It is interesting to hear Mitt Romney complain (again) that people who support President Barack Obama are essentially folks who are dependent on government handouts. My husband and I voted for Obama and we are employed, we have healthcare, we pay taxes and we are not dependent on government services aside from the ones on which we all depend. Likewise, Bill O’Reilly also seems to think that people who voted for Obama only did so because they want “things” or “entitlements,” but he just does not get it. We do want things but we want them for other people. I want others to have the things that I am fortunate enough to have like healthcare, a good education, equal opportunity and that most basic need … food. We want these things because we realize that there are millions of people either unemployed, or working as hard as the rest of us but in low wage jobs, who do not have healthcare or adequate nutrition for their families, let alone enough money to send kids to college. We want these things because it is unacceptable to us that a nation as wealthy as the United States would let people suffer without access to food or basic healthcare. We want these things because we realize that when we lift up others, we are all lifted. We benefit and thrive as a society when we are all healthy and educated and have access to opportunity for growth. These are “things” that will contribute to our nation’s success. But we also realize that you do not get something for nothing and we are willing to pay for these “things”. We are not wealthy but we are willing to pay more because this is an investment that will benefit us all. What is entitled about that? If Republicans continue to tell themselves that Obama won because his supporters are a bunch of slackers simply looking for handouts, good luck to them when it comes to future presidential elections.
Melissa Hartman
Whitefish