Frank J. Mahr – 2/19/08

This page was last updated on February 19, 2008.

Little choice; Frank J. Mahr; Beaver County Times; February 19, 2008.

Though he occasionally takes swipes at others, more often than not Mr. Mahr’s letters are Republican-bashing exercises (examples are here and here).

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Over the years, I have noticed when it comes to government or the media, especially television, they either overreact or they do little or nothing.

“A good example of that is when television overreacted on its coverage of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and gave former U.S. Sen. John Edwards little or no coverage.”

[RWC] Mr. Edwards hasn’t been a U.S. senator since 2005. He chose not to run for reelection past his first term because he knew he couldn’t win.

“With Edwards now out of the race, there isn’t a candidate left who will act on the will of the people, that is, the majority of the people.”

[RWC] What is Mr. Mahr talking about? After you dig below the candidates’ campaign rhetoric, there isn’t/wasn’t a sliver of a difference between all three candidates.

“The two remaining Democratic candidates, against the will of the majority, want to give amnesty to illegal immigrants and are catering to special-interest groups. And how are they going to unite the people when Obama said his people would not vote for Clinton if she got the nomination.”

[RWC] Regarding the illegal alien comment, that was Mr. Edwards’ position as well.

Regarding the comment about “special-interest groups,” what does Mr. Mahr expect? It’s a core strategy of the Democrat party to divide people into groups, though they prefer to use euphemisms like “communities.”

“Against the will of the majority, the Republican candidate, U.S. Sen. John McCain, wants to keep our troops in harm’s way and keep spending money in Iraq when it is badly needed in our country.”

[RWC] The majority wants the U.S. to cut and run, especially when it’s clear we’re being successful? We should also note that just because someone supports military action, it’s wrong and mean-spirited to say he “wants to keep our troops in harm’s way.” No one wants our troops in harm’s way.

“And how can I trust a man who has been agreeing with Bush on issues that have put our country in the mess it is in today to make decisions that will affect our country and the world for the next four years.”

[RWC] Take this paragraph with a grain of salt. Based on Mr. Mahr’s letters, I don’t believe he would ever vote for a Republican.

“And when none of the candidates are talking about issues that are hitting close to home, like the growing drug problem and where the drugs are coming from, for example, it tells me that little or nothing will be done on them.”

[RWC] It’s possible this flew below my radar, but I didn’t know we had “a growing drug problem.” For 2005 (the last year the FBI reported), the percent of drug-related homicides was 4%, just 0.1% higher than the lowest it’s been since at least 1987.

“So unless something changes before November, I will have little choice, if any.”

[RWC] If Mr. Mahr believes he has “little choice” because Mr. Edwards bowed out, he didn’t really know Mr. Edwards’ true positions.