A Friend Writes a Letter

To a McCain supporter and allows me to post it here:

Dear --------:

You're incorrigible! Sarah Palin has been quoted as saying we should teach Adam & Eve creationism along side evolution in science classes in public schools. Need I say more? The fact that she doesn't have much experience in government doesn't bother me. Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney had tons of experience and look where that got us. It's her political opinions and record that bother me greatly. Take a look at what a Wasilla, AK resident, Anne Kilkenny, has to say about Sarah whom she has known since 1992 (Google her). I didn't see Sarah's entire interview last night but the excerpts were troubling... like suggesting we should potentially attack Russia. Oy!

You always profess to being a Republican because you don't like to be overly taxed and you don't like wasteful government spending. Then you go on to negate the last point by acknowledging that Republicans are as guilty of wasteful spending as Democrats. So that leaves taxation but that's not all this election is about. By voting for John McCain, you are also voting against a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion. Republicans would have us go back to the days of back alley abortions that almost killed [mutual friend's name removed] when we were 18. By voting for John McCain, you are saying that gays and lesbians are not normal manifestations of the human condition and should not have all the rights and privileges of heterosexuals.

By voting for John McCain, you are echoing Rudy Giuliani at the Republican Convention, "drill baby drill". I heard someone say that's like yelling "Smith-Corona baby Smith-Corona" at the beginning of the technology revolution. A vote for John McCain is a vote against promoting and developing renewable energy as the way to save our economy and our planet. By voting for John McCain you are siding with the NRA and helping the spread of handguns and assault weapons in this country. By voting for John McCain you're saying that warrantless wiretapping, torture, and the suspension of writ of habeas corpus and various other human and civil rights are all OK. You are saying that an endless War on Terror is OK. You're saying that singing "bomb, bomb, bomb...bomb, bomb Iran to the tune of Barbara Ann is a funny joke.

The Republican Party today is not the Republican Party of our fathers. While they were both military men, John McCain is not Dwight Eisenhower who, by the way, warned us of the military/industrial complex that now runs our country. John McCain may be a "maverick" (in '00 he was a "maverick", then he was in lockstep with Bush for 8 years, now he says he's a maverick again) but you know he's not going to change anything substantially. It will be 4 more years of the same thing. Maybe that's OK with you but when I look around at the environment, the occupation of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, the economy, the deficit, the crumbling state of our financial institutions, our energy policy, unemployment, human rights, civil rights, our status in the world, our morality as a country...it literally turns my stomach. Republicans today are not conservative, they're radical and don't deserve to be in power. The last 8 years have been an outrage and a disgrace.

You and your wife are two of the nicest people I know...kind, loving, generous and more. The idea that you can either ignore or support the overwhelmingly negative aspects of the Republican agenda really, really makes me sad and scared. If good people like you can live through the last 8 years and not want to see meaningful change in this country, we're in bad shape.

Sorry to rant.

I love you both.

Blade