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By FRANCES EARL, Call to Patriots

Hernando Today

Published: November 19, 2008

President Elect Barack Obama continues to select those who will comprise his staff and cabinet, doing so in a careful and noticeably bi-partisan manner. His efforts to unite this country to cope with the devastation being left for all of us are remarkable and his efforts to include even those who have attacked him unmercifully are, to me, an indication of a true patriot dedicated to restoring our country's integrity and economic status.
Obama makes no attempts to "get even" with those who have slandered him during the longest campaign in history, and he is putting our country and its people at the forefront. We should all join to help him succeed if we are to see an end to the predicaments we now face, thanks to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, who catered to only the wealthiest among us.
And what are the Republicans up to now? Well, it seems there is a real fight going on as they try to decide either to return to original conservative principles or stick with the far right ideological views. Romney seems to think the original values of the Republican Party have been dimmed by the ideologues of the far right while Huckabee wants to continue the far right policies. The Republican Party has always been for business but has not been against "people" until the move to the religious-based far right. Religious organizations receive tax exempt status, which should be revoked if, and when, they violate the rule of separation of church and state. This is something the original settlers fled from in their journeys to our shores.
Our great country consists, first of all, of many different religions and beliefs. I, for one, do not want any group telling me what I should believe in, which dogma I should follow, and threatening me with damnation if my choice is not Christian. The days of the Crusades are, or should be, gone with all the bloodletting that took place against those who would not submit.
Instead, our government should be run so that the majority of the people are able to find jobs, take care of their families and buy the goods and services produced here (not abroad). The wealthiest among us seems to have forgotten that while they walked away with their outrageously huge bonuses and retirement packages, they were eliminating the power of the middle class to purchase their products, resulting in the failures of our largest employers like GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc., which have continued to produce gas guzzling big cars preferred by the rich. The fact that this country's economy fails if the middle class does not buy was shoved under the rug.
I do not see the Democrats trying to change what they stand for ... do you? Their values are out there on the table for all to see and, apparently, citizens have voted for those principles and standards. What does it tell you while you watch the Republicans deciding what they should say to win you back into the fold? It tells me that they have no real positions but only strive to come up with the latest lies about who they are and how to fool us once again.
If your values are real, that is what you put forth. It is only when you have lied to and mislead the electorate that you struggle with what you should "claim" you stand for next time out. Where are we now because of all the lies told and wars launched and prisoners held without being charged with any crime, tortured and denied the right to question why they are being held, in violation of our Constitution and in violation of any "Christian" ethics I would consider true and just? Rush Limbaugh tries to blame our economy's failure on Obama, who has not even been inaugurated yet? And there are nuts out there who buy this junk?
If you're having trouble paying your bills, blame the guys who did it! If your son or daughter is trapped into yet another redeployment to a "war" zone, blame the guys who did it! Democrats are not reinventing themselves because they stand for what is right for this country! What make-believe image is the far right inventing because they cannot tell you who and what they really are?
As an aside, let me tell you about a firm that truly supports our troops. By law, jobs must be "held open" for those called up for military service. The troops take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result. Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance for up to two years. Sears is an example for all corporate firms and I, for one, will shop Sears for my Christmas gifts this year. I'll ask for the manager and tell him/her why I am shopping at Sears.

Frances Earl, former vice chairwoman of the Hernando County Democratic Executive Committee, may be contacted at fearl@tampabay.rr.com.

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