National Republican Party
310 First Street, S.E.
Washington, DC 20003
R. D. Taylor
Palm Bay, Florida 32905
24 January, 2010
Dear Michael:
I’ve been getting quite a bit of mail from you and the party of late addressing me by my first name and acting like you know me, and wanting me to participate in this great battle you describe. I understand from your entreaties just how much you would like for me to open my wallet and provide those funds for your use for more of the same.
The problem is, that you and our party are so terribly out of touch, have strayed so far into the hands of the religious right and have totally sold out the small businessman or woman to Wall Street, big Pharma, the Insurance industry and big Oil, that you’ve lost your way.
Your letters and simplistic surveys and censuses don’t seek to find out what we are really going through, or inquire about how we might better things, they are written and presented in such a way as to simply reaffirm the party views and ideas you’ve already decided. They have become insulting to our intelligence in their forgone construction and form.
There doesn’t seem to be much our party can do except to make sure those nasty Democrats aren’t able to do anything. How totally en genius! Just blame everything on Obama and the Democrats. Yet they came to power because our party simply doesn’t get it anymore.
On health care, our party has played nothing but spoiler. Refusing to support anything excepting more of the same lining of the pockets of the insurance establishment, pharmacological companies, hospitals and medical establishment.
You would have us all believe that if we established a single payer system, that the world would end, that we would loose all control over our health care, with Washington bureaucrats making all of our health care decisions for us.
Yet, you totally refuse to acknowledge that under the current system we already have bureaucrats making our health care decisions for us. It’s just that now those bureaucrats work for for-profit insurance companies HMOs and Hospitals.
The party refuses to point out, or even reccognise that all those lobbying dollars you and our other politicians from both sides of the aisle so eagerly accept from this entire industry, come from the skim off dollars paid for health care, diverted to profits, the insurance company’s profit and via their lobbying contributions to political parties and candidates, your profit.
You won’t even acknowledge the fact that their profits are a direct result of them withholding as much of the premiums paid as possible while paying as few benefits as possible.
Our law continues to allow this whole industry a total exemption from anti-trust regulation, allowing them to collude openly over benefits, premiums and payment structures throughout the entire industry. Yet, the same regulations they are exempt from, would make me a Federal Felon if I even mentioned pricing structures over a dinner with colleagues.
So instead of meaningful debate on real issues, our party promotes the “Death Panels” myths and the notion that all of a sudden we won’t have any control over our own health care. Just how much control do you think we have now Michael? How about those of us at middle, or like me, preretirement age, all of us with some sort of preexisting condition trying to get health insurance?
But, let’s not dwell too long on health care, let’s move on to the economy and it’s current state. Michael continuing to blame the Democrats for this mess is just plain a lie. The final nail in Glass-Spiegle’s coffin was placed there by a Republican congress, ushered through by none other than your old friend Phil Grahm from Texas.
Is your memory getting any better now Michael?
It was Phil’s bill that removed the final barrier to Banks, Insurance companies and Brokerage houses mingling and merging funds for their own profit and amusement. Oh and Mr. Greenspan was more than happy to allow that those regulations were no longer needed due to the vastly improved “risk management” that the markets allowed. (Yea, they were all set off against credit default swaps sold by a company without the reserves to pay even 1% should any turn bad, AIG.)
Isn’t Mr. Giethner a Bush appointee? Hey didn’t his old banking and brokerage buddies make out nicely in that AIG payout on their paper? You just can’t get better than 100% on the dollar for otherwise worthless paper, from a bankrupt company now can you? Oh, you did know that those were taxpayer dollars being paid out didn’t you Michael?
Yes, even the “Bailout” happened on Mr. Bush’s watch now didn’t it? Oh, and it was Republican appointees heading up all those watchful regulatory agencies now wasn’t it Michael? Come on, now a little honesty just might help you regain some of the respect you and our party have so richly lost.
And, while we are on the subject of Mr. Bush’s administration, wasn’t he the one who so greatly expanded the federal agencies of “Homeland and Transportation Security” giving us a whole new layer of Federal expansion into our everyday lives? And, plunged us into war on two fronts by using fear and distortions of intelligence and out right lies to get our support all for the total illusion of security.
I say illusion Michael, because even with all our loss of civil rights, armed guards, airport screening and extra security, another terrorist got on a plane with malicious intent and who thwarted him? Fellow passengers Michael. The very passengers who are all treated as though they were terrorist just to get on the plane. Not the massive intelligence apparatus, nor the self important screeners, nor any of our government’s efforts prevented his boarding. Yet, plain old citizens were the ones who jumped in to thwart his evil deed, not all the billions spent, nor phones tapped, nor suspects tortured thwarted this terrorist, but rather normal citizens, acting freely, in their own best self interest.
