Hello all,
I've been a long-time reader of Dailykos, having started reading sometime during those horrible Bush years. But I believe this is my first time making a diary. I usually peruse all of the other diaries to keep myself encouraged and also balance my hopes with skepticism so if things go badly on Nov. 6th I'm not crushed with disappointment.
On October 24th I sent two letters to editors of local papers here in Pennsylvania. I live near Harrisburg, PA which is depressingly conservative. (Especially for me, as I moved here from Oakland, CA where it was rare to see a car that DIDN'T have an Obama sticker and I was happily represented by Barbara Lee. Before that I lived in San Francisco and happily voted for Nancy Pelosi, whose house was a few blocks from mine. So yeah, I'm used to being surrounded by liberals.)
Here are my two letters, each to a different newspaper. And I have received calls from both papers. They are EACH printing my letters!
My 1st letter, to the Carlisle Sentinel:
To the Editor,
Someone who lives on my street has a yard sign which asks "Are You Better Off?" Pithy slogans aside, the question is a fair one and warrants an answer. The answer is a resounding and objective "yes!"
Four years ago the economy was on the brink of disaster, with bank after bank failing, an auto industry in peril and an overall economy perilously close to experiencing a second Great Depression with no end in sight, all thanks to the reckless economic policies pushed by Right Wing ideologies that Romney has signed on to wholeheartedly.
President Obama fortunately ignored the advice of people like Mitt Romney on handling the economic crisis, and thanks to his efforts the US auto industry is firing on all cylinders. President Obama passed the stimulus, and the economy has been growing ever since. President Obama took over George W. Bush's bank bailouts (TARP) and managed them in a way that ended up with the American taxpayer seeing a profit on their investment.
Currently, we have a Republican candidate arguing against everything that has worked, and promising to create 12 million jobs simply by further extending tax cuts for the richest among us at the expense of the middle class and poor.
Economic studies have consistently found that Romney's plans would actually cost us jobs, and slow economic growth. You could believe the experts, or you could take Romney at his word, which history shows us has the least value of anything Romney can claim to own.
Sincerely,
#$#$#$#$#$#
My 2nd letter, to Harrisburg's Patriot News: (I cut this one down a bit before sending, which probably helped it get printed.)
To the Editor,
As I drive around central PA and see the abundance of Romney yard signs I have to wonder which Mitt Romney these people are supporting?
The Mitt Romney who said he would be more pro-choice "than Teddy Kennedy," or the one who claims to be pro-life now that he's running as a conservative? The Mitt Romney who claims to have been a "severely conservative" Governor of Massachusetts, or the Mitt Romney who touts his supposed bipartisanship while being Governor? The Mitt Romney who says that employers shouldn't stand between a woman and her contraceptive and medical choices, or the Mitt Romney who claims the President is waging some supposed "War on Religion" for having the very same position? The Mitt Romney who said we should let "Detroit go bankrupt" before the auto bailouts, or the Mitt Romney who now "takes credit" for the President's successful handling of the auto recovery? The Mitt Romney who rails against deficits and debt, or the Mitt Romney who plans to maintain the expensive Bush tax cuts for the wealthy while pushing an additional 20% tax cut to the rich (totaling 4.8 trillion in lost revenue, while getting rid of home mortgage tax credits and education credits for the middle class,) and promising to add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit by getting rid of the Affordable Care Act? The Mitt Romney who attacks Democrats for saving Medicare 716 billion dollars of wasteful spending and extending the viability of Medicare an extra eight years, or the Mitt Romney who calls the very same savings "marvelous" when proposed in his running mate's budget? The Mitt Romney who talks a big game about supporting the military, or the Mitt Romney who failed to thank the troops or even mention those serving in Afghanistan at either his party's convention or during the debates? The Mitt Romney who protested FOR the Vietnam draft and our continued presence in that conflict, or the Mitt Romney who used four deferments to avoid serving in the war in order to spend time in France? The Mitt Romney who said that no one should blame a President for a bad economy (when Bush was President,) or the Mitt Romney who blames President Obama for the economic crisis that started before he was even elected? The Mitt Romney who has criticized all of President Obama's foreign policy positions, from saying he would go after Bin Laden, to ending the war in Iraq, or the Mitt Romney who agreed with practically every foreign policy decision of President Obama's during the last debate? The Mitt Romney who claims President Obama has raised taxes, or the Mitt Romney who admitted a few weeks back that President Obama actually hasn't raised taxes?
So far the only consistent principle Mitt Romney has held is a refusal to show his tax returns to a public he's asking to hire him to control their tax policy. Keep in mind, when he ran for Governor of Massachusetts he faced a similar scrutiny about his tax returns and told the public to "trust him," that they didn't have to see his tax returns. When his returns were finally released after he was elected it turned out he had been lying about what was in them.
In the end, Republican support for Romney seems to be less about any principled positions he holds (if any,) and more about their hatred of our current President. Ironic, when you consider the fact that in a lot of ways he's been a more successful President on conservative causes (lowering middle class taxes, being fiscally responsible, being strong on national defense, passing a Healthcare bill originally conceived by conservative Republicans) than any recent Republican President.
Sincerely,
%%$&#%#
Sun Nov 04, 2012 at 1:02 PM PT: Wow, thanks for all of the comments and recs, guys. This is my first diary here, so it's great to see so many people having read it. Glad to see so many people working so hard to GOTV. We're gonna win this one!
I'm busy with meeting a deadline and helping with GOTV so I haven't had a chance to look at all the comments yet. When I do that it soaks up all my time replying and so forth....
Sun Nov 04, 2012 at 1:04 PM PT: Also, I should clarify that I am a white, working class male. Just the kind of person that the media claims isn't voting for Obama and Democrats.
And I'll be bringing two newly registered, un-"likely" voters along to the polls in PA to vote for the good guys.
