C.J. Hurlbert – 10/24/04

This page was last updated on October 24, 2004.

Definition of courage; C.J. Hurlbert; Beaver County Times; October 24, 2004.

This is Mr. Hurlbert’s third anti-Bush letter since August 31^st.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Volunteering to go to Vietnam during a very trying time and being honored by our government with medals for bravery and completing that service was certainly an act of courage.

“U.S. Sen. John Kerry certainly could have chosen another path.”

[RWC] John Kerry did choose another path but his Selective Service board didn’t cooperate. After he graduated from Yale, Kerry wanted to study in Paris and requested a deferment. His draft board turned down his request. This is when John Kerry “volunteered.”

“He came home and, along with other vets and many citizens (I for one), questioned why we were fighting a senseless war and wasting so much human life.

“It was the biggest waste of life in modern history. I hope that history does not repeat itself.”

[RWC] I don’t consider fighting for freedom to be a waste, but that’s me.

If you do consider it a waste, how can you consider it “the biggest waste of life in modern history?” What about the six million Jews, Gypsies, and others slaughtered by the Nazis? What about the millions who died needlessly under Stalin? What about the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis murdered by Saddam Hussein? What about the 400,000 murdered in Rwanda? What about the 200,000+ in the former Yugoslavia?

“Volunteering for active duty, showing bravery during that time and protesting the senseless war are all acts of courage under fire. Kerry then served his country by being in the U.S. Senate. This man truly has his country and countryman in his heart.”

[RWC] John Kerry volunteered for the Naval Reserve, not the active duty Navy. This fact doesn’t diminish Kerry’s service, but there’s no reason to embellish the truth either.

I’m not sure how protesting anything in the United States is an act of courage. Unlike Mr. Hurlbert, I don’t know what is in Kerry’s heart. I know only Kerry’s record.

“President George Bush has a lot of showmanship but really lacks the best ideas for the betterment of this country, except when it comes to his ‘base’ - the haves and the have-mores.”

[RWC] Mr. Hurlbert appears to forget that half of Americans who voted in 2000 voted for President Bush. This leads to a question. Are 50% of Americans “haves and the have-mores” or are most people who voted for President Bush stupid? Which is it, Mr. Hurlbert?

“He has had four years to do something, more jobs, better health care and end this invasion of Iraq. He has done nothing except more war, more jobs lost and less health care.”

[RWC] Each month the BLS actually conducts two job surveys, the household and the payroll surveys. Historically, the payroll survey underestimates employment because it doesn’t count the self-employed or those persons who work at home or on farms. When you use the household survey data, there has been a net employment increase of 1.9 million jobs since President Bush took office.¹ The household survey is also the basis for the official BLS unemployment figures. Now you know why Democrats like to quote the payroll survey.

What does Mr. Hurlbert mean by “better health care” and “less health care?” Does he believe it is the government’s responsibility to deliver healthcare?

“Bush knows he won’t need a draft because no jobs means no money - unless you join the ‘volunteer’ military.”

[RWC] The true job growth cited above blows a hole in this theory.

“So Nov. 2, if you think Bush has done a great job of sending jobs to other countries freeing up more Americans to join the volunteer military, you vote for this courageous president.”

[RWC] Mr. Hurlbert, you claim “Bush has done a great job of sending jobs to other countries.” Please provide the provable facts to support your allegation.

1. Why Are the Dems Griping About Jobs?; Robert J. Barro; BusinessWeek; October 4, 2004. A subscription is required to access this web site.