Mr. S------,
I don't know if you knew this, but I am not a reasonable person. There is probably an idea that you have of how 'left-wing' I am, but I think it might be mistaken. I am not a Democrat and most days I question if I am a liberal or not. The both of us, I am assuming, will probably agree on over half of possible policy issues.
To respond to your e-mail:
This article and this article will explain better than I can why the "left" (in quotes because I believe there is no Left in America, but a Phantom Left) is upset with that bastard Obama.
I agree with you about:
1. Health care reform was a disaster because it does nothing to lower costs and forces people to pay into a private industry that makes money off of denying people care. Buying across state lines would have been a better idea than Obamacare, although I think conservatives should take another look at single-payer, which, for whatever reason, has not been included in the debate at all. It is more cost effective, especially when we look at long-term healthcare cost projections.
2. The auto industry did not deserve to be bailed out. It has been making terrible cars for years and those companies should have been allowed to fail.
3. The stimulus was a disaster. Like government contracts in Iraq, no one has been tracking where all of this money has been going and to what effect it is being used. In essence, it was a robbery of public funds funneled to private hands. Obama was continuing another failed policy of Bush.
4. Offshore drilling accounts for something like 1% of all oil drilling on the planet. Banning it, or not banning it, means essentially nothing in terms of where the world is getting energy.
5. The EPA is a sham, barely funded with no real political power. I am surprised it still exists.
6. Farm subsidies are not on the Tea Party agenda because it affects them too much.
7. Half of the discretionary budget goes to the Defense Department. With over 800 military bases we have overreached. It is the biggest contributor on the deficit and is such a golden cow to politicians that no one is talking about it - with the exception of the two most honest men in the House: Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul. If you haven't had a chance to read Andrew Bacevich, he is a great historian, a veteran and a wonderful writer who does research on military overreach.
I don't agree about drilling 'everywhere' for coal, oil and gas because it doesn't seem like a good long term solution to the energy crisis. We reached peak oil in this country decades ago and drilling for gas and coal can affect water and air quality. I think we should rely on nuclear power plants until we can find a sustainable energy solution with wind and especially solar power. Engineers have been making great strides in how they harness solar energy and I think we should invest in that.
(The following quotes were from the e-mail he sent).
"I would deregulate almost all industries and allow only for oversite to ensure a reasonable degree of safety."
"I would make government as small as possible to get out of the way for American citizens to pursue life, liberty and happiness."
Then Republicans should both be supporting a Ron Paul instead of a Sarah Palin or a Mitt Romney or a Mike Huckabee. But they aren't. Why?
The elephant in the room of this e-mail is corporate money, yet another aspect of modern political life that I never hear about from conservative thinkers. The greatest threat to liberty and happiness on this planet comes from companies that put profits before people. I can go into detail more, if you want; I think it's a fair statement to say that ExxonMobil and GE have more power than the US government. They certainly influence Washington more than the voter can.
Truthfully, I believe that political persuasions are a circle and not a line. People on the "left" and people on the "right" agree about issues in the country (jobs, education and public health) far more than they recognize. You and I just come from different views in political philosophies, perhaps.
Let me know if there is anything I said that I could clarify on in more detail, or statements that you made that I did not sufficiently cover.
Believe me, please, when I say that I distrust, even perhaps despise, the government. Even though I am interested in the ins-and-outs of political power and politicians, I firmly believe that there are systemic problems with how Washington functions that neither political party addresses.
I hope this finds you well sir.
-(my name)
is it my dad?
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