Yet it was this “Faith Based” president and his administration who, after 9/11 never acted in faith again but, always out of fear. It was this unalloyed fear that was played so beautifully to get us into Iraq and Afghanistan. It is fear rather than faith that would have us swap our personal freedoms and constitutional protections for the total illusion of making us safer. And Michael, a Republican President and Vice President who spread such fears and who’s administration threw out the rule of law and just made up their own rules to suit the mood. Let us not forget that it was this administration that gave us David Chew, who characterizes semi-drowning someone as “enhanced interrogation”
Yes Michael we are the party of torture, Guantanamo and indefinite detention without charge, or trial. And all those mercenaries that Mr. Bush and Cheny hired to fill in where our men and women in uniform couldn’t in their global adventures, have given our country a very well deserved black eye, while arrogantly operating outside any law, but their own, killing anyone in their paths and lowering our esteem as a nation in the eyes of the whole world.
I’m sure that it will be a very easy step to “privatize” security for the next national emergency, hurricane, flood or such and just call in the men and women of Xi, or whatever they have morphed into and let them handle it. Far easier to just call them and write the check than call out the national guard. Oh wait, we can’t call out our Guard, they’ve already been called up and are in Afghanistan, or Iraq filling in those holes in our game plan that regular Army can’t, because so much money has been funneled to “private security”.
How would you feel about such “private security” forces handling traffic control around your home in times of disaster Michael? What with their demonstrated immunity and ability to use whatever force they deem appropriate and the only demonstrated check being that they will have to change their corporate name to get the next government contract?
Now, let’s move on to the party’s social agenda, which best I can tell from your mailers is like this: Every kid has prayers in school everyday before class, no one can get an abortion, marry who they want, research what they think might be important, or burn a flag.
Seems more a religious agenda than a proper political one. Any move toward more church involvement with the party places the party’s agenda in someone’s doctor’s office, bedroom or school. Your total pandering to the Christian right with their absolute knowledge of what is right and wrong, for everyone, continues to allow for governmental creep and overreach into our daily lives.
Now, let’s discuss our parties last Presidential ticket. John McCain is a fine Senator, a true war hero and would have made an acceptable choice. In fact he was my choice all the way up and until about a week after he’d made his choice of running mate. Then you lost me. When I saw the footage of Mrs. Palin’s interview where she was asked the incredibly soft ball question, “What periodicals do you read?” and instead of answering anything, she simply got a blank look and started rambling, I knew we as a nation could not afford to have this woman a heartbeat away from being our commander and chief.
And, sadly, that McCain had made this choice, seriously called into question what head he was thinking with, thus making him unacceptable for the role as well.
And, while we are on the topic of Mrs. Palin, did you happen to catch the video of Glen Beck's interview with her?
On the other hand, had the V.P. selection gone to our former Secretary of State, Dr. Rice, that decision would have demonstrated in a stroke that both were up to the task, taken the race advantage from Obama, and earned my vote.
It’s not that I don’t admire any woman who can gut her own moose kill, it’s just that I don’t see that in and of itself as, qualifying one for the second highest position in the nation.
As to what our party should stand for; whatever happened to actual limited government, defending an individuals rights under the constitution? All of our rights Michael, not just the ones that make the religious right feel good, like the freedom of worship, even if it isn’t what you, or they believe? Protection from unreasonable searches and equal protection under the law (find a TSA or Homeland Security officer anywhere who can even imagine an “unreasonable” search.)?
What about defending an individual’s right to their own idea of the pursuit of happiness?
What is it about defending an individuals right to the “pursuit of happiness” makes the party uncomfortable Michael?
Is it the point about letting individuals decide for themselves, instead of the party, clergy and then by extention government deciding for them?
You would scare us all silly about those evil Democrats and what they are trying to do to us, yet the biggest expansion and grab in decades came on Republican watch. The dismantling of the regulations that were meant to safeguard against the very debacle that occurred on Wall street were put forward and passed by Republicans. The regulators, top to bottom who were asleep at the switch with everything from Credit defaults to the Bernard Maidoff Ponzi scheme were all either Republican appointees, or were overseen by Republican appointees.
Yet Michael, you continue to beg me to support this party with my contributions, without acknowledging just how far this party has strayed and how much damage elected Republicans caused in the last couple of decades. Now, with last weeks Supreme Court decision and all that cheering coming from almost all of our elected Republican law makers about free speech, all the while dancing dollar signs jigs, in anticipation of those new corporate contributions about to start flowing Michel, I've already got the best party and politicians that money can buy.
So, frankly the answer isn't just no, until the party reaffirms and realigns itself with less government, small business, more personal responsibilities, greater personal liberties, and an absolute protection of the entire bill of rights and the rule of law, the answer is hell no!
Very Truly Yours,
R. D. Taylor
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