Posted by
Professor Pitt Daddy on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 3:27:44 PM
Dear Senator Specter:
Thank you for finally admitting you are not a Republican.
Although I think your defection will hurt our country in the short run, I
believe your move finally shows the rest of the country what we already knew...You
are and always have been a Democrat.
You said, "Since my election in 1980,
as part of the Reagan big tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right."
The footnote below (1) contains relevant excerpts from the 1980 Republican
Party Platform, the full text of which can be found here http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showplatforms.php?platindex=R1980.
It is, in essence, the same things that the
Republican Party holds as its ideals today.
- ·
Low taxes to strengthen the
economy
- ·
A Federal system which limits the
strength of the Federal government over the states
- ·
Stop the dependency of people on welfare
and make work programs of the government
- ·
A strong military and intelligence
capability to stop terrorism
- ·
A Strong Family in the
traditional sense
- ·
Parental control of their
children's education
- ·
A Pro-Life stance
- ·
No discrimination from anyone
- ·
An Energy policy that makes sure
it doesn’t affect the economy and builds on a strong domestic auto industry
- And many similar points.
The Republican electorate has not moved from
these points. Our elected representatives are the ones that moved from these
ideals. Our Republican elected officials became complacent, leaning to what
President Bush called "Compassionate conservatism". This was no more
than a leftward shift by you and the others we elected. We have seen the
results of this shift in the loss of both houses of Congress and the White
House, as well as losses in the states.
We allowed the educational system to drum
into our children values completely foreign to traditional America values. We now
have a generation that thinks handouts from the government are preferable to
hard work and industry. These unsustainable giveaways caught up with our party
in the losses of 2006 and 2008.
As you switch to the party of big government,
hand-holding, taxing and social decay, I hope you come to see how far you and
your compatriots in the past 10 years have led our country away from the ideals
of the American Dream.
Sincerely,
...
(1) Excerpt from the 1980 Republican Party
Platform http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showplatforms.php?platindex=R1980.
… "Our
foremost goal here at home is simple: economic growth and full employment
without inflation. Sweeping change in economic policy in America is needed so
that Mr. Carter's promise of hard times and austerity—his one promise well
kept—can be replaced with Republican policies that promise economic growth and
job creation. It is our belief that the stagflation of recent years not only has
consigned millions of citizens to hardship but also has bottled up the enormous
ingenuity and creative powers of our people. Those energies will not be
released by the sterile policies of the past: we specifically reject the Carter
doctrine that inflation can be reduced only by throwing people out of work.
Prosperity will not be regained simply by government fiat. Rather, we must
offer broad new incentives to labor and capital to stimulate a great outpouring
of private goods and services and to create an abundance of jobs. From
America's grass roots to the White House we will stand united as a party behind
a bold program of tax rate reductions, spending restraints, and regulatory
reforms that will inject new life into the economic bloodstream of this country.
"Overseas, our goal is equally simple and direct: to
preserve a world at peace by keeping America strong. This philosophy once
occupied a hallowed place in American diplomacy, but it was casually, even
cavalierly dismissed at the outset by the Carter Administration—and the results
have been shattering. Never before in modern history has the United States
endured as many humiliations, insults, and defeats as it has during the past
four years: our ambassadors murdered, our embassies burned, our warnings
ignored, our diplomacy scorned, our diplomats kidnapped. The Carter
Administration has shown that it neither understands totalitarianism nor
appreciates the way tyrants take advantage of weakness. The brutal invasion of
Afghanistan promises to be only the forerunner of much more serious threats to
the West—and to world peace—should the Carter Administration somehow cling to
power.
"Republicans are united in a belief that
America's international humiliation and decline can be reversed only by strong
presidential leadership and a consistent, far-sighted foreign policy, supported
by a major upgrading of our military forces, a strengthening of our commitments
to our allies, and a resolve that our national interests be vigorously
protected. Ultimately, those who practice strength and firmness truly guard the
peace.
"We affirm our deep commitment to the
fulfillment of the hopes and aspirations of all Americans—blacks and whites,
women and men, the young and old, rural and urban.
For too many years, the political debate in
America has been conducted in terms set by the Democrats. They believe that
every time new problems arise beyond the power of men and women as individuals
to solve, it becomes the duty of government to solve them, as if there were
never any alternative. Republicans disagree and have always taken the side of
the individual, whose freedoms are threatened by the big government that
Democratic idea has spawned. Our case for the individual is stronger than ever.
A defense of the individual against government was never more needed. And we
will continue to mount it.
But we will redefine and broaden the debate
by transcending the narrow terms of government and the individual; those are
not the only two realities in America. Our society consists of more than that;
so should the political debate. We will reemphasize those vital communities
like the family, the neighborhood, the workplace, and others which are found at
the center of society, between government and the individual. We will restore
and strengthen their ability to solve problems in the places where people spend
their daily lives and can turn to each other for support and help.
