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Don’t overlook Democrats’ good; Lorraine D’Eramo; Beaver County Times; September 22, 2010.
In previous letters, Ms. D’Eramo said Sarah Palin wasn’t “a decent mother to her special-needs son and other four children” and “agree[d] with everything letter writer Lonzie Cox Jr. wrote in his May 26 letter to the editor (‘Democrats must act like Democrats’).” I didn’t critique the second letter (“Democrats should emulate tea partiers,” 6/6/10) and it’s no longer on the Times website. Another letter was entitled “Place the blame where it belongs.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“I’m a grateful senior citizen. I thank God every day for all his blessings.
“Without God and the Democratic Party, I’d be in bad shape.
“My Social Security and a small pension provide me with a comfortable living, not just an existence. Medicare gives me excellent health care. Both are government entitlement programs.”
[RWC] I don’t know if she realizes it, but in this letter Ms. D’Eramo thanks Democrats for making her dependent on government. Maybe it’s just me, but who wants to be dependent on politicians and government bureaucrats? What happened to American self-reliance?
“Most seniors are selfish and don’t worry about anyone else. Why shouldn’t people who are working and people who want to work enjoy the same standard of living? I don’t know where seniors think the money to support them comes from, but if people are not working, they’re not paying the taxes that pay for Social Security and Medicare.”
[RWC] I don’t buy the “Most seniors are selfish and don’t worry about anyone else” comment, but at least Ms. D’Eramo appears to recognize she at least partially lives off the work of others.
“President Barack Obama may not be cleaning up the Republicans’ mess as fast as they would like, but he is making progress. Now, since we don’t have to finance Bush’s war in Iraq, we’ll have more money to restore our economy.”
[RWC] Note Ms. D’Eramo doesn’t detail “the Republicans’ mess.” Doing so would necessitate Ms. D’Eramo getting into facts.
Has Ms. D’Eramo missed the fact we’re still in Iraq and Mr. Obama has escalated our effort in Afghanistan? Make no mistake; Ms. D’Eramo would have supported the Iraq war had Mr. Bush been a Democrat.
Finally, has Ms. D’Eramo not noticed throwing taxpayer dollars at “our economy” has not worked and never has? If government spending is the key, why was spending for “Bush’s war in Iraq” a problem? After all, other than military pay, doesn’t the vast majority of spending go to U.S. businesses providing goods and services to the military and provide lots of jobs?
“Thank God and the Democratic Party for all the privileges we enjoy. The Republicans would have us working for minimum wage until the day we die.”
[RWC] Perhaps Ms. D’Eramo needs to read the Declaration of Independence: “… all men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The DOI doesn’t say anything about the Democrat – or any other party – giving us rights. That thought is continued in the Constitution. The Constitution grants rights to the government, not “we the people,” because it assumes individuals “are [already] endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” To make this clear, the 10th Amendment says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States respectively, or to the people.”
As for the minimum wage comment, does Ms. D’Eramo just make stuff up? First, real Republicans don’t believe in a minimum wage. Employers and employees should be able to agree on a mutually-agreeable wage with no government-mandated floor or ceiling. Second, if everyone earned a minimum wage, we’d all be poor because no one does well when no one can afford to buy anything. Third, does Ms. D’Eramo realize her beloved Democrat party supports an illegal immigration policy that depresses wages by encouraging a flood of un- and undereducated illegal aliens willing to work for peanuts?
“Let’s remember on which side our bread is buttered and not bite the hand that feeds us.”
[RWC] Mix metaphors much, Ms. D’Eramo? In any case, the hand that feeds me is my own.
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