As mentioned in previous diaries, my dad is an intelligent, thoughtful, wingnut. Occasionally, my brothers and I engage in e-mail conversations about politics.
This time, my ten-year-old son wanted to talk to grandpa for himself. Here's his initial foray, grandpa's answer, and my son's response:
Dear grandpa B__,
I would like some separate reasons why you want to vote for Bush.
I would like to try to convince you to vote for John Kerry.
I think its important because one person can always make a difference.
From,
B__ (sheba's ten-year-old son)
More below the fold....
Here's "grandpa's" (my wingnut dad's) response to my son:
Hi, B__!
We are scared stiff of a John Kerry presidency. Here are some of the reasons:
1. The War On Terror
No Amish farmers, Israeli Jews, Buddhists or Lutherans were seen carrying out or celebrating the mass murder of three thousand people on 9/11. Only militant Islamists were seen celebrating.
Unlike liberals, conservatives learned the lessons of 9/11 and heard the call of war from the militant Islamists. In contrast, liberals have not accepted the message of 9/11, that we are at war against militant Islamists and they fully intend to kill us, if we let them.
2. Iraq
It's better for American soldiers armed with aircraft carrier groups, fighter planes and helicopters to fight the war on terror in Iraq than for American civilians to fight the war on the streets of Oregon City.
History proves without a doubt that democratic nations can be created from non-democratic beginnings. In the twentieth century alone, new democracies arose in Japan, Germany, Italy, India, and many Latin American countries. Why not Iraq now?
Since the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, less than a thousand American troops have been killed (my best guess; it was 550 not too long ago). Though each such death is a tragedy, in World War II there were 221 combat deaths a day for four years, and in Vietnam there were about eighteen
American deaths each day. About 109 people a day die on America's highways.
3. Taxes
More money in people's pockets is better than more money in the government's pockets. The people who earn their money have more reason to spend it wisely than do government workers spending other people's money. Where did the government get the idea that its job was to punish people for being wealthy?
Today the top one tenth of income earners in the U.S. pay two thirds of the Federal income tax. Americans spend over half the year (193 days, according to the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation) just to meet all the costs imposed by government.
When you want to buy food, appliances, clothes, holiday gifts or a vacation, you don't call the government. You call business.
4. Poverty
The "War on Poverty" subsidized (supported with money) poverty (being "poor" and not working) and illegitimacy (having children without being amrried, so there's no family for them), and guess what? We got more of both. Why? Because if you subsidize something, you get more of it. If you tax it, you get less of it.
B__, I've copied these words from a book I like very much, called the Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Mark W. Smith. He
has lots and lots more to say on this, and I haven't even finished reading the book yet, but you get the idea. We simply believe George W. Bush is an honest man who is not afraid to face up to a problem and deal with it in the right way, even if it costs him the election. We think John Kerry is a liar, a wimp and a person with no backbone who says what he thinks will get him votes, whether or not he believes it, whether or not he said the same thing yesterday, and whether or not it makes sense and will work.
A loser, in other words, and a very scary person to think about having as our President. Bush has done a magnificent job dealing with a problem he
had no idea existed when he took office. Sure, he's made some mistakes. You make mistakes when you are not afraid to act. It's better than doing nothing. Kerry can't even come up with a sensible strategy for dealing with that same problem after it's been around for three years, let alone be able
to handle another surprise like the last one. Brr.
Love you. Thanks for writing! And feel free to quote me.
.. Grandpa
Here are the money quotes, in my son's response:
Hi, grandpa!
- Of course the John Kerry people know about the terrorists and the 9/11 attack! And John Kerry said that he was going to hunt the terrorists down and not just bomb whole countries.
- Sure there are terrorists in Iraq. Just like there are in other countries. But that doesn't mean that we can just go bomb all the countries that have some terrorists in it. Plus I thought that we were attacking Iraq because they had weapons of mass destruction. You don't just change the reason why you do something once other people have found out that the previous reason isn't true. It's like a little kid trying to get out of trouble. He keeps making up reasons because his mom figures out that the other ones aren't true.
- Since Bush lowered taxes, we've had to borrow money from other countries to pay for what we need to pay for. And taxes can pay for good things. My mom gets her pay from taxes, my school gets paid from taxes and I'm sure lots of other schools get paid from taxes. Sure rich people pay more taxes. They also keep a bunch of money since they have so much.
- I don't get that part. Do you mean we should tax poor people because they're poor?
What the heck did John Kerry lie about?!? John Kerry isn't the person who changed the reasons about why we started a war in Iraq. And John Kerry fought in a war and has a piece of metal in his leg because of an explosion! You call that a wimp?!
Oh, and he does too have a backbone.
From,
B__
Yes, it's true:
even a ten-year-old can see through the lies and spin of the Bush administration.
p.s. Does my son rock or WHAT?!?