Sam Johnson’s questionable comments
On March 25, Sam Johnson attended the Senate District 8 Convention in Plano and made ad hominem attacks on Rahm Emanuel, the Democratic congressman from Illinois heading up the effort to field Democrats against incumbent Republican Congressman. I didn’t have a tape recorder, but what he said, in effect, was: “Rahm Emanuel isn’t like Bill Clinton. He’s a real little fella. He even used to be a ballet dancer. I hate to think what that means.”
Now, since Rahm Emanuel has a wife and three kids, I wonder what Johnson was trying to imply about . Emanuel or ballet dancers or, for that matter, short people.
I’m more worried about a Congressman’s stature than his height, much less his alleged sexual preferences or previous careers.
Robert Edward Johnson
Plano
Log Cabin beliefs at odds with GOP’s
The advertisement from the Log Cabin Republicans printed on page 35 of the March 24 issue of Dallas Voice made me chuckle sadly. It stated, “If you believe in smaller government, lower taxes and a strong defense, you share our Republican values.” The Republican Party I know believes in everything but what Log Cabin states they believe in.
“Smaller government”? Knowledge of the years since 2000 have shown that government and government spending have grown horrifically. Interference in the private lives of citizens has exploded since the Republicans took over. Illegal wiretapping and granting government contracts without public bid to corporations are the rage now.
Yet the good things a government can do such as assisting the poor, helping victims of natural disasters and supporting education are disappearing.
“Lower taxes” ? How can this be done with deficit spending of historic proportions? President Bush has thrown government money at every problem. The average American is having his pocketbook and the pocketbooks of his grandchildren picked. Generations from now will pay, which will be a far cry from “lower taxes.”
“A strong defense”? Sadly the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war has made us a weaker nation, in more danger than ever. President Bush just this year noticed we had an addiction to oil (the same addiction President Carter noticed in the 1970s), yet we have squandered our good name in the name of feeding our addiction.
We went to war under false pretense. We even let India blackmail us into allowing that country to become a nuclear power so that we could increase trade with them. What more safety will the Republicans barter away? “A strong defense” cannot be maintained by stretching our armed services all across the world trying to force changes in the way other people have lived for centuries.
I applaud Log Cabin Republicans for trying to help the Republican Party. But it is quite clear that the Republican Party leadership does not want them involved in their party, and that the current Bush Administration does not subscribe to the values listed in Log Cabin’s ad.
Keith Pomykal
Dallas
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This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, March 31, 2006.