Criticisms, criticisms.

I figured that this letter, funnier than hell ought to get a wider audience before discussing David Broder. (At least it’s short.)

TEA PARTYProtesters form political spectrum

In response to Fiona Gressler’s “Tea talk absent during Bush spending” on June 12, your answer is: “We the people” were happy that (1) We were kept safe; (2) we had a Republican president to balance the Democratic Congress; and (3) we still had the right to express our opinions without being called “racial” and “radical.”
If you watched any real news or attended a “We the People” tea party, you would see that there are just as many Democrats as Republicans protesting the ridiculous spending by our congress and president. Trillions of dollars are a far cry from millions!

Donna Lopez
Athol

Libby, Montana; that is the town where the asbestos mine formerly run by W.R. Grace is located, a town that is now dying from asbestos contamination.  During the last 8 years, as this saga of Libby, Montana was unfolding (as also reported by “The Inlander”); the GW administration dragged its heels on even helping the townspeople because I suppose that GW’s EPA was more for protecting the interests of W.R. Grace than seeing that justice was done on the behalf of that company’s employees, families and etc.  Only since the Obama administration has the EPA begun to take the initial steps toward rectifying a very bad situation there.  (Source:  Spokesman-Review editorial, “The Inlander”)  If letter writers such as Lopez were to dismiss totally the situation at Libby, Montana then yes, she could certainly argue that the previous Republican president “kept us safe.”  More accurately, GW didn’t hold accountable those business interests that were only interested in their profit margins as opposed to their customers and employees; let alone their neighbors.

Polls are tricky things, and David Broder wants to use polls as a rationale for attacking Obama on spending and etc. much like Lopez in that.  Well, according to the latest bright light on the horizon toward future economic recovery; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is among those 6 metropolitan areas that is most likely to bounce back from the current recession by the end of 2009 (Source:  Coeur d’Alene Press and Spokesman-Review).  Well, that heavy deficit spending in the area of “trillions of dollars” flowing into the pockets of the American people that Lopez and other TEA Party goers carped so much about seems to have done some good.  Whereas the spending by the previous administration was either flowing out of country (Iraq) or solely into the pockets of the haves and have mores.  Only because Obama seems to have put a safety net under the American people to prevent any further free falling to hit with a hard bump way down there some where, do those polled find themselves “increasingly critical” of his domestic policies in particular.

Well, let’s put it bluntly; if Obama wants to try to save GM, Chrysler, the banking system and etc.; he is first looking toward jobs and the American people even before he shores up those same businesses with billions of dollars.  Who else is going to take over the American manufacturing of automobiles if in fact GM disappeared off the free market map?  Precisely, an American company that would be able to start from scratch, have the investors lined up, have the factory ready to go, and produce the car of the future?  One doesn’t exist! They were called “The Big 3” automakers for a reason, they managed to squelch all start up companies in this nation and were only forced to compete with one another until foreign automakers began exporting far better manufactured cars into the U.S.  So, unless a foreign automaker takes over an American company; as was apparently the case with the Fiat and Chrysler deal, letting those companies bite the dust wouldn’t be an option.  This nation would have ultimately lost even more of its manufacturing base and this nation would become even more dependent on foreign manufacturers.  Which says a lot about the underlying ignorance of those polled.  Just as it says a lot about the underlying ignorance of Mr. Broder.  Obama must spend trillions to try to shore up a nation, its marketplace and a people that GW had allowed to decay over the last 8 years.

And in my estimation, Donna Lopez suffers short term memory problems, there was only a real Democratic Congress in the last two years; but enough GOP existed in that threadbare majority to block thoroughly any Dem initiative out there.  And when the GOP had ascended to a solid majority; they went as wild on the spending front as GW was more than happy to sign a blank check for them.  If that will tell you anything.  And by the way, tax cuts, tax breaks and any other subsidy also constitutes spending.  So, GW spent some trillions of dollars including the War in Iraq and Afghanistan, while in office.  And the people of Libby, Montana would disagree with Ms. Lopez’ assessment that GW had “kept them safe.”  GW’s d0mestic policies kept no one safe.