Letters: We must all work together

Four more years is right.

For me and the small percentage of voters who have never belonged to a party, it will be four more years of hearing the Republicans whine and cry and make excuses why they lost the election and how the country is doomed.

It is the same thing we heard after the 2000 election from the Democrats. The Supreme Court gave George W. Bush his election and Barack Obama won his by promising free stuff. I’m sure that’s the first time a politician ever promised something to his voters or gave something to his biggest donors. I’m sure Halliburton got lucky and ended up with a no-bid contract to furnish all materials in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If this country is doomed, it will be because both parties have decided the best way to get our country on the right path is to take extremist views and when it doesn’t turn out like they want, start whining, crying and blaming everyone but themselves.

One party wants to turn the country over to the private sector. Great idea. Remember Enron, Bernie Madoff, Stanford and the giant bank failures? The other party wants the government to fix every problem that arises no matter how large or small it is.

The reason this country did so well was because when government got too big it was scaled back. When corporations got greedy or hurt workers or polluted waterways needlessly, government reined them in with laws.

Both parties have decided if they can’t have it all, nobody will get anything. Extremism is every bit as dangerous as communism. If this country is doomed, one person or one party will not cause it.

It took most of this country working together to make us what we are. It will take most of this country not getting along to destroy it.

Cliff Johnson

retired boilermaker

St. Amant

Comments

1) Comment by DMJ - 03/01/2013

Agagent, go and read the actual deal and I think the answer to the question "Where's the compromise?" will make itself clear.

2) Comment by agagent - 02/01/2013

Do you really think Obama will ever stop the spending and where's the compromise? The debt ceiling deal had about 41 times the tax increases to spending cuts. That is what to expect from Obama who is more concerned about playing golf than the country's economy.

3) Comment by teacherguy - 02/01/2013

I have to agree with the author of this letter, to some degree, AND the comments posted here to some degree. Most democrats and republicans would rather beat their chests on political ideology than to embrace common sense legislation, spending, etc. However, as many have pointed out in the comments here...stereotyping them ALL into "camps" is not accurate either. Therefore, I decided to research ALL the third party candidates in the last Presidential election and cast my vote to be different from the mainstream ideas promoted by the two major candidates. Many may say that is simply throwing away my vote, but it is better than voting for someone I don't believe in or not voting at all! Who knows, if enough voters would do that....the politicians may learn to work together to EARN votes again instead of inheriting votes due to party affiliation?

4) Comment by crazycajun - 02/01/2013

Even though I've been away for quite awhile some things never change. I see "agagent, tradewinns & being_stupid are continuing to provide everyone with hilarious interpretations of reality. Keep up the good job guys. Without you our days would be so boring. Thanks again.

5) Comment by DMJ - 02/01/2013

Wow, this guy inaccurately characatured both parties, defining both by only the extreme elements in them. Yeah, this kind of thing will really get people working together, Cliff. Ugh. Look...I don't like Republicanism; I think it's wrong in a lot of ways, but even I know all Repubilcans don't want to simply hand over the country to the private sector for exploitation (at least I hope not). Conversely, Democrats don't want the government to fix every problem. Reducing the motivations in such ways is not helping anything. Not everyone resides on the far right or far left. In fact, most people don't. Fox News and MSNBC aren't the only 2 sources of news.

6) Comment by agagent - 02/01/2013

Obama’s campaign divided the county by income, by sex, by religion, by race, by second amendment rights, geographic location, etc. and he won. States like California, Illinois and New York and central cities of Cleveland, Chicago, New York, and Philly will work together with Obama like they voted for him . . . 110%. However, all of those Republican governors were not elected to work with Obama, and they do not want make their states more like Democratic Party utopias of our crumbling, bankrupt urban city centers (Obamavilles) which elected Obama.

7) Comment by Being_Stupid - 02/01/2013

Halliburton did not get "lucky". Name one other company that would have been able to supply the war effort in reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan? Halliburton and KBR did not get "lucky", Halliburton is basically the only company besides maybe Shaw (which is way smaller than Halliburton) that can provide the type of services that the Coalition Forces needed to reconstruct Iraq. There is no other company that can do what Halliburton is capable of doing.

8) Comment by Being_Stupid - 02/01/2013

Enron, Bernie Madoff, Stanford are examples of Ponzi Schemes, not examples of Private Sector. Nice strawman argument. But these Ponzi Schemes do not represent Capitalism or the Private Sector.

9) Comment by Being_Stupid - 02/01/2013

Define "extremism". He says "extremism" is just as dangerous as communism. What "extremism" is he talking about?

10) Comment by lovemykids - 02/01/2013

Great letter, Cliff.

11) Comment by swinham - 02/01/2013

I think tradewinns makes Mr. Johnson's point for him in more ways than one.

12) Comment by Bighug - 02/01/2013

GOING to go broke, tradewinns? Define "broke."

13) Comment by tradewinns - 01/01/2013

if our country doesn't quit enhancing living for the "poor", we are going to go broke before my grandchildren become old enough to start contributing to the tax base. that "homeless bum" the police officer purchased boots for is just the epitome of our current generations of bums. they may not have lots of money, but they also don't have any needs not met by the taxpayer, nor do they have a job or the inclination to improve themselves.