Hey GOP: America is not the Soviet Union!

This morning I received an e-mail from one of the many pro-Republican members of the Estonian-American community. These people - including my late parents - fled the soviets to come here and enjoy America's freedom, but far too many of them accept the rethugs' plans to destroy our precious democracy.

Here is my reply:

Sorry, R. but I don't agree with you.

The Republican party has become mean, spiteful and vicious. The hate spewed by Rush Limbaugh and Fox TV is beyond anything the Democrats have ever said. It appalls me that so many Republicans could spew hate at Clinton as he was undergoing serious heart surgery. ( They told us to "get over" the chicanery of the 2000 election -- but seem incapable of "getting over" Clinton. That's total hypocrisy.)
It appalls me that Republicans think it is okay to continually trash his daughter Chelsea, who has not done anything to deserve their viciousness. I have never seen people so completely filled with hate and intolerance. They want to stifle or get rid of Democrats and make this a one-party nation. I think Stalin would applaud what they are doing to America. They call people traitors merely for questioning Bush and Cheney's policies.

Well, I am an American, and America was founded on certain rights -- the right to freedom of speech, the right to question the government, the right to assemble. Unfortunately Republicans want to arrest people who oppose them, merely for assembling to protest.

This is not Democracy. If people want to live in a totalitarian country like the Republicans are creating here, they could just as well move to Russia and bring back the soviet era. America is for people who believe in freedom and individual rights. If Republicans don't like it, THEY
can leave.

Republicans require people to sign loyalty oaths to Bush in order to be admitted to Bush's political rallies. Just what are they so afraid of? Dissent? I call this practice cowardice.

Republicans send their young thugs out to scream and yell and make noise to disrupt Kerry's political speeches, but nobody is making THEM sign loyalty oaths to Kerry to attend those speeches. That's because Democrats believe in democracy. I think this loyalty oath business is utterly vile. After all, Bush is supposed to be the president of ALL the people. We all pay his salary through taxes. So why is it that only people who sign loyalty oaths are permitted to see him speak? Is this democracy?

Republican policies are hurting middleclass and workingclass people, and benefiting only the rich. Their constant "terror" threats are only issued for political purposes. They outsource our jobs overseas to get cheap labor. They eliminate environmental laws that were supposed to protect our air, water and national forests. Everything is done to benefit the rich and the corporations, without regard to the rest of us.

And don't you dare tell me that I have no "right" to hold these views. This is America, not the Soviet Union, and if you don't like America's freedoms, go elsewhere.

Anita


PS here is HIS letter that set me off. I don't know this person, we're just on a bunch of Est-American e-mail lists:

"Sounds like the only thing to believe is that Democrats are good and God, and the Republicans and bad and the devil. If one has such extreme views, how can anyone trust such extremists to make any decisions that would be in the interest of the majority of Americans today -yes thank goodness a majority. Thankfully, I do not know too many people with such views nor will I ever.
Keep up the divisiveness - it is good for the country.
A proud republicans that understands honesty and integrity and served honorably in the armed forces (67 to 69)- and no I did not get a purple heart for my sprained ankle and splinter."

You never know -- maybe someone will actually read and think about what you've said. Good point about Clinton, by the way!

You wrote a good, thoughtful reply. I hope your correspondent reads it and thinks about its contents.

:toast: