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The following editorial is from the Auburn Reporter, a twice monthly community newspaper delivered by mail to 28,000 Auburn households, published by Horvitz Newspapers-- noticeably right-wing slanted community newspapers in western Washington state.
There is no on-line link to the editorial. _________________________
Confessions of an apologetic columnist My Turn by David Suffia
I have a confession to make. Also an apology. The confession is that I voted for George W. Bush four years ago.
The apology is because I voted for George W. Bush four years ago.
Like millions of other independent, middle-of-the-road Americans, I voted for George W. Bush because I was fooled by his charm into thinking he was a moderate. He isn't. He's a right-wing religious extremist and he and his administration are a threat to American democracy.
His Homeland Security apparatus is a bloated bureaucracy that seems to spend more time on politics, show-boating and harassing innocent people that protecting us from terrorists. Parts of his Patriot Act are an abomination that violate the basic principles upon which this country was founded.
Bush's bogus war on Iraq is costing billions of dollars and hundreds of soldiers' lives white diverting attention and resources from the real terrorist enemies who want to destroy us. In the process, he as alienated most of our allies around the world and created a doctrine of pre-emptive war that would have made the Founding Fathers shout in dissent.
His opposition to stem cell research, based on dubious moral contortions, is slowing efforts to find cures for dreadful diseases. Meanwhile, other countries are pursuing such research despite the administration's opposition.
Bush's effort to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriages is a corruption of the very principles of the Constitution itself. I suspect it's nothing more than a divisive feint to draw attention away from substantive issues like those I've already mentioned.
He has denied for four years--and only recently recanted--what the rest of the world already knew, that air pollution is threatening the very future of the planet.
It is obvious that his income tax cuts benefited the rich far, far more than they did the poor or middle classes. His policies have encouraged corporations to send thousands of jobs overseas. To top it off, he has run up record budget deficits that will damage the American economy for years to come.
Even my 87-year old father-in-law, a life-long Southern conservative Republican, says he will vote for the Democratic candidate this fall--for the first time in his life--rather than vote for Bush again.
Like most people, I hate to admit I was wrong, but I was. I voted for George W. Bush on the rebound from the moral lapses and scandals of the Clinton administration. Who would have thought the Clinton years would turn out to be the good old days?
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This is Auburn, Washington, about as middle America as you can get.
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