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Edited on Sun Oct-31-04 04:53 AM by Carolab
As a long-time resident of St. Paul, I am ashamed at your endorsement of "President" Bush. This traditional Democratic stronghold has certainly shown its disdain for Mayor Kelly masquerading as a Democrat in making public his support for Bush. How can you claim to be the "paper of record" for Minnesota's capitol while being so patently unaware of its political pulse?
Further, your statements show a clear lack of judgment about what constitutes responsible and representative political leadership. Bush shows not merely utter disregard but complete contempt for the working class of this nation, as evidenced in his blatant favoritism of corporations and the wealthy "haves and have mores", as he himself describes his self-proclaimed "base". Under his "leadership", this country has suffered a net loss of over one million jobs--more than any president since Herbert Hoover--as outsourcing and privatization continue unabated and even openly encouraged. Income tax cuts have benefited the upper 1% of this nation's population, while rising expenses for such necessities as health care and Medicare, concurrent with deep slashes in vital domestic programs, have driven up the cost of living and driven down the standard of living for middle and lower class citizens. Meanwhile, we can all look forward to increasing property taxes to close the gap in federal funding support, while our already deteriorating civil infrastructure continues to weaken.
You say that Bush "displays strength and resolve" and "decisiveness" for being "decisive and resolute". As Senator Kerry has said, "one can be strong and be wrong". Bush made a disastrously wrong decision to abandon efforts in Afghanistan to track down terrorists and capture Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" in order to attack Saddam Hussein and begin an unwanted occupation of Iraq. As has been pointed out time and again, Hussein had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack nor did he have any weapons of mass destruction programs or any substantive connection to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. Yet, repeatedly, Bush refuses to admit his mistakes in misleading our nation and the world into this catastrophic situation which has cost us nearly $200 billion dollars, over 1100 military lives and 100,000 Iraqi lives. Meanwhile, with each passing day that bin laden remains "at large", the insurgency continues to grow, while our nation is at greater risk and our international support is at an all-time low.
Moreover, the nation's corporately consolidated media continue to distort Kerry's record and campaign positions, aiding and abetting the fallacious "flip-flop" charge, while continually giving Bush a "pass". Most notable is their collective reluctance to point out how he has repeatedly shifted his rationale for why we went to war, stubbornly clinging to each reason before finally yielding to the facts. Indeed, the final reason given--to foster freedom and democracy--is in direct contradiction to his stated position against "nation building" proffered in the 2000 campaign. After defending a "Defense of Marriage" amendment in order to woo Christian conservatives, he announced on national television in an interview with Charlie Gibson that he is, in fact, not against gay marriage. Numerous other examples can be found in his unfunded support for the No Child Left Behind program, his abandonment of numerous industry environmental regulations resulting in record high levels of mercury emissions and escalating "global warnings" worldwide, and the lack of adequate funding for Homeland Security as well as a reluctance to fully and swiftly implement the 9-11 Commission's recommendations.
Where, indeed, in all of this, is Bush's "sharper vision for a prosperous and safe 21st Century"? How, exactly, has he proven he can "vanquish our foes and keep America safe"? In what way is he the "better choice to lead America for the next four years"?
(my name)
St. Paul, MN
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