We Get What We Deserve

A thoughtful and insightful letter to the editor was published today,Sunday September 12, 2010 in the Herald Times, a small newspaper serving Bloomington, Indiana. I reproduce it here. Readers might want to consider composing their own letters, using Mr. Newton's piece as a template, and offer it up to editors of your own local or regional paper.

An Aug. 15 letter asked “why anyone would vote Republican” this year. The answer is simple. Republicans are better salesmen. They peddle fear more effectively than Democrats sell hope. And stupid voters buy it by the carload.

Anyone who isn’t clear on how American elections work should watch Michael Douglas’s final monologue from the 1995 film “The American President.” He nails it without naming Republicans per se.

In short, they appeal to prejudice, frighten and enrage voters with lies, then tell them who’s to blame for all their problems (“liberals”) and promise tax-cuts (for their mega-rich contributors). Waving the Bible while you lie also pays dividends.

It’s said that people get the government they deserve. If you’re voting GOP in November, brace yourself for more trickle-down voodoo economics, pointless wars, loss of basic liberties, rape of the environment and wholesale looting of the country.

Another wild ride to the radical right — and down the proverbial tube.
Michael Newton, Nashville, Indiana

Additionally, the NYT had a great piece spotlighting the leader of Republicans in the House, John Boehner, who is aiming to become Speaker if the GOP wins a majority in November. He maintains "extremely tight ties" with lobbyists and former aides who now represent some of the country's largest companies, according to an article.

Among the lobbyists backing Boehner: The tobacco industry, which has contributed at least $340,000 to his political campaigns. The top individual donor throughout Boehner's political career, according to data from the Center for Public Integrity, is Bruce Gates, a lobbyist for the cigarette maker Altria.

On "Face the Nation" this morning, Bob Schieffer asked Boehner - who smokes - about his contributions from the tobacco industry. "How do you square that with the fact that cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in this country - 435,000 people, their deaths are linked to cancer, that's 1 in 5. How do you justify that in your own mind?"

"Bob, tobacco is a legal product in America," Boehner said. "The American people have a right to decide for themselves whether they want to partake or not. There are lots of things that we deal with and come in contact with every day - from alcohol to food to cigarettes - a lot of the things that aren't good for our health. But the American people ought to have the right to make those decisions on their own."

"Well, I mean, they have a right to shoot themselves if they choose to," Schieffer said. "Shouldn't we do something to try to encourage them not to [smoke]? I mean, do you think that's a good example?"

"Well, listen, I wish I didn't have this bad habit, and it is a bad habit," Boehner said. Referring to Schieffer being a cancer survivor, Boehner said, "You've had it, you've dealt with it. But it's something that I choose to do, and you know at some point, maybe I'll decide I've had enough of it."

"Well, I mean, if you should become Speaker, you could set a good example for the country by saying 'I'm going to stop smoking,'" Schieffer said. "Maybe you could get the President - I understand he smokes too, - maybe the two of you could find a way to try to stop smoking. That'd be kind of a good thing, wouldn't it?"

Here's the Question:

How likely is it that Boner...er sorry...Boehner, should he become Speaker, encourage people to quit smoking when the tobacco industry is contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to his politcal campaign?