"We seek energy independence through
economic policies that free up our energy production and encourage
conservation. We seek improvements in health care, education, housing, and
opportunities for youth. We seek new avenues for the needy to break out of the
tragic cycle of dependency. All of these goals—and many others—we confidently
expect to achieve through a rebirth of liberty and resurgence of private
initiatives, for we believe that at the root of most of our troubles today is
the misguided and discredited philosophy of an all-powerful government,
ceaselessly striving to subsidize, manipulate, and control individuals. But it
is the individual, not the government, who reigns at the center of our
Republican philosophy.
"Republicans pledge a restoration of
balance in American society. But society cannot be balanced by the actions of
government or of individuals alone. Balance is found at society's vital center,
where we find the family and the neighborhood and the workplace.
"…The measure of a country's compassion
is how it treats the least fortunate. In every society there will be some who
cannot work, often through no fault of their own.
Yet current federal government efforts to
help them have become counterproductive, perpetuating and aggravating the very
conditions of dependence they seek to relieve. The Democratic Congress has
produced a jumble of degrading, dehumanizing, wasteful, overlapping, and
inefficient programs that invite waste and fraud but inadequately assist the
needy poor.
Poverty is defined not by income statistics
alone, but by an individual's true situation and prospects. For two
generations, especially since the mid–1960s, the Democrats have deliberately
perpetuated a status of federally subsidized poverty and manipulated dependency
for millions of Americans. This is especially so for blacks and Hispanics, many
of whom remain pawns of the bureaucracy, trapped outside the social and
economic mainstream of American life.
For those on welfare, our nation's tax
policies provide a penalty for getting a job. This is especially so for those
whose new income from a job is either equal to, or marginally greater than, the
amount received on welfare. In these cases, due to taxes, the individual's
earned income is actually less than welfare benefits. This is the "poverty
trap" which will continue to hold millions of Americans as long as they
continue to be punished for working.
The Carter Administration and the Democratic
Party continue to foster that dependency. Our nation's welfare problems will
not be solved merely by providing increased benefits. Public service jobs are
not a substitute for employable skills, nor can increases in the food stamp
program by themselves provide for individual dignity. By fostering dependency
and discouraging self-reliance, the Democratic Party has created a welfare
constituency dependent on its continual subsidies.
"…Americans enjoy greater personal
mobility than any other people on earth, largely as a result of the
availability of automobiles and our modern highway system. Republicans reject
the elitist notion that Americans must be forced out of their cars. Instead, we
vigorously support the right of personal mobility and freedom as exemplified by
the automobile and our modern highway system. While recognizing the importance
of fuel efficiency and alternate modes of transportation, we quickly
acknowledge that for millions of Americans there is no substitute on the
horizon for the automobile. We reaffirm our support for a healthy domestic
automobile industry, complete with continued support for the highway trust
fund, which is the fairest method yet devised for financing America's highway system.
"…The truths we hold and the values we
share affirm that no individual should be victimized by unfair discrimination
because of race, sex, advanced age, physical handicap, difference of national
origin or religion, or economic circumstance. However, equal opportunity should
not be jeopardized by bureaucratic regulations and decisions which rely on
quotas, ratios, and numerical requirements to exclude some individuals in favor
of others, thereby rendering such regulations and decisions inherently discriminatory.
"…There can be no doubt that the
question of abortion, despite the complex nature of its various issues, is
ultimately concerned with equality of rights under the law. While we recognize
differing views on this question among Americans in general—and in our own
Party—we affirm our support of a
constitutional amendment to restore protection of the right to life for unborn
children. We also support the Congressional efforts to restrict the use of
taxpayers' dollars for abortion.
We protest the Supreme Court's intrusion into
the family structure through its denial of the parent's obligation and right to
guide their minor children.
The family is the foundation of our social
order. It is the school of democracy. Its daily lessons—cooperation, tolerance,
mutual concern, responsibility, industry—are fundamental to the order and
progress of our Republic. But the Democrats have shunted the family aside. They
have given its power to the bureaucracy, its jurisdiction to the courts, and
its resources to government grantors. For the first time in our history, there
is real concern that the family may not survive.
Government may be strong enough to destroy
families, but it can never replace them.
Unlike the Democrats, we do not advocate new
federal bureaucracies with ominous power to shape a national family order.
Rather, we insist that all domestic policies, from child care and schooling to
Social Security and the tax code, must be formulated with the family in mind.
Next to religious training and the home,
education is the most important means by which families hand down to each new
generation their ideals and beliefs. It is a pillar of a free society. But
today, parents are losing control of their children's schooling. The Democratic
Congress and its counterparts in many states have launched one fad after
another, building huge new bureaucracies to misspend our taxes. The result has
been a shocking drop in student performance, lack of basics in the classroom,
forced busing, teacher strikes, manipulative and sometimes amoral
indoctrination.
"…Significant as these achievements are,
we must not be complacent. Health care costs continue to rise, farther and
faster than they should, and threaten to spiral beyond the reach of many
families. The causes are the Democratic Congress' inflationary spending and
excessive and expensive regulations.
Republicans unequivocally oppose socialized
medicine, in whatever guise it is presented by the Democratic Party. We reject
the creation of a national health service and all proposals for compulsory
national health insurance.
Our country has made spectacular gains in
health care in recent decades. Most families are now covered by private
insurance, Medicare, or in the case of the poor, the entirely free services
under Medicaid.
