Dear Jim...

I’d like to thank Jim Hansen for the letter in the Metro last week. Let me guess Jim, you’re one of those tolerant liberals we keep hearing about, aren‘t you? Don’t get me wrong, I welcome your response. I do enjoy a good, heated debate every now and then. But come on Jim, how about being honest about what I said instead of spinning it into something you want to believe I meant.
In your letter you talked about the column that ran on Nov.7th and about how I tried in vain to make it seem as though Bush and his right-wing conservatives had nothing to do with the current mess we’re in today. Gee whiz Jim, I checked it out and that’s not even close to what I said. Go back and read it again, you’ll find that what I really said was that “both political parties have screwed this country over for as long as we’ve been around.”
You brought up a litany of gripes I’d talked about in the column. Things like Home foreclosures, utilities being cut for the poor, gas prices being unpredictable, our kids coming home dead from war, and possible confrontation with Russia. You quickly pointed out that Bush and the Republicans have been in power for the last 8 years so it was quite clear (to you) who’s responsible. Then I guess to either prove your point or maybe just to drive it home you boldly asked how many of these woes even existed 8 years ago.
Man, you can’t be serious. Do you really believe your beloved Democrats had no part whatsoever in the mess we’re now facing. Are you really that blind Jim? Do you not understand that Bush can’t do anything without the approval of Congress which by the way buddy, is made up of quite a few Democrats? Hey, believe what you want, I don’t care.
But as far as the litany of gripes you brought up and asked which one’s even existed 8 years ago. Well Jim, I did some checking on that and guess what I found out. They all existed. Let’s see, have you ever heard of that silly little thing called the “great depression? Home and family farm foreclosures were a pretty big deal back in the late 20’s and early 30’s. I’ll be the first one to admit I don’t have any hard evidence to back this up but I’d be willing to bet that the problem of utilities being cut off to the poor has probably been around a little longer than 8 years too. I don’t know how old you are Jim, maybe you’re just too young and don’t remember the recession and oil embargo back in the 70‘s that made gas prices and even availability unpredictable at best.
You talked about our kids coming home dead by the thousands from war. Sorry Jim, I checked that one out too and what I found was that we’ve been doing that for quite a bit longer than 8 years. Looks like it’s been going on pretty much since the day the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Early on we had that thing with the British. I don’t know Jim, maybe you missed that one. Let’s see, what else was there, oh yeah, how about the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War One, and World War Two. Remember those Jim? We’ve lost soldiers in North Korea and Viet Nam just like we did in Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and Iraq. And do you really believe a possible confrontation with Russia never existed more than 8 years ago. I don’t know Jim, maybe you’ve never heard of it, but we had this thing back in the 60’s called the Cuban missile crisis. Let me guess, you missed the whole Cold War too, didn’t you? Hmmm., weird.
You boast that Obama will govern with dignity and hope rather than fear and divisiveness. Come on Jim, give me a break. I’ve read your letters for years now and for the most part, they’ve all had the same common theme, “your hatred of Conservative Republicans.” It’s a little hypocritical that you can lecture me about divisiveness when you’re one of the most divisive people around. I’ve got an idea buddy, how about taking off the liberal-blinders you wear long enough for the fog to lift and then maybe we can have an intelligent conversation.
How about it Jim, you ready to have an honest debate about our differences or do you prefer to remain the same, divisive person you seem to be? It’s up to you man. If you want to talk, you’re welcome to visit my blog at: www.rm235.blogspot.com That goes for the rest of you too. Or like always you can reach me by e-mail at: www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net