This page was last updated on August 7, 2004.

Mr. Thompson shows no respect for either President Bush or the office.  You’ll note Mr. Thompson consistently refers to Mr. Bush as “George.”  It’s clear the disrespect is intentional.  Though I opposed most of what former President Clinton stood for, I respected the office and never referred to him as “Bill.”  That said, I still refer to the parents of friends as “Mr.” and “Mrs.” so maybe I’m just old fashioned.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Recently, the GOP and the Bush ‘reselection’ campaign have adopted an ironic and puzzling new mantra: ‘Results Matter!’”

[RWC] Ah, the real original “Bush was selected, not elected” lie.  Folks who believe as Mr. Thompson need to face the facts and get over it.

In truth, “Results Matter!” bothers folks like Mr. Thompson because they know it rings true.  If they really thought this was a stupid slogan, they would keep their mouths shut and let the Bush campaign hang itself.

“While the results of the last four years certainly do matter in this most critical of elections, I can hardly see how the disastrous policies of this administration could be used as reason for four more years in office.

“From the $520 billion budget deficit, caused by grossly reckless tax cuts to the wealthiest members of society and an out-of-control Pentagon budget, to the nearly 160,000 Pennsylvanians whose good-paying jobs have been ‘outsourced’ or eliminated since George was appointed president, the results of this administration’s policies have had devastating consequences for millions.”

[RWC] In general, only socialists promote the lie that tax cuts cause deficits.  Excessive spending causes deficits, not tax cuts.  It is humorous – or perhaps sad – when folks like Mr. Thompson try to make deficits an issue.  These are the very people who constantly want government spending to increase – see Mr. Thompson’s healthcare comment below – as long as little or none is spent on national security.  If Mr. Kerry becomes president, does anyone believe we’ll see letters from Mr. Thompson complaining about a deficit?

Tax cuts only for “the wealthiest members of society” is a tired old lie.  Just about everyone got a tax cut, even people who paid no income tax.

As a result of the Bush tax cuts, the number of income tax filers who paid/will pay no income tax increased from 29,000,000 in 2000 to an estimated 44,000,000 million in 2004, a 50% increase.  When 15,000,000 people at the bottom of the income scale have their income tax cut to zero, and some actually get so-called “refunds” for taxes never paid, how can you say this was a tax cut only for the wealthy?

In 2001, the top 5% of income earners paid over 53% of federal income tax revenue.  The bottom 50% paid only 3.9%.  Does that sound like a break for the wealthy?  How can any reasonable person claim the people who pay over 50% of income tax revenue don’t deserve a piece of tax cuts?

There is no support for the claim of “an out-of-control Pentagon budget.”  According to the proposed 2005 budget, defense spending has increased 5, 8, 11, 3, and 7 percent for fiscal years 2001 – 2005.  2001 was the last Clinton administration budget.

Regarding the outsourcing comment, foreign-based companies provided about 4.8% -– approximately 267,000 -– of Pennsylvania jobs as of April 2004.  If outsourcing is wrong, shouldn’t we also oppose “insourcing?”

“Today, more than 40 million men, women and children in America lack any health insurance coverage - more than 1 million (including 251,000 children) in Pennsylvania alone - yet many on the right, including George and the vast majority of the Republican-controlled Congress, see loving couples seeking equal marriage rights as a bigger problem.  Talk about misguided priorities.”

[RWC] Earth to Mr. Thompson.  Read the Constitution; government has no responsibility with respect to healthcare.  In fact, the high cost of healthcare is the result of government interference in healthcare in the form of Medicaid, Medicare, and special tax treatment for “employer-based” healthcare insurance.  For example, why can employers deduct healthcare insurance premiums for tax purposes but I can’t do the same when I buy my own insurance?

We also need to remember that absence of healthcare insurance is not the same as absence of healthcare.  No one claims “more than 40 million men, women and children in America lack” healthcare.

Regarding homosexual “marriage,” Mr. Thompson wrote about this previously and I responded.  In a recent election, Missouri voters turned out in record numbers to approve a Missouri constitutional amendment recognizing marriage as only between a man and a woman.  72% of voters approved the amendment.¹  Perhaps there is more interest in this issue than Mr. Thompson believes.

Where did Mr. Thompson come up with, “the vast majority of the Republican-controlled Congress, see loving couples seeking equal marriage rights as a bigger problem?”  If that were the case, why did the marriage amendment fail to even come up for a floor vote in the Senate?  Only 49% of senators approved a floor vote, and 60% was required.  Doesn’t “vast majority” mean a lot more than 50%?

“Perhaps the most disgraceful result of this administration is the nearly 1,000 (mostly young and mostly poor) Americans who have died as a result of the lies that served as the basis for the shameful war in Iraq.

“In addition to those who have lost their lives, thousands more have endured the physical and emotional horrors that wars produce.”

 [RWC] Mr. Thompson repeats the same “mostly young and mostly poor” claim he made in a letter of July 2^nd.  In my response, I showed this claim was unsupported by the facts.  Though Mr. Thompson wants us to believe he cares about our servicemen and servicewomen, he shows his true colors with the “shameful war” comment.

Perhaps Mr. Thompson can detail the lies and provide proof.  Every report issued this summer has demonstrated that the Bush administration acted in good faith with the information it had and never tried to influence the intelligence analysis.  Was some information incorrect?  Yes, that’s what the reports and 20/20 hindsight show.  Being wrong on some items is not the same as lying.

“It is not even known how many tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis have died.”

“And the bloodshed continues everyday.”

[RWC] Does Mr. Thompson really care about Iraqi lives?  I don’t know.

Perhaps we don’t know how many Iraqis were killed since the beginning of the Iraq War, but we do know hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Iranians, and Kuwaitis died when Saddam Hussein was in power.

Was the war worth it to Iraqis?  Only they can answer that question and they did in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted during March/April 2004.  When asked, “Thinking about any hardships you might have suffered since the US, Britain invasion, do you personally think that ousting Saddam Hussein was worth it or not?”, 61% of Iraqis said the war was worth it.

Yes, “the bloodshed continues everyday.”  But who instigates the bloodshed?  Terrorists and Hussein loyalists are the culprits, not the vast majority of Iraqis, and not the coalition.

“Yes, George, the results of your administration certainly do matter, and it is exactly for that reason that I will be doing everything I can from now until Election Day to make sure you’re given a one-way ticket back to Crawford and Dick Cheney can be returned to his ‘undisclosed’ location for good.”

[RWC] Here’s a shocker, a person with Marxist beliefs will oppose President Bush.  If you doubt my characterization of Mr. Thompson, read his letters from at least 2002.

1. Missouri marriage amendment wins handily; Cheryl Wetzstein; The Washington Times; August 4, 2004.

© 2004 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.