Jay Paisley – 12/30/08

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.

Don’t base vote on a bumper sticker; Jay Paisley; Beaver County Times; December 30, 2008.

The last time I critiqued a letter from Mr. Paisley I wrote, “I believe it’s safe to say there’s no way a Republican will beat a Democrat in Beaver County, especially one who’s been in office as long as Mr. Veon.” That was about a month before the 2006 general election. Thankfully I was wrong, not once but at least five times when you count Jim Marshall defeating Mike Veon in 2006 and the defeats in Beaver County of Messrs. Biancucci (by Jim Christiana), Obama (by John McCain), Petrella (by Elder Vogel), and Rousseau (by Jim Marshall) in 2008.

Given the election took place nearly two months ago, the timing of this letter seems a bit odd.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“It is my opinion the unvarnished truth about politics is that you should vote for the candidate who has the most competent friends because when they get elected that is who they are going to appoint to important positions.

“I hope President-elect Barack Obama’s friends are more competent than those of the current president.”

[RWC] I thought we weren’t allowed to talk about “Barack Obama’s friends.” Has that rule changed since the election?

As a reminder, most of Mr. Obama’s appointments/nominations to date were in the Clinton administration.

“Having watched Obama’s press conferences, I completely agree with his description of the two groups of politicians. Type one: men and women who are true public servants — it is their goal to make a better society. Type two would be people who view politics strictly as a business — it is their goal to take care of themselves.”

[RWC] One of the things we don’t need are politicians whose “goal [is] to make a better society.” Their job is to represent the voters according to our laws, not “make a better society.”

“I think most politicians have a little bit of each type, hopefully more of type one than type two. However, we cannot just hope for the best.

“It is the responsibility of voters to inform themselves about the issues and to stay informed about how their vote on an issue would affect any group of citizens.”

[RWC] “… any group of citizens.” Group politics, a hallmark of leftism.

“I know that we all lead busy lives, but in a democracy you get the kind of government you vote for — and your vote needs to be based on something more substantial than a bumper sticker or a sign that says ‘Vote No.’”

[RWC] I’m not sure Mr. Paisley would like it if he got what he claims he wants. I could be wrong, but I doubt Mr. Obama would have been elected if most voters had voted “based on something more substantial than a bumper sticker.” After all, in this letter alone Mr. Paisley himself refers to “hope” three times.