Republicans recognize that many health care
problems can be solved if government will work closely with the private sector
to find remedies that will enhance our current system of excellent care. We
applaud, as an example, the voluntary effort which has been undertaken by our
nation's hospitals to control costs. The results have been encouraging. More
remains to be done.
"…In view of the continuing efforts of
the present Administration to define and influence the family through such
federally funded conferences as the White House Conference on Families, we
express our support for legislation protecting and defending the traditional
American family against the ongoing erosion of its base in our society.
"…We propose to put Americans back to
work again by restoring real growth without inflation to the United States
economy. Republican programs and initiatives detailed in this platform will
create millions of additional new jobs in the American workplace. As a result
of Mr. Carter's recession, more than eight million Americans are now out of
work.
Sweeping change in America's economic policy
is needed. We must replace the Carter Administration's promise of hard times
and austerity—one promise which has been [p.16] kept—with Republican policies
that restore economic growth and create more jobs.
The Democratic Congress and the Carter
Administration are espousing programs that candidate Carter in 1976 said were
inhumane: using recession, unemployment, high interest rates, and high taxes to
fight inflation. The Democrats are now trying to stop inflation with a
recession, a bankrupt policy which is throwing millions of Americans out of
work. They say Americans must tighten their belts, abandon their dreams, and accept
higher taxes, less take-home pay, fewer jobs, and no growth in the national
economy.
We categorically reject this approach.
Inflation is too much money chasing too few goods. Shutting down our nation's
factories and throwing millions of people out of work leads only to shortages
and higher prices.
We believe inflation can only be controlled
by monetary and spending restraint, combined with sharp reductions in the tax
and regulatory barriers to savings, investment, production, and jobs.
"…The Republican Party declares war on
government overregulation. We pledge to cut down on federal paperwork, cut out
excessive regulation, and cut back the bloated bureaucracy.
In addressing these problems we recognize
that overregulation is particularly harmful to America's small businesses whose
survival is often threatened by the excessive costs of complying with
government rules and handling federal paperwork.
While we recognize the role of the federal
government in establishing certain minimum standards designed to improve the
quality of life in America, we reaffirm our conviction that these standards can
best be attained through innovative efforts of American business without the
federal government mandating the methods of attainment.
The extraordinary growth of government,
particularly since the middle 1960s, has brought mounting costs to society
which, in turn, have added to inflationary pressures, reduced productivity,
discouraged new investment, destroyed jobs, and increased bureaucratic
intrusion into everyday life.
"…The intent of the Founders, embraced
and reflected by succeeding generations of Americans, was that the Central
government should perform only those functions which are necessary concomitants
of nationality, preserve order, and do for people only those things which they
cannot do for themselves. The durability of our system lies in its flexibility
and its accommodation to diversity and changing circumstance. It is notable as
much for what it permits as for what it proscribes. Government must ever be the
servant of the nation, not its master.
Under the guise of providing for the common
good, Democratic Party domination of the body politic over the last 47 years
has produced a central government of vastly expanded size, scope, and rigidity.
Confidence in government, especially big government, has been the chief
casualty of too many promises made and broken, too many commitments unkept. It
is time for change— time to de-emphasize big bureaucracies—time to shift the
focus of national politics from expanding government's power to that of
restoring the strength of smaller communities such as the family, the
neighborhood, and the workplace.
Government's power to take and tax, to
regulate and require, has already reached extravagant proportions. As
government's power continues to grow, the "consent of the governed"
will diminish. Republicans support an end to the growth of the federal
government and pledge to return the decision making process to the smaller
communities of society.
"…The Republican Party reaffirms its
belief in the decentralization of the federal government and in the traditional
American principle that the best government is the one closest to the people.
There, it is less costly, more accountable, and more responsive to people's needs.
Against the prevailing trend toward increased Centralization of government
under the Democrats, Republicans succeeded in the 1970s in initiating large
scale revenue sharing and block grant programs to disperse the power of the
federal government and share it with the states and localities.
"…Residence in the United States is one
of the most precious and valued of conditions. The traditional hospitality of
the American people has been severely tested by recent events, but it remains
the strongest in the world. Republicans are proud that our people have opened
their arms and hearts to strangers from abroad and we favor an immigration and
refugee policy which is consistent with this tradition. We believe that to the
fullest extent possible those immigrants should be admitted who will make a
positive contribution to America and who are willing to accept the fundamental
American values and way of life. At the same time, United States immigration
and refugee policy must reflect the interests of our national security and
economic well-being. Immigration into this country must not be determined
solely by foreign governments or even by the millions of people around the
world who wish to come to America. The federal government has a duty to adopt
immigration laws and follow enforcement procedures which will fairly and
effectively implement the immigration policy desired by the American people.
The immediate adoption of this policy is
essential to an orderly approach to the great problem of oppressed people
seeking entry, so that the deserving can be accepted in America without adding
to their hardships.
The refugee problem is an international
problem and every effort should be made to coordinate plans for absorbing
refugee populations with regional bodies, such as the Organization of American
States and the Association of South East Asian Nations, on a global basis.