- so why should he get worked up about it? I had all my Democratic talking points handy -- how 0% of those people in the 44 million who say they "don't want" health insurance say they would NOT WANT to be treated if they were hurt, so shouldn't they HAVE to pay into the system too?; talked about the huge protests of Governor Bob McDonnell in Virginia, how the appointment of SCOTUS justices will definitely affect abortion rights, etc. -- but he was completely unswayed. (I may not agree with voting entirely based on your wallet, but if you're going to do it, own it. And don't deny the other ramifications of your actions.) I had to leave for work at that point, so I exited and forgot to put on my coat. despite the fact it's 40-something degrees out  (I was plenty hot already.) En route to the office, I ended up stopping at the Soup Nazi, which suddenly seemed like a far less contentious environment for me to be in ...




The soup looked fantastic, but I couldn't resist a $10 lobster roll!!!!

P.S.

 

I'd forward him this moving video by actress Tracy Nelson about Obamacare only I don't think it would make any difference.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ari Ezra Waldman please talk some sense into Mr Russian surgeon!!

Anonymous said...

So, in effect, the reason one gay man might vote for Romney is because of money? Excuse me, but who is it that doesn't WANT insurance? If it were free, everyone would certainly want it. What people don't want, sometimes, is to pay for it. I understand that. I'd prefer not to pay for groceries, but I know that eventually I need food, and I have to pay. I don't know anybody who WANTS to pay taxes, but everybody wants police protection and laws to keep them safe and roads to drive on.

I'm sorry, but your friend just sounds greedy. Compare the money he gets here to what doctors get in Europe. In England, they do get paid less, but they certainly aren't poverty-stricken, and health-care outcomes are generally much better.

psdesertrat said...

He probably thinks "Uncle Joe" was real mensch too.
Such a kidder.

Jim Hopkins said...

My experience is that naturalized citizens tend to be extra rah-rah-rah Americans. Does this guy have American flags around his apartment?

Anonymous said...

Wow. A Russian moves here, becomes a naturalized citizen, and then basically votes for the guy who would do away with everything that makes people from all over the world want to move here. Stunning, not just in his justification (which boils down to money), but in that he can't see that social issues will swing so far to the right if Romney wins, we won't recognize the fight.

As a gay man, what can possibly make him think that Republicans won't cram a Constitutional amendment down our throats, bolstered by the majority of states, now governed by Republican executives and legislators? (Oh, let me guess, he doesn't understand how our Constitution is amended!) Or does he not see that gay marriage has, to date, failed every time it's been put up for a vote? Or that, since 2010, the legislative effort to outright criminalize abortion has gone up something like 400%, just in red states?

As a surgeon, what makes him think that *not* getting paid by the uninsured somehow is better than getting paid a little bit less by everyone? Or, is he the kind of doctor who ignores his Hippocratic oath? Moreover, 95% of the ACA hasn't been implemented yet, not only because of the issues involved with the influx of patients, but to give us time to work through the details of the plan? Or would he prefer that his fellow citizens go bankrupt in the event of a minor medical issue without insurance coverage, just for his paycheck to be a few dollars more?

Sorry to rant. It's just astounding to me that anyone could actually pull the lever for Mitt Romney, let alone a gay man. The only thing that makes me feel better is knowing that he's in New York, and there is absolutely no chance that Romney could win there.

Anonymous said...

I have a gay friend who is a plastic surgeon in DC, who is voting for Romney solely on the issue of Obamacare. He feels that now that he's gone all the way through school he thinks he's entitled to all that money he's gonna make and that Obama now wants him to work for free. So it's purely self-interest on his part, and perhaps he's correct. I find this often to be among physicians who went into practice not to heal the sick, but as a business path.
But I couldn't bring myself to ever vote for any republican let alone Romney.

Jack said...

I hope he saves his money.

Gr8Lthr said...

To me he just sounds like another spoiled queen who thinks only of himself. I cannot abide any gay person who would sell us all out for the almighty dollar.

M. A. Gay said...

The progress made for our community during Obama's first term has been significant...none of those things would have happened if McCain had won. Very little if any progress will be made under a republican president.

Romney will not fight for him or his money...Obama fights for our rights.

For me...the choice is clear.

Anonymous said...

There won't be a constitutional amendment against marriage equality? I guarantee you that the gay people in the 28 states that currently have such amendments might once have thought the same thing. I'm sure the gay people of Maine, who saw their right to marry revoked by constitutional amendment. There are already enough states that ban same-sex marriage that would allow for the federal amendment to pass easily.

"It could never happen here" is a phrase that has echoed through the greatest travesties man has committed against man throughout history.

Your friend's boyfriend is a greedy selfish bitch. I hope that Obama's victory on Tuesday causes him tremendous pain.

Ivan said...

It would be one thing if the Republicans ignored the LGBT community. Then I would buy this guy's arguments. However, the Republicans seem to take every chance to limit, segregate, and diminish gay people. Listen bub, the money doesn't mean anything if you are forced to hide/deny who you are to spend it.