need help with letter to the editor

I tend to be long-winded (obviously) and need some of the expert DU editing to get this into workable form. Any and all suggestion will be appreciated...

To the editor,
Much has been written in this election cycle about how divided the nation is and how entrenched and irreconcilable the differences between the parties and their supporters are. The first question is – is this true? Sadly, I have to agree. The next question is, what caused this schism of American politics?
I have been aware of politics since the late 50’s. Ike was in the White House and things seemed to be going smoothly, if you were white. The only political message I got was my father saying, “Ike never deals with anything, he just plays golf.” Only much later did I become aware of the insight that this true warrior had when, in his farewell address, he warned the country about the power and danger of the “military industrial complex.”
Jack Kennedy followed, much too briefly. Who knows what progress we could have made if he had been allowed to live.
LBJ was saddled with the Vietnam war, as much of a quagmire then as Iraq is today. Johnson’s problems in figuring out how to extricate the US led to his “I will not run” speech. The resistance to LBJ came primarily from the young – most republican and Democratic politicians supported the war.
The reward for driving Johnson away was eight years of Nixon, who became, up to that point, the most divisive President in memory. Nixon was a paranoid slimeball who did a very good job of separating the country into warring camps – the precursor to the “You’re either with us or against us” mentality of the current administration.
Jimmy Carter came into office and was just not equipped to play the dirty games that politics in this country requires. He is a very good man who continues to distinguish himself with his actions after leaving office. No multi-million dollar speeches to corporate executives for him.
Reagan maneuvered himself into office via an arms-for-holding-the-hostages deal with Iran. Through his eight years and the four of Bush, Sr., the US fell victim to a concerted effort to change its direction and reverse the progress that had been made since the end of WWII. Benefits flooded to those already on top of the food chain. The fact that by bankrupting the federal government, the republicans made it much more difficult to support social programs that actually benefit citizens was just a bonus from their perspective.
An even more harmful result of the Reagan regime was the denigration of the political process. By weakening government control on media, the republicans of that time set the stage for the attack-commentary of the many voices of right-wing hate radio so evident today. The major news media followed suit because, as corporate entities, they became overly-concerned with the economic bottom line. Thus, they became less willing to tackle difficult stories, especially those that challenged the view and interests of their corporate ownership. With that ownership becoming more concentrated in fewer hands, the problem has gotten much worse.
Bill Clinton came into office and through a combination of insightful policies, political skill, and popular support, was able to reverse the downward economic slide, despite the efforts of the republicans in Congress. Millions of jobs were created AND the country began to take positive steps to protect the environment, improve education, increase the possibilities for all Americans, and develop a foreign policy not based on an arrogant application of force by the remaining superpower. We were truly on the right path.
The energy that the republicans poured into attacks on President Clinton only revealed that the GOP was more concerned with negating his power and cementing their own than doing anything for the benefit of the nation. The Reagan legacy of political power uber alles did untold damage to this country.
To answer my first question, we now have Bush, Jr. Having gotten into the White House in a disputed fashion, or by outright theft, depending on one’s perspective, he has driven a wedge between those who support him and those who do not. The actions of this administration, from the 2000 election through the cynical exploitation of September 11, 2001, from the reversal of any social policy that benefited people to an economic agenda that sacrifices middle-America for an increased bottom line of the already-wealthy, from the intentional ignoring of any facts that contradict pre-held notions to outright lying about the reasons for invading Iraq, George W. Bush and his cronies have produced an America more intensely divided than at any time since the Civil War.
But why are we so divided? My personal view is that so many Americans are so thoroughly disgusted with the actions of this administration that we can no longer write it off to mere “politics.” We lived through the 90’s when they did their best to destroy a President who was doing a good job, not just for us, but for them as well. How much more did they need? Is there no limit to their greed? Is there no despicable tactic to which they will not sink in order to accomplish their ends?
At long last, Democrats are seeing that we are engaged with an enemy for whom the end justifies any means. For the first time in my memory, we are fighting back against those to whom the goal of the nation is their own, personal welfare. The republicans are not Nazis, as some have stated. What they are can be more accurately defined as fascists. Their goal is control of the government, and thus, we the people, in order to maximize their economic benefit. State corporatism is their goal. This is not absolute communism which utilizes the same methods but has a different goal, that being the welfare of the entire population. This is predatory capitalism in which the policies and power of the government are designed and utilized to enhance corporate interests, the primary beneficiaries being the well-connected business cronies of the politicians they use to further their agenda.
Start a war, it does not matter how or whether it is warranted. Increase the Pentagon budget by countless billions, most of which flow to those companies already reaping the greatest amounts of corporate welfare. And you can make even more billions by soaking the American taxpayer for the clean-up. It’s great work if you can get it.
And it sounds a lot like the military industrial complex that Dwight Eisenhower warned us about over 40 years ago.

remove most of your embedded emotional reactions/...

circle just the facts in there. Figure which ones would be new to most, and would convert fencesitters. If they are not conversion-power, drop. Converting quality,.. THOSE are what you want printed.

