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Mr. Newt Gingrich, L.A.E.
Sir:
It was with great interest, and no small amount of astonishment, that I read your recent remarks about the attacks on Democrats who supported the HCR bill, and passed it into law.
After laudably condemning the use of violence or the threat thereof, you went on to state:
“I think the Democratic leadership has to take some moral responsibility for having behaved with such arrogance, in such a hostile way, that the American people are deeply upset. So let’s be honest with this. This is a game that they’re playing.”
Yes, by all means, sir – let’s be honest about this.
No doubt, millions of Americans are upset by the passage of the healthcare reform bill into law. Also not in doubt is that many of them are upset – infuriated! – because they have been told, and verily believe, that this law will mean that their elderly parents will be euthanized by decree of “death panels”, that their doctors will be forced to consult with government bureaucrats before treating them, and that those bureaucrats will have the final say on what treatment they receive.
I think we can both agree, sir, that this kind of misinformation did not emanate from the Democratic side of the aisle.
Throughout the debate on the issue of HCR, we have heard distortions, misrepresentations and – yes, let’s be really honest – out-and-out lies not only from the radio and TV personalities your party supports, but from prominent Republican office-holders themselves.
I stand to be corrected, sir, but not once have I heard anyone of your party condemn the dissemination of blatant falsehoods, nor even attempt to clarify or correct them.
Yes, Mr. Gingrich, there is a “game being played here”, and it is a vicious game indeed. The GOP has distorted the truth about HCR and its benefits not out of some sense of duty to educate the citizenry, but for political purposes. And the fact that those who now believe your party’s version of its implications are moved to unfettered fury, and even physical violence, is an outcome you knew full well would unfold.
That being said, let’s move on to the topic of “taking some moral responsibility”, shall we?
To this day, I have yet to hear any member of the Bush administration accept any responsibility for the actions and policies which have proven highly detrimental to our country, our environment, our standing in the global community – nor the lives damaged, destroyed and lost as a result of their conduct.
When did G.W. Bush, or any of his cohorts, take even a modicum of responsibility for the attacks of September 11th, which occurred after they dismissed and/or ignored numerous warnings from intelligence experts that such an event was likely imminent?
Even a simple statement like, "Heh, heh, guess I should've spent more time listenin' to them folks and less time on vacation," would have have been a step in the right direction.
Where is the shouldering of some moral responsibility for the troops who died pursuing WMDs in Iraq that never existed, or the deaths of innocent Iraqi citizens? Where is the taking of responsibility for plundering the treasury in the execution of a war predicated on what was, at best, complete incompetence in predicting its duration, cost and outcome – and, at worst, the pursuit of said actions despite reliable counsel to the contrary?
Where is the acceptance of responsibility for the needless deaths in NOLA thanks to the appointment of an inexperienced political crony to a position on which so many lives would come to depend?
Where are the contrite mea culpas for the behavior of the last administration – and the party that fully supported it – which has resulted in the appalling state of our economy, unprecedented debt, unemployment, outsourced jobs, lowered environmental standards, lowered education standards, financial institutions given free rein to bilk hardworking Americans – the tortured, the maimed, the orphaned, the dead?
Perhaps the most glaring example of your party members’ inability to accept any responsibility for their actions is Dick Cheney himself. After shooting his friend in the face, the Dick had the temerity to accept an apology from his victim, who asked to be pardoned for causing poor Mr. Cheney the undue embarrassment of negative publicity.
That, sir, is the attitude of the GOP – not only the party of NO, but the party of No matter what transpires, it’s NEVER our fault.
And now we have you, sir, displaying the same unmitigated gall that Cheney so aptly exemplified.
Your party members have lied, repeatedly, about HCR and its implications. You have stood by, silently, while your preferred sources of misinformation have fed utter nonsense to your foolishly trusting constituents, and you have done nothing – I repeat, nothing – to condemn such nonsense, nor disassociate yourselves from those who spew it.
Well, as they say, Mr. Gingrich, eventually the truth will out. When the death panels fail to materialize, when the previously uninsured realize they, too, can have access to affordable healthcare, when the citizenry come to understand that their healthcare providers are not required – in any way, shape, or form – to obtain authorization from a government official before dispensing treatment, the sound you will undoubtedly hear is that of the final flush as your party goes down the proverbial toilet.
Put more succinctly, sir, if you and your colleagues are waiting for an apology from the people you’ve shot in the face, I can assure you it won’t be forthcoming.
But perhaps, as part of your final farewell, you can insist that they “share some responsibility” – after all, they were stupid enough to have trusted you.
Yours Most Sincerely,
Nance Greggs
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