Tom Finch – 9/18/06

This page was last updated on September 18, 2006.

GOP has been high-jacked [sic]; Thomas Finch; Beaver County Times; September 18, 2006.

Mr. Finch’s letters never disappoint. As usual, his letter is little more than a string of liberal talking points. It’s at least the ninth anti-Bush and/or anti-Republican letter from Mr. Finch since December 2004 and the fourth since August 1^st. I wish he could get a regular column in the Times.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I concur with Vince Avedon’s letter (‘Bush has failed GOP,’ Sunday) supporting Democrats.”

[RWC] What a shock! One liberal supports the position of another liberal. When Republicans do this, folks like Mr. Finch refer to it as rubberstamping.

“Republicans derive their strength from dividing Americans. They paint everyone who disagrees with their misguided policies as ‘liberal, terrorist-loving, defeatists.’”

[RWC] Similar to what I noted in my critique of Mr. Avedon’s letter, democrats/liberals live by grouping people by ethnicity, race, sex, wealth, et cetera, but Mr. Finch claims “Republicans derive their strength from dividing Americans.” Remember, the Black, Hispanic, et cetera caucuses in Congress are all Democrat/liberal groups.

“The Democratic Party has not been high-jacked [sic] by the extreme left, but since it’s impossible to actually defend Bush, they spread manure calling Democrats ‘socialists,’ and ‘liberal-leftists.’”

[RWC] Contrary to Mr. Finch’s opinion, today’s Democrat leadership is not your father’s Democrat leadership.

I find it interesting Mr. Finch is a Democrat yet doesn’t want to be known as a liberal or socialist. Just as the Republican Party is (was?) the political vehicle used to advance conservative beliefs, the Democrat Party is the political vehicle used to advance liberal/progressive/socialist beliefs. Why are conservatives proud to be known as conservatives, yet liberals don’t want to be known as liberals, socialists, et cetera?

“Since when did representing the common good - not just the rich - become a negative attribute? I claim that the GOP has been high-jacked [sic] by the extreme right. Concentrating executive power, eliminating civil rights, suppressing opposition and wide-spread use of lies and propaganda to appease the public and stir up nationalism looks a lot like fascism to me.”

[RWC] Earth to Mr. Finch. The “extreme right” would actually advocate the elimination of government, not a concentration of “executive power.” Mr. Finch actually describes the extreme left. Examples are/were Nazi Germany, Red China, and the Soviet Union.

If Mr. Finch believes current GOP policies represent the “extreme right,” I wonder what he would make of my positions, which are consistently to the right of the GOP. As I’ve noted, there’s little effective difference between today’s GOP and JFK-era Democrats.

You’ll note Mr. Finch didn’t provide examples to support his drive-by accusations.

“Giving Bush credit for no terrorist attacks since 9/11 is a short-sighted delusion. Bush’s lack of a coherent foreign policy, coupled with the alienation of credible overseas contacts, hinders our intelligence community, yet I’m supposed to be thankful?

“Not a chance. It’s more dumb luck, than dumb Bush. The terrorist threat will never go away, and unless you advocate turning the Middle East into a nuclear wasteland to eliminate it, war will not solve it.”

[RWC] Congratulations, Mr. Finch, you avoided name-calling for five whole paragraphs.

If the absence of attacks is “dumb luck,” let’s have more of it. We could have used more dumb luck during the Clinton administration when Americans here and abroad were attacked no fewer than six times, from the World Trade Center in 1993 through the attack on the USS Cole in 2000.

“If JFK is turning over in his grave, it is for allowing the Republicans to abuse this country with their culture of corruption -- forsaking the common good - to become corporate America’s personal sidearm whose barrel is aimed squarely between the eyes of America’s middle class.”

[RWC] More talking points long on accusation and short on supporting evidence.

Someone should let Mr. Finch know Democrats dumped the “culture of corruption” talking point after several unfortunate Democrat actions, including a Louisiana congressman getting caught on videotape accepting a $100,000 bribe.

“Many people refuse to vote because they see both parties as two sides of the same coin, with one just as evil as the other. They’re dead wrong.

“We’d better start electing our representatives based on who will do the most good for everyone, not just whoever buys the most votes with the fattest wallets and the best lies.”

[RWC] Mr. Finch believes we should elect “our representatives based on who will do the most good for everyone,” but don’t call him a liberal or socialist.