Letter To Republicans - Why you should not vote for George W. Bush

2 October 2004

 

Dear Republican:

 

If you are lucky enough to belong to the class of richest Americans, then you should definitely vote for George W. Bush. It only makes sense.[1]

After all, if you are rich, you will only be voting in your own self-interest. George W. Bush will sign more laws that make people like you richer. You can be certain of that. Bush's friends and wealthy supporters fall into this category, and you too can also benefit, whether or not you know Bush personally.

Quality of life

However, if you are NOT one of the 10% of richest Americans, then you should consider whether or not your quality of life would suffer even more under a second Bush  term. Consider:

 

• Bush is doing nothing to stop the massive outsourcing of white-collar IT and middle management jobs overseas.[2]

• The rich will continue to enjoy a large tax cut. Your tax cut, should you have a job, will remain minimal.[3]
• Oil prices have risen dramatically under Bush.[4] This affects the price of everything, not only gasoline, but also everything from food to appliances.

• Bush has ended overtime pay as it has been known since the 1930s.[5] Union scale blue-collar jobs are almost impossible to find now, but you may know a few lucky people who still have them. U.S. corporations work to eliminate or outsource many of these jobs, which are not protected by the Bush administration.
• Bush has launched the federal government into its largest deficits in history.[6] Many of your taxes (if you have a job) are now paid to service this deficit.
• Bush's Patriot Act has weakened your civil rights, as stated in the Bill of Rights.[7] While the federal government has always spied on Americans, it has traditionally required a search warrant, or else it was illegal.

 

Homeland Security and War Abroad

While Bush talks tough on Homeland security, his record is not strong.

• When all is said and done, 9/11 occurred on Bush's watch. At 9:03 a.m. on 9/11 Bush knew that 2 planes had crashed into the World Trade Center, and yet he sat listening to first graders read him a story about a pet goat[8]. Thirty minutes later, a plane crashed into the Pentagon. No fighter jets intercepted the hijacked planes, as is standard procedure. No one knew whether Bush himself might be a target, but the Secret Service did not remove him. Bush then gave a press conference, well before the fourth plane allegedly crashed. These are not the actions of a strong defense leader.
• Bush's Justice Department  (under John Ashcroft) has made no convictions for domestic terrorism[9], despite lavish funding, and the unconstitutional attack on the U.S. Constitution, cynically named the USA Patriot Act.
• There is no evidence whatsoever that Sadddam Hussein (evil dictator that he was) had ties to Al-Qaeda or to 9/11.[10] Yet the Bush administration stated this and insinuated it many times, so much so that at one point more than 60% of Americans reportedly believed in such a connection. This helped the Bush administration paint the Iraq war as a war of pre-emptive self-defense.
• The Iraq war itself will turn out to be one of the greatest disasters in U.S.military history[11]. To admit reality is patriotic. Every American should consider whether the cost of more than 16,000 casualties, 100 billion dollars, and the trust of the rest of the world, are worth this war.
• Consider that even invading and occupying every country in the Middle East would probably only increase the terrorist attacks directed at the U.S., not reduce them.

Values

It's a good chance that you are a Republican because of values. Like most people, you care about traditional core values surrounding family and God.

• Remember that it is the people who create families, and worship God, and perform hard work and make America great.
• No amount of government intervention can re-create the golden age of America that many conservatives believe has been lost. You can make a decisive difference in your life to make the world a better place. Don’t expect government action to change the filth you see on TV or movies.
• Vote in alignment with your own self-interest. Don’t give the rich more tax cuts because of issues like abortion, or because you resent liberals.

Vote your conscience

If you are a Republican, then it is understandable that you could not vote for John Kerry. You may think that Kerry is weak on defense, a waffling decision-maker, and just not as strong a leader as Bush. If such is the case, still remember the record of George W. Bush. Remember that he has not taken responsibility for the mistakes of his Administration.

 

Vote your conscience. There is probably a candidate who represents your real values more than George W. Bush. Many candiates are running.

 

Be true to your self,

 

 

Dan Geddes

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