Sam Harris

Today, I sent the following to my local newspaper letter-to-the-editor, and the local RTC:

I returned from Viet Nam in 1967, as Johnson, and the democratic congress, were putting together the “great society” programs we are dismantling today.  Having developed a strong belief in individual initiative and small government, I joined the Republican party, and I have never regretted that decision – until now!

The Republican’s have had my loyalty and support for many years, and that is coming to an end, as today I left the party, or rather, like Ronald Reagan, I feel the party has left me.  No longer the party of Abe Lincoln, they are now the party of Jerry Falwell, no longer the party of small government and low taxes, they are presiding over a huge government expansion on the backs of the middle class.

We have a president who sincerely thinks he is on a mission from his God, and a Senate Majority Leader (Bill Frist) who is about to go on the record saying that the Democrats are blocking confirmation of judicial appointees because they are “against people of faith.”  I think the democrats are all that’s keeping a theocracy from being adjudicated from the federal bench, and I can no longer support or tolerate the establishment of a form of government the founders never intended.

The last straw was Bill Frist trying to tie the dem filibuster on judges to an attack on faith.  It suddenly hit me that I didnt care if the charge was true or not!  The GOP has been on the wrong side (IMHO) of almost every issue I care about in the last three years or so.

This was a big deal for me.  It has been coming for a long time, but I kept hoping that some sense and reason would prevail in the GOP, but I think they are now too far over the edge.  I hope to find a home within the Libertarian party, as they are now the closest to me philosophically.  The local Dems, as one might deduce from my location, are nothing but Republicans without quite as much religion. 

BTW, I apoligize to anyone who might have been offended by my post to TC in another thread.  I admit that I lost it, when I called him a SOB, but everything is a teacher, and what he said to raise my anger is part of what brought me to my decision last night to leave the GOP.

Pete

hampsteadpete, no worries. You were very upset in that post, but hey, all of us get angry every now and then.

Very sorry to hear about your decision to leave the Republican party. Maybe you will come back some day?

Pete

You certainly don’t stand alone. I view your (our) alienation from the Republican direction as the beginning of a backlash against religious conservatism in government. Long ago I abandoned my registration with polical parties and chose to become an Independent so noone would assume that I would support any notion on any issue and still don’t feel the need.
If the backlash is more than just my wishful thinking we may see a different Republican party by 2008 and hopefully the Democrats will discover some issues and present a “real” candidate by that time.
As just the next guy in the trench all I can do is voice my opposition to the religious right and give my philosophical and financial support to those influential organizations who advocate a strict constitutional intrepretation of the separation of church and state. I will scruitinize the backgrounds of all candidates presented to me for public office and reject those which display any leanings toward the religious right.

Stay Well

Wot

hampsteadpete, no worries. You were very upset in that post, but hey, all of us get angry every now and then.

Very sorry to hear about your decision to leave the Republican party. Maybe you will come back some day?

Well, at least you are consistant!  What in the world makes you think that I was apoligizing to you?  I meant every word I said, I was apoligizing to the others on the forum for my choice of words, and for shouting.

Second thing is, like John Gault, I will be back when all of you are gone!

...We have a president who sincerely thinks he is on a mission from his God, and a Senate Majority Leader (Bill Frist) who is about to go on the record saying that the Democrats are blocking confirmation of judicial appointees because they are “against people of faith….”

The President does not believe he is on a mission from God. This is absolutely not true. Did you listen to the debates?

There are some laws Democrats cannot pass via the legislature, so they appoint judges to ‘create’ that law.

Democrats are vehemently opposed to allowing an up or down vote on appointees which should not even need a vote, according to the Constitution which says only, “advice and consent” So they believe in their ‘right’ to filibuster.

The President does not believe he is on a mission from God. This is absolutely not true.

As an independent voter, I have paid acute attention to the things politicians have said for the past several years. 

On the day that George W. Bush was sworn into his second term as governor of Texas, friend and adviser Dr. Richard Land recalls Bush making an unexpected pronouncement.
“The day he was inaugurated there were several of us who met with him at the governor’s mansion,” says Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “And among the things he said to us was, ‘I believe that God wants me to be president.’”

Also:
Bush said to James Robinson: “I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can’t explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen… I know it won’t be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it.”

Did you listen to the debates?

Yes, I listened to all the debates.  I don’t recall any denial of the above statements during any debate.  What are you getting at?

There are some laws Democrats cannot pass via the legislature, so they appoint judges to ‘create’ that law.

Republican appointees now comprise 53 percent of the federal judiciary and are in the majority on 9 of 13 circuit courts. Given vacancies and pending nominees, by the end of the year Republicans could gain the majority on all but one.
Republican leader Bill Frist stated “I believe we have a fair and independent judiciary today.”  I agree; judges do not create laws, they merely interpret them.  As this is often a very difficult task requiring a thorough understanding of both law and the constitution, we certainly need a judiciary with professional integrity, not one based on the ‘faith values’ of one segment of the population.

Democrats are vehemently opposed to allowing an up or down vote on appointees which should not even need a vote, according to the Constitution which says only, “advice and consent” So they believe in their ‘right’ to filibuster.

And who decides which appointees should not even need a vote?  Isn’t the definition of consent… agreement, permission, approval?  And when in the history of this country have the Republicans not vehemently insisted on their own ‘right’ to filibuster?  I daresay they have used it equally in the past and will do so in the future, unless they change the rules.  In that case, they will surely want to rewrite those rules when they themselves have need of a filibuster.

I consider myself a conscientious citizen of this country who tries to utilize my intelligence to understand what I can of the absurbities of our political system.  My first self-obligation is to gain what information I can firsthand and not listen to political pundits or fanatical proponents of any political party.

Apparently, they understand the consequences of abolishing the fillibuster. BTW, here is an interesting commentary about Advice and Consent:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20050402-111009-7002r.htm

What Bush wants is what he think God wants, as a matter of principle.

I believe that God wants everybody to be free. That’s what I believe.

And that’s been part of my foreign policy. In Afghanistan, I believe that the freedom there is a gift from the Almighty. And I can’t tell you how encouraged I am to see freedom on the march.

Kerry mirrored that sentiment. Does that mean both Kerry and Bush are on a mission for God? No, it only means they believe thats what God wants, because they believe freedom is a God-given right.

Which God is that?

The Libertarian Party has been barely eeking out a living here in Texas, but manage to hold enough to keep seats on ballots.

They are actually looking better and better to me too

http://www.lp.org/

[quote author=“Iisbliss”]The Libertarian Party has been barely eeking out a living here in Texas, but manage to hold enough to keep seats on ballots.

They are actually looking better and better to me too

http://www.lp.org/

If you dont mind voting for the Democrats, its a fine idea.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay described himself as “closer to God” on Tuesday as a result of intense scrutiny of his ethical conduct

One step closer to judgement?

Stay Well
Wot

The intense media scrutiny on Delay is obscene. Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid have done the same things, yet have any of you noticed a single article on their activities?

Nope, I think Delay should keep on keeping on and ignore the media fury.

In that case, they will surely want to rewrite those rules when they themselves have need of a filibuster.

It seems that when Clinton was president, Republican senators did not use the fillibuster when opposing judge appointments.