William G. Horter – 11/28/08

This page was last updated on December 10, 2008.

Lies, lies and more lies; William G. Horter; Beaver County Times; November 28, 2008. Though published in the Times print edition of November 28^th, this letter didn’t appear on the Times website until December 5^th. That appears to be because the person responsible for posting editorials and letters on the website was on vacation for the Thanksgiving weekend.

When Mr. Horter isn’t bashing Republicans in general, and President Bush specifically, he tries to push a taxpayer-funded, government-run healthcare system (some examples are here, here, and here) on U.S. citizens. As time has progressed, Mr. Horter has increasingly resorted to name-calling and personal attacks, especially in his comments on the Times website. Since I don’t know Mr. Horter, I don’t know if he actually believes all the stuff he writes or if he just likes to stir things up. If I were the type to run a disinformation campaign, I’d invent someone like Mr. Horter. After all, the image Mr. Horter projects is a caricature of the stereotypical lefty. I have to believe a large number of lefties cringe whenever they read a comment or letter from Mr. Horter. I know I cringe whenever I read a Horter-quality comment from an alleged righty. Then again, perhaps I’ve overestimating lefties. <g>

Mr. Horter used to be one of our local Republican impersonators (The group also includes Messrs. William A. Alexander, Arthur Brown, Edward “Fellow Republicans” Hum, and George Reese.) who write claiming to be disgruntled Republicans. In June 2008 Mr. Horter wrote, “So after 50 years of being a Republican, I have changed my party. I am now a Democrat.”

History also shows you need to do your own due diligence regarding the “facts” Mr. Horter presents in his letters and the comments he posts on the Times website. Here’s just one example.

Along with other letter writers I’ve mentioned, I wish Mr. Horter could get a regular column in the Times.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“A very nice lady wrote a letter, calling for all of us to stop being critical of President Bush and newly-elected Barack Obama.

“In normal times that would be a good sentiment, a coming together sort of moment.”

[RWC] What Mr. Horter means is “that would be a good sentiment” if he didn’t suffer from Bush Derangement Syndrome.

“But these are not good times. These are not times to be thankful for the nightmare George Bush and his band of war criminals have put this country through.

“Very harsh words you say? Not at all. Truth is never harsh, unless one has been lulled into thinking all is well, unless one has been duped into the my-country-right-or-wrong madness that has been our mantra lately.”

[RWC] I wonder where Mr. Horter heard “our mantra.” To the best of my recollection, I haven’t heard anyone claim “my country, right or wrong.” Mr. Horter likes to set up straw men to attack.

“Our leaders have been exposed as liars, cheats and war criminals. We have invaded another sovereign nation under false pretenses. Our leaders told us and the world, before the United Nations, a whole set of lies about WMDs, about associations with the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks and about ‘uranium from Africa,’ and all have been exposed for what they were, lies.”

[RWC] If you review Mr. Horter’s body of work, you’ll find he never presents any credible evidence to support these claims. Then again, Mr. Horter constantly refers to his opinions as facts, so perhaps that’s the basis for these comments.

“As a result, tens of thousands of people are dead, including thousands of our fellow citizens. And tens of thousands more have been wounded. I am hoping this will all stop, that once again we can rely on hearing truth from our leaders.

“I am willing to give Obama his ‘honeymoon’ to see if he speaks truth, or something else. I am an older man now, but I’ve seen this before about Vietnam. I remember, and I hope I became wiser.”

[RWC] “I am willing to give Obama his ‘honeymoon’?” Duh! Though Mr. Horter preferred Dennis Kucinich during the primary, Mr. Horter jumped on the Obama bandwagon with both feet. Add to that the fact Mr. Horter appears unable to assess blame for anything to anyone on the left (even when caught on video), and you can bet his Obama honeymoon won’t end. Indeed, I’d also bet Mr. Horter will blame any acknowledged deficiency of the Obama administration on Mr. Bush and/or Republicans.

“[T]o see if he speaks truth?” Did Mr. Horter pay any attention at all during the campaign?

Ah, the bogus Vietnam comparison. Though not as old as Mr. Horter, I too lived through the Vietnam War. Other than we fought wars in both Iraq and Vietnam, what makes these wars similar? Folks like Mr. Horter always make the comparison, but never state their points of comparison.

“Have you?”