An Open Letter to John McCain
Mr. McCain
Let me preface these comments with the facts that I have been a registered Republican during the majority of the 40 years that I have been voting. I vote in almost all primary, general, and certainly in all presidential elections. I voted for you this year in the NJ Republican primary.
Unfortunately, as events have unfolded I cannot vote for you in the general election. I feel so strong about my disappointment in you and your campaign that not only will I be voting for Barack Obama, but I will be contributing to his campaign!
Over the past eight years I have developed revulsion to George Bush. His incompetence, arrogance, duplicity, and anti-intellectualism are beyond my endurance. During this time period your embracing him was repugnant, but understandable in positioning yourself with the fringe base for the party’s nomination. By the time you gambled by supporting “the surge”, I was convinced withdrawal was the best option, yet I respected your position and courage.
I had hoped that after winning the nomination your positions would move from those pandering to the fundamentalist base and return to more mainstream sensibilities. This has not happened. Your choice of Sarah Palin, is an affront to the sensibilities of any competent American. Her provincialism, arrogance, and lack of humility and world experience are astounding. The thought of her assuming the Presidency is frightening.
The politics of the Bush campaigns have become legendary for their divisiveness, lies, and dirty tactics. Since you had experienced the dirty tricks of the of the Bush/Rove approach in South Carolina in 2000, I hoped you would distance yourself from this approach for your campaign. Indeed, the Straight Talk Express started in the proper direction during the primary season, but somewhere on the journey the wheels came off the bus. The ads and statements from your campaign have increasingly resorted to outright lies, misattributions, and negative smears. Mr. McCain, you should know better! I find the tenor of your campaign an affront to my intelligence and values along with adding to the divisiveness which is harming our country. The over use of your status as a former POW as a response to any criticism is almost as absurd and repulsive as Rudy Giuliani invoking “9/11” for all circumstances.
The Bush Administration, which you supported during the past eight years, is probably most noted for its incompetence and the politicizing all aspects of government. The concept of smaller government may have appeal, but the dismantling the departments of the government and replacing competent bureaucrats with political hacks was most apparent during the Hurricane Katrina debacle. Despite your self-portrayal as a maverick, your identification with the Bush policies leaves you extremely suspect. With privatization of services, billions of dollars were made by connected Republicans while our servicemen paid with their lives. That is unconscionable. In addition, your lack of a renewable long term energy strategy and catering to short term oil interests leaves our country vulnerable for future generations. Gas tax holidays and offshore drilling only pander for votes and do a disservice to our country’s true needs.
Again in the past few days, the Bush Administration’s wrong headed policies and incompetence have again surfaced in a new arena – potential financial collapse. Although you seem to be steering a sensible course so far, your admitted bias towards less regulation and your disastrous financial advisors Carly Fiorina and Phil Gramm leave you as a poor choice. The financial well being of our country is too important to risk with the continuation of military interventions you support which squander our resources (never mind lives) and an unregulated market approach which has enriched a select few at the expense of the hard working masses.
Your appropriation of the term “My friend” to those whose support you seek has a folksy and personal quality. Your campaign conduct lately and the Bush policies that you have supported make you the “type of friend” that I no longer wish to have. Should you reach the Presidency, I wish you well and hope that you will re-find the courage of your convictions and do what is right for our country.