Keep in mind that harried joe citizen skips right past long LTTE's. He only reads brief ones, 200 words max.

Even short LTTEs, break into paragraphs, like i do in this post.

Your title is also very impt., as THAT is what decides which short LTTE's get read. Craft it with care.

I would skip all the historical reflection.. jump to what will alter this election. Depth musings can come Nov. 3.

avoid "utilize". add clinton created "22 million " new jobs, bush "lost a million". "market up 7 000 vs down 1 000. wages up $7 000 vs down 1 500. which future do you want?"

I applaude your knowledge that longwindednes is the curse of the LW.

More facts for LTTE's,.. search DU for my post "ZINGERS ", put up last sat. am. It is in forum "campaigns and politics" and usually near the very top.
Be sure to add some url's to LTTE.
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PetGoat Bush froze in terror for seven minutes on 9/11. {best fact of all.. bush is NO war leader, he is a fear-freak}.

If it helps, I cut your post down to 300 words (usually the most that a paper will allow for a LTTE -- often they will cut you back to 250 or 200):

What caused this schism of American politics?
Bush, Jr. has driven a wedge between those who support him and those who do not. The actions of this administration, from the 2000 election through the cynical exploitation of September 11, 2001, from the reversal of any social policy that benefitted people to an economic agenda that sacrifices middle-America for an increased bottom line of the already-wealthy, from the intentional ignoring of any facts that contradict pre-held notions to outright lying about the reasons for invading Iraq, Bush and his cronies have produced an America more intensely divided than at any time since the Civil War.
But why are we so divided? So many Americans are so thoroughly disgusted with the actions of this administration that we can no longer write it off to mere “politics.” For the first time in my memory, we are fighting back against those to whom the goal of the nation is their own, personal welfare. The Republicans’ goal is control of the government, and thus, we the people, in order to maximize their economic benefit. State corporatism is their goal. This is predatory capitalism in which the policies and power of the government are designed and utilized to enhance corporate interests, the primary beneficiaries being the well-connected business cronies of the politicians they use to further their agenda.
Start a war, it does not matter how or whether it is warranted. Increase the Pentagon budget by countless billions, most of which flow to those companies already reaping the greatest amounts of corporate welfare. And you can make even more billions by soaking the American taxpayer for the clean-up. It’s great work if you can get it.
And it sounds a lot like the military industrial complex that Dwight Eisenhower warned us about over 40 years ago.

Please don't take this as criticism; it's just a suggestion on how you might get this into a shorter LTTE format.

my zingers post.

to see it published, but unless the paper has space for a long commentary, they won't be able to publish all that you've written. So I edited it severely.


Why are we so polarized? One word: Greed

At long last, Democrats are seeing that we are engaged with an enemy for whom the end justifies any means. That end is their own, personal welfare through state corporatism , or, its synonym, fascism.

How did this happen?

Reagan weakened government control of media, unleashing the attack-commentary of right-wing hate radio so evident today (and set the stage for repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1996)

The Reagan legacy of political power uber alles did untold damage to this country
as the energy that the republicans poured into attacks on President Clinton only revealed that the GOP was more concerned with negating his power and cementing their own than doing anything for the benefit of the nation.

The actions of this administration, from the 2000 (s)election through the cynical exploitation of September 11, 2001, from the reversal of any social policy that benefited people to an economic agenda that sacrifices middle-America for an increased bottom line of the already-wealthy, from the intentional ignoring of any facts that contradict pre-held notions to outright lying about the reasons for invading Iraq, George W. Bush and his cronies have produced an America more intensely divided than at any time since the Civil War.

We lived through the 90’s when they did their best to destroy a President who was doing a good job, not just for us, but for them as well. How much more did they need? Is there no limit to their greed? Is there no despicable tactic to which they will not sink in order to accomplish their ends?

other posters stated, try to stay factual and unemotional, and concise.