President charting a new course for America

To the editor:

In a recent column by Gary Lewis, about the only thing he got right in "Americans awakened by Washington" was the title. Yes there was an awakening of the majority of Americans. It was the 2008 election in which they overwhelmingly elected a man committed to charting a new course for the country, away from needless wars that we were lied into, away from failed economic policies that have driven the United States to the brink of bankruptcy, away from the continual transfer of wealth from the current and future middle class to the already obscenely rich and away from lock step partisan, party first and the American public be dammed, politics.

How about taking time out from regurgitating outright lies and launching personal attacks on our president to tell your readers what President Obama has done, or has been blocked from doing by hypocritical Republicans who are willing to go as far as to vote against bills they sponsored if President Obama comes out in favor of them, that he didn't say he would try to do when campaigning. 

One of the few things you do in your article, besides engaging in lies about the president, was to praise the Tea Party and insist that it is an impressive movement that represents the majority of Americans. When the movement first came into being, I was all for it; but since then, it has been hijacked by the far right of the Republican party and its megaphones, such as Fox News, that have turned demonstrations into a showcase for those bent on destroying any remaining traces of a government of, for and by the people. Take away these elements, such as the people who drowned out civil debate at town meetings across the country by shouting such things as "keep the government's hands off my Medicare" and those who insist (contrary to all evidence) that President Obama is not an American citizen, and the local movements' ranks would probably shrink to a number capable of meeting in a phone booth.

If problems facing our country are to be solved, the bitter partisan rhetoric must end and people must come together rather than being divided for the political advantage of a party. Engaging in civil political debate is essential if democracy is to function but lying and launching personal attacks on the president of the United States, elected by a margin of nearly 10 million votes, is subversion, defined by the dictionary as "an attempt to subvert democratic government," not patriotism.

Sincerely,

Charles Leach

Lynchburg

To the editor:

In a recent column by Gary Lewis, about the only thing he got right in "Americans awakened by Washington" was the title. Yes there was an awakening of the majority of Americans. It was the 2008 election in which they overwhelmingly elected a man committed to charting a new course for the country, away from needless wars that we were lied into, away from failed economic policies that have driven the United States to the brink of bankruptcy, away from the continual transfer of wealth from the current and future middle class to the already obscenely rich and away from lock step partisan, party first and the American public be dammed, politics.

How about taking time out from regurgitating outright lies and launching personal attacks on our president to tell your readers what President Obama has done, or has been blocked from doing by hypocritical Republicans who are willing to go as far as to vote against bills they sponsored if President Obama comes out in favor of them, that he didn't say he would try to do when campaigning. 

One of the few things you do in your article, besides engaging in lies about the president, was to praise the Tea Party and insist that it is an impressive movement that represents the majority of Americans. When the movement first came into being, I was all for it; but since then, it has been hijacked by the far right of the Republican party and its megaphones, such as Fox News, that have turned demonstrations into a showcase for those bent on destroying any remaining traces of a government of, for and by the people. Take away these elements, such as the people who drowned out civil debate at town meetings across the country by shouting such things as "keep the government's hands off my Medicare" and those who insist (contrary to all evidence) that President Obama is not an American citizen, and the local movements' ranks would probably shrink to a number capable of meeting in a phone booth.

If problems facing our country are to be solved, the bitter partisan rhetoric must end and people must come together rather than being divided for the political advantage of a party. Engaging in civil political debate is essential if democracy is to function but lying and launching personal attacks on the president of the United States, elected by a margin of nearly 10 million votes, is subversion, defined by the dictionary as "an attempt to subvert democratic government," not patriotism.

Sincerely,

Charles Leach

Lynchburg