We know all about
Christie's 'hard truths'
In his keynote speech to the Republican National Convention, Gov. Chris Christie said if Mitt Romney becomes president he would tell Americans "the hard truths" they need to hear, much as Christie has done in New Jersey.
Hey guv, we New Jerseyans already know the "hard truths":
More than 9 percent unemployment, the highest property taxes in the nation, a governor who rewards his buddies with six-figure jobs with health benefits and, last but not least, a governor who still hasn't made a full payment into the public pension fund. These are the "hard truths."
LUCY MORGANO
Ventnor
Attack Iran's nukes?
Send Krauthammer
Regarding Charles Krauthammer's Sept. 2 column, "Deterrence won't stop Iran from using nuclear weapons," arguing against sanctions as a deterrent to Iran's nuclear ambitions:
I would propose that sending someone on a suicide mission is a mite bit different from going yourself.
ED DEAN
Somers Point
Democrats prefer
to obstruct success
Regarding the Sept. 2 letter, "Republicans have become obstructionist faction": Both parties are obstructionists. Republicans try to obstruct failure, while Democrats try to obstruct success.
CHUCK WEBER
Villas
Obama supporters
demonize the rich
Regarding two Sept. 1 letters, "If Romney wins, the rich will rule" and "Obama easy to support over these Republicans":
Both letters suggested a disparity of wealth, as if only the Republicans attain wealth. They said an ideology of the rich creates a caste system, but they did not render a thoughtful example that would correct the disparity. It is easy to demonize the rich by comparing lifestyles. But are they smarter, or do they have a better education, or work harder?
The writer suggested that the president made accomplishments in spite of congressional roadblocks. But consider that in the first two years of his term, both the Senate and House had a Democratic majority. And those unknown accomplishments do not include jobs or fiscal cuts.
Also note that the Affordable Care Act raises taxes on many and removes more than $700 billion from the Medicare program to fund the new law. Do the letter writers expect the rich are going to pay all of those taxes?
AL CROSSEN
North Wildwood
Only Romney has plan
to strengthen Medicare
Regarding the Aug. 30 letter, "Clear health care choice between the candidates":
President Barack Obama is taking $716 billion from Medicare by reducing payments to doctors and hospitals. He is using this money to pay for Obamacare's much higher costs. He is also causing millions of elderly people participating in the Medicare Advantage program to lose benefits, and others in the program would have benefits reduced.
The Democrats have no plan to strengthen Medicare, just to weaken it. Mitt Romney's plan has two major components to save and strengthen Medicare. First, anyone 55 and over will not be affected and can continue in Medicare. People under 55 would have a choice. They may continue in Medicare, or they may opt for a privately funded Medicare-type plan and receive a subsidy from the government to offset the cost.
The letter writer cited new costs for seniors of $6,400 a year under the Romney plan, rising to $14,000 at age 77. These are completely false numbers that do not exist in real life. They are part of the Democratic campaign designed to frighten the elderly. A vote for Democrats is a vote for an ever-worsening health care situation. Don't be fooled by the propaganda.
JOHN YOUNG
Cape May Court House
Like Hurricane Isaac,
GOP is full of hot air
Interesting how, for the second Republican convention in a row, a hurricane threatened to drown out all the pompous windbags bent on further ravaging the middle class, while sheltering the privileged few.
And appropriately enough, as the ponderous, slow-moving Hurricane Isaac made landfall in New Orleans, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took the stage and attempted to hog the spotlight.
He spouted much about his own perceived accomplishments in the Garden State, but like his metaphorical meteorological counterpart a few hundred miles west, Christie was mostly full of hot air. For a while there, it appeared the governor's delusions of grandeur got the best of him, and he thought he was the guy running for president.
The result was that Americans got a good look at the arrogance, indifference and single-mindedness that define the Republican Party. Such disingenuousness across the board - tearing down the president and blaming him for the devastating mess their own party leader left after eight disastrous years in the White House. Little wonder George W. Bush and his puppet master Dick Cheney were nowhere to be found at the convention.
Fact checkers are clear. Talk of President Barack Obama raiding Medicare is a joke. As many as 10 million jobs were created in the private sector and public sector through Obama's stimulus and bank bailout programs. And the Congress (including the unprecedentedly obstructionist House Republicans) is to blame for the drop in the U.S. credit rating, not the president.
Really, all this reflects just what the Republican Party thinks of the American people. The party strategists clearly consider Americans a naive and shallow bunch - easily swayed by blatant lies packaged as convincing sound bites.
Let's really hope and pray that Americans wake up and prove themselves smarter than all that come this November.
KEVIN McKINNEY
Cape May
Are we better off today?
Just answer yes or no
I recently watched a morning news program during which three prominent Democrats were asked if they thought the American people were better off today than they were four years ago. None of the respondents would give a definitive answer of yes or no. Instead, they went on a diatribe of how well their party is supposedly helping America.
How can you trust a political party that beats around the bush and cannot give a definitive answer to an easy question? Are they worried that the facts indicate that we are not better off today than we were four years ago?
TED HESSER
Mays Landing
