About a week ago I wrote a letter to my local paper in response to another letter, which was just another chest-pounding screed trumping up the failed policies of the Bush administration.
Having written to the paper before, I waited for the confirmation e-mail, which I never received. Instead, there was a message on the machine when I came home from work this evening. I'm still considering whether to let them run it or tell them not to for a couple of reasons, but mainly because the letter it was in response to was more than a week ago and the moment seems to have passed to offer a rebuttal.
However, this is where some of my fellow Kossacks could possibly help me out a bit. It's not too much really. I'm just looking for some feedback. Looking over the letter again, I can see some things that I would definitely change, but I'd like to know what others think and see how it resonates.
The Letter:
Once again Republicans are resorting to the same tired rhetoric in hopes that it will improve their chances for the midterm elections in November. They attack Democrats as "spineless" and having no ideas; yet all the Republicans in Washington can provide are more sham resolutions supporting the President's failing Iraq policy or devisive measures, such as their attempt to regulate marriage or flag burning, instead of addressing the great challenges facing our country. It's more of the same from the Do-Nothing Republicans in Congress, who long ago surrendered their Constiutional responsibility to provide oversight in favor of a "rubber stamp."
The Republicans have no plan for Iraq. They didn't have one when they invaded in 2003, they didn't have one for reconstruction and they don't have one now. Instead, they attack the Democrats for having the audacity to discuss resolving the conflict, which even our own military leaders have declared cannot be one at this point militarily. At least there is a debate in the Democratic Party; the Republicans can only offer more of the same - an open-ended conflict that will only ensure that even more brave young Americans will continue to die in Iraq.
That's not having a spine; that's stupidity.
Sure, they say we've killed Zarqawi. But there's someone to take his place. And hoping that Osama bin Laden might be dead is a far cry from the pledge made by George W. Bush to find the man responsible for murdering 3000 Americans on that tragic September morning nearly five years ago. Nevermind that the vast majority of the insurgency is comprised of Sunni and Shiites fighting against each other and the number of terrorists is only estimated to be roughly 1000.
And with the recent arrest of seven people in Miami, suspected of plotting to blow-up the Sears Tower and other federal buildings, it should be clear to all that another rationale for the war - the notion that we will fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here - is nonsense. Five of the seven people arrested were born and raised in America.
Yet we know that the Bush government is not prepared and has done little to improve the security of our nation other than to needlessly assault our civil liberties. Remember, it was Bush himself who declared that the terrorists hated our way of life and spoke to the importance of maintaining our uniquely American values. But we hear of secret CIA prisons, torture, warrantless wire-tapes. We know that our major cities are not prepared and that, in fact, funding for securing likely targets such as New York has been cut by these so-called Republicans with a backbone. We saw firsthand with the Bush Administration's shameful response to Katrina that this Republican controlled government is not capable, nearly five years after 9/11, of dealing with a large-scale disaster. And our ports - despite assurances from the Administration - are still under control by Dubai.
In Afghanistan, NATO forces continue to fight the Taliban, who launched a new offensive this past spring and the control of Hamid Karzai's government is limited to the area surrounding the capitol of Kabul. The Taliban might have been wiped out completely and bin Laden captured had the Administration not prematurely withdrawn so many forces from that country in favor of their desire to invade Iraq. The situation is so tenuous that even Karzai himself is now critical of our "strategy" in Afghanistan. Nevermind that opium production has skyrocketed since our invasion. We simply didn't leave enough forces to secure the country long enough for Karzai's government to get a tenable foothold. And, so, we continue to fight the Taliban.
Some will still argue that we haven't been attacked since 2001, and, therefore, Bush has done a great job. Of course, that neglects attacks carried out around the world, from Great Britain to Spain to Morocco; and it conveniently dismisses the very fact that the worst single attack on American soil occurred under the watchful eye of a President who has spent more time on vacation than any other President before him.
And the Republicans will continue to do the same - nothing. We'll hear more empty catchphrases like "Shock and Awe" and "Cut and Run." We'll continue the same policy in Iraq that has cost 2500 brave American lives, 20,000 wounded and countless scores of innocent Iraqis. We'll hear no substantial ideas to address energy, mainly because the Republicans don't have the backbone to stand up to the big oil companies. We'll here that the economy's doing great, yet under this Republican government we know that poverty has increased and wages have declined. We'll see no effort to confront the largest deficits in the history of our country, yet hear alot about cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans.
Democrats might not always agree, but at least we're looking for a way to resolve the conflict in Iraq, bring America's armed forces home and get back to fighting terrorism the best way we can - with intelligence, not arrogance and the senseless "chest-pounding" rhetoric and failed policies that have cost our country so dearly. It's the same sort of dialogue that the new Iraqi government has been discussing recently.
Democrats also understand that the solution to our energy crisis must go beyond oil, beyond more drilling and certainly beyond the mentality of the major oil companies, who seem content to squeeze as much out of the American people as they can as they continue to rake in record profits, hold up the development of alternative fuels and keep this great country of ours from moving forward. Democrats support energy independence and the resolve of the American people to take that next great leap, unlike the Republicans and the special interests that line their wallets, who are content with the status quo.
Democrats also know that an economy isn't strong when millions of Americans go without health insurance, when wages are declining and poverty rising, when Americans can't afford the cost of higher education or find adequate employment to provide for themselves and their families.
But we won't hear Republicans talk about any real solutions to these issues. We'll get more of the same from the "Do Nothing" Congress and the Bush Administration - tired rhetoric, negative attacks and support for the same old failed policies. While Republicans are talking about blindly staying the course, it's evident that Americans want to change direction.
Americans want solutions to energy, healthcare, education and the war - the Republicans talk about regulating marriage and couldn't even manage to renew the historic Voting Rights Act of 1964, let alone begin to address the very serious matters facing our nation and her people.
As this campaign season unfolds, it will be the Democratic Party that offers a vision to move America forward; a vision that stands in stark contrast to the same old "Do Nothing" Republicans and the wreckless Bush Administration policies they rubberstamp; a vision for energy independence, a resolution to the Iraq War so that the real work of combatting terrorism can be undertaken in earnest; genuine homeland security that protects our ports, cities and citizens without sacrificing our civil liberties; a vision that reflects America's dedication to fairness and equality, where healthcare and education are accessible to all Americans and employment means real work for real wages.
As I said, I'm not sure if I'll let it run or even if the paper will let it run a week after its submission, but it's some writing I'm rather proud of, though a second look has presented me with what I would consider a couple of deficiencies in the letter.
As a recently elected committee person for the Democratic Party in my county, and a member of this community and the progressive cause, what this community thinks and believes is important to me. That being the case, I want to be able to convey our ideas effectively and fight back for progressives as much as I can as a citizen and a member of the Democratic Party.
Please let me know what you think.