 Americans must pull together to prevent second Bush term
Ed Felien doesn’t need to reach back to the 1930s to dramatize this year’s political crisis in America. Just look at Italy today under the regime of neo-fascist Sylvio Berlusconi, and you are looking at the future of the United States under the second Bush administration.
With control of 90 percent of the communications media, control of the parliament,
control of most of the judiciary, Berlusconi holds the reins of power for the
indefinite future. Opposition is demoralized, intimidated and impotent.
Corruption is triumphant, for “he who has the gold makes the rules.”
Actually, conditions in America will be even worse than in Italy, because of
the huge numbers of the extremist fundamentalist fanatics who dominate the Republican
Party. Under a second Bush administration, you won’t even recognize the
United States Constitution.
I voted for Nader and LaDuke in 2000, and I’m proud of it. I have no use
for the Democrats who have spent the last four years blaming Nader for “spoiling”
the 2000 election, rather than blaming Bush for stealing it. The Democratic
candidate, Al Gore, won the 2000 election by more than half a million votes,
and the Democratic Party couldn’t turn that into a political advantage.
The stolen 2000 election and the impending steal of the 2004 election, by means
of “black box” voting machines, ought to be the dominant issue in
this election. How can voters expect the Democrats to defend America from terrorists
if they can’t defend themselves from the jerks who hijacked the last presidential
election?
But Ed Felien is right. We absolutely have to support the Democratic team this
year.
For the first time since 1972, I’m going to throw away my vote on the
Democratic presidential ticket. I’ll vote for them despite the fact that
their timid and inept campaign is obviously carrying Kerry and Edwards down
to defeat.
I had hoped for better. I remember when John Kerry and his fellow Vietnam Veterans
spoke out against the Vietnam war policies and gave credibility to the antiwar
cause as no one else could do. Richard Nixon feared Kerry’s influence,
and William F. Buckley and other right-wingers smeared Kerry back then just
as the Republican hate machine is doing this year.
It isn’t our turn to win. But we have to fight to the very finish, with
the hope that our small and futile effort may inspire those who come after us,
because the battle for human freedom and dignity, and for the health of our
planet, like “truth crushed to earth,” will rise again.
Oliver Steinberg
St. Paul
RNC delegates avoided embarassing economic facts
At the Republican convention, the Republicans couldn’t brag about any
accomplishments of this abominable administration with its record-breaking
deficits, a deadly, costly and unnecessary war and the worst job loss since
Herbert Hoover.
So what do they do? Exploit the tragic events of 9/11 as if they had something
to do with preventing any future attacks when in fact they have done quite the
opposite, probably creating more terrorists than they eliminated.
“Pro-death” is the best way to define this president and the Republican
party with this bloody unnecessary war, their refusal to continue the assault
weapons ban, their wanton disregard for our air and water and immoral military
spending, their refusal to sign the Kyoto agreements, their refusal to
sign the nuclear test ban treaty and their refusal to put in place a conservation
plan in these times.
Don D. Johnson
Minneapolis
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