Roylin Petties, III – 2/5/09

This page was last updated on February 6, 2009.

Republican Party’s policies don’t work; Roylin Petties, III; Beaver County Times; February 5, 2009.

Two of Mr. Petties’ previous three letters (here and here) were Republican and President Bush bashing exercises while the latest gushed at the election of Barack Obama.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Does not history teach us something?”

[RWC] I love this comment from lefties. What do you expect Mr. Petties learned from history about FDR and the Great Depression?

“I am tired of hearing Republicans complain about our new president. He has not been in office two weeks and people are already complaining.

“Did Republicans complain while former President George Bush was running our country into the ground? Anyone coming into office will need time to fix the problems Bush got us into.”

[RWC] Do your research and you’ll find Democrats fought President Bush tooth and nail beginning before he even took his oath.

What were “the problems [President] Bush got us into,” Mr. Petties? Nebulous accusations like this are intended to avoid debate.

“Another thing I would like to make clear is the claim that the Democratic Congress did nothing in the last two years. Any American knows that in most cases if you have a Democratic Congress and a Republican president, nothing will get done.”

[RWC] So, Mr. Petties agrees the Democrat-majority Congress “did nothing in the last two years.” Actually, that’s usually a good thing, regardless of which party has the majority.

“It’s called a veto. A president can do that to bills he doesn’t like.”

[RWC] At the same time, Mr. Petties must also admit that even when the minority in Congress for most of 2001-2006, Senate Democrats had the power of the filibuster to stop anything they truly didn’t want.

“So give our new president some time. If he messes this up more than Bush, which I don’t think can happen, then I will be his first critic.”

[RWC] Given Mr. Petties body of work, why do I not believe him? With all the swooning I’ve seen over Mr. Obama by his supporters, I almost can’t imagine a scenario on a serious issue where Mr. Petties would believe Mr. Obama messed up. Other than trivial missteps, any stumbles by Mr. Obama will likely be blamed on George Bush, Republicans, or both.

“Until then, give him a chance. History has taught us something in the last eight years — that the policies of the Republican Party just don’t work.”

[RWC] Did you notice Mr. Petties never mentioned the policies that allegedly didn’t work? Drive-by accusations like this result from a weak position.

I wonder if in 2001 Mr. Petties wrote a “give him a chance” letter regarding Mr. Bush.

“If anyone who is reading this letter can say they are better off then [sic] eight years ago, I might become a Republican.”

[RWC] I am.