Dear
Like many other Americans, I have watched in disbelief over the last two weeks as Republican leaders and their talk radio cohorts have attempted to block recovery measures. It is difficult to fathom this degree of self-centeredness. So let’s assume you speak in good faith and are just unaware of the crisis looming.
You need to be clear that the imminent catastrophe is your disturbing legacy. It is a direct result of the failure to regulate our financial institutions; the alarming disconnect between average Americans and your party (as evidenced by the millions of conservatives who voted Democratic); and the failure to monitor and repair infrastructure and the very fabric of our society, such as schools and hospitals.
It is now time to fix the mess you have wrought. This is not the time to be recalcitrant and blinkered. Consider the possibility that your views may be wrong, or at least that other views have validity. Please join the President in trying something else. Our future is at stake.
Yours truly,
I was distressed to learn that part of Republicans’ objection to the stimulus package is its emphasis on education. Perhaps you are unaware that more and more jobs are being outsourced to places such as India and China because their workers have the needed education and skills. We all live in a global village, and to compete in everything from service industries to the development of new technologies, we must keep up in education.
Over the last eight years, we saw that trying to bypass, buy up, or shop our way out of debt only created an ephemeral bubble. That bubble has burst. Now it is absolutely essential that we wise up and do more to prepare our next generation to produce saleable items, original technology, and culturally sensitive services. For this, education is critical. To leave it out of any stimulus package is short-sighted.
I hope that, as a committed citizen of our great country, you will be able to reassess your outmoded ideology and truly “Put Our Country First.”
