The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Remedial History

7.18.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 5)

I generally avoid disagreeing with Bob Tyrrell because I admire him. That said, his assessment of McCain's chances against the "Prophet" Obama are, well, tinted with rose colored glasses. I've yet to see this steely toughness from the McCain campaign, that Mr. Tyrrell boasts of. Instead, I've seen an awful lot of pandering, (La Raza, per uno and A.G.W. for two, for all you bi-linguals) a whole lot of Republican and conservative bashing, a refusal to take the gloves off with this lightweight, Obama, per the Marquess of Queensberry's rulebook, and the insane refusal to knock sure fire issues out of the park for a 40-state landslide. Can anybody say more energy, less talk? How about the Dow is down: thank a Democrat. It's real easy, and you don't have to be a clueless Washington strategist to play.

Pelosi and Schumer want to sue OPEC for more oil, yet thousands of new American jobs are waiting to be created, if we'd only shelve the lawyers, and let the energy companies make energy. Jobs, energy, and economic / national security. Did I say 40-state landslide?

So, Mr. Tyrrell, you can make mention of Rush Limbaugh and his humor aimed at Prophet Obama, however, from what I see, not many others are joining in on the laugh. This campaign is McCain's for the losing, and a President Obama will be no laughing matter.
-- A. DiPentima

BEFORE ECONOMICS 101
Re: G. Tracy Mehan, III's College Nightmare:

G. Tracy Mehan probably thought he was writing a critique regarding the high cost of college. But his last three paragraphs are the kicker: kids who used to go off to college on "one suitcase" now require a "minivan" for all their "stuff."

Question: if kids already have all this stuff before making an honest buck in the real world (and far too many of them do) -- why do they need college?
-- Arnold Ahlert
Boca Raton, Florida

You would think that with the stratospheric cost of college tuition that the hardware would be included. My eldest attended college for a business degree and although we helped him pay his way he still has a sizable student loan, to my dismay. He wound up working as an auto mechanic (which was always his interest). The thought of him buying his own home in the near future would be difficult to manage. By contrast, his younger bother attended a trade school after high school and is now certified in Microsoft and other related software, he has a good paying job and his student loan is a fraction of what his older brother's is.

My advice to young people today is that most would be better-off avoiding the ridiculous high cost of college (and the liberal brainwashing) and pick a profession that suits you and go to a vocational school. Companies are looking for new-hires with this kind of training and you'll save yourself from a burdensome student load.
-- John Nelson
Hebron, Connecticut

I am sure my freshmen year at WVU in '66 was fairly typical: separate dorms with curfews, one pay phone per floor, communal showers, one TV in the basement lounge (3 channels), bologna turning green on the outer window sill in February. We had no microwaves, cars, nor calculators (remember the engineering students with their slide rules?) But we had a great time, didn't we?
-- Robert C. Bailey
Huntington, West Virginia

CONSERVATIVE PHILOLOGY
Re: Chaplain Michael Tomlinson's letter (under "Hanging Curve") in Reader Mail's Little Big League:

Chaplain Michael Tomlinson makes a confusing argument about the stakes of the Conservative movement with the Republican Party. He also seems to be saying that the Conservative "media" was too clever by half by throwing the monkey wrench into Hilary Clinton's campaign machine

I am not at all convinced Obama would have prevailed in any event because the "Democrats and the electorate were less than enthralled with another Clinton Presidency. It is true that a year ago a large number of Democrats supported Hilary despite a lack of enthusiasm because of her supposed "inevitability." But without some guerrilla warfare engaged by some Conservatives, that "inevitability" would have carried Hilary to her coronation in Denver without a scratch. That was the whole point: it was to our advantage to play "let's you and her fight." While it is true most Conservatives had it in for Hilary for a long time, the real point of the "mission" was to have Obama and Clinton rip into each other because McCain and the Republican Party would not and will not. Democrats are not gentlemen and ladies during election contests. They play for keeps and they love drawing blood in the process and they make no apologies for doing so. Meantime, Republicans act they are running to be Treasurer for the fifth grade student council.

Quite frankly, Conservatives have grown tired for being lectured by the Republican Party that we are to get with the program. The fact is it should be the reverse. It was Conservative ideas and involvement that brought the party beyond an also ran. Yet, the divines of the Republican Party refuse to dance with the ones that brought 'em. Instead, the Party responds "well, now that you won we're ready to lead." Republicans in Congress took decidedly unconservative positions, sponsored legislation any Democrat would be proud of, wouldn't fight, and sucked in the pork (talk about "destroying Ronald Reagan's legacy") but when all this leads to defeat -- somehow this is our fault!

Conservatives under considerable stress had supported and defended Bush even when he pushed statist legislation through Congress such as the Kennedy education bill, the expansion of the Medicare prescription benefit and a "campaign finance reform" that is a direct attack on our freedom of speech. We even defended Bush from the constant barrage of attacks when he and Republican Party couldn't bother themselves to do so. The breaking point came with aftermath of the 2006 elections. We simply resolved we will not carry the water for anyone in the Republican Party when they refuse to do so for themselves. The final straw came when Bush and the White House, without a hint of gratitude for past support took Conservatives to the woodshed for not supporting his odious Immigration bill. That was it. The Republican Party is going to have to either sink or swim. Frankly, at this point, the Party needs us more than we need them.

And so what has our Republican Party given us? A man has in the past gone out of his way to poke Conservatives in the eye and time after time rescue defeat from the jaws of victory. A man known in the Senate for promising his vote to you today and then voting against you tomorrow without so much as a Hallmark card. Yeah. Some coalition-builder. The McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance reform Act which limits political speech is enough to have his head put at the end of a pike.

Letter to the Editor

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