Public must demand more accountability
Here is a letter-to-the-editor that appeared in the Times Argus yesterday by Hobie Guion. These types of letters are becoming more typical as voters are growing tired of the old parties.
Public must demand more accountability
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060401/NEWS/604010303/1022/EDUCATION05
April 1, 2006
“The Democrats like to regulate business and de-regulate people, while the Republicans like to regulate people and de-regulate business” is a political adage that, like all adages, occasionally takes shape as truthful.
Whenever I think of issues such as gay rights, abortion or privacy rights within the USA Patriot Act, I think most Democrats are for less government intrusion and more personal responsibility, while many Republicans wish for the opposite.
Currently, there’s an adage that has gained a lot of ground over the last several years: “Democrats like to throw money around and Republicans like to throw money to their friends.”
With tax cuts consistently tilted heavily toward the wealthy, the deregulation of megacorporations undertaken so they can merge into bigger-but-fewer megacorporations, the absolute giveaway of the public airspace, and the proliferation of no-bid contracts, among many other instances, we can see that the well-to-do friends of this Republican administration have done even better. With the corruptive greed of Republicans such as DeLay, Abramoff, Scanlon, Frist, Ney and others, I find that our republic is doing far worse.
As an example that will hopefully stir voters of both parties to demand more integrity from their government, consider the following. Before the election of 2000, Halliburton was number 18 on the list of who received the most money via contracts with the Defense Department. Since the election of Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney to the vice-presidency and the awarding of no-bid contracts for Afghanistan, Iraq and Katrina, they’ve zoomed up to number one. Isn’t this simply wrong?
I strongly believe that the people of the United States have not only a right, but a duty to demand more integrity, honesty and openness from our government. The present shameless grab for money and power is an affront to all Americans.
Hobie Guion
East Montpelier
