I am writing to comment on Mr. William Catts’ article, “What can we expect, if Obama wins the presidential election and Democrats increase their dominance in Congress?” that the Daily Guide published on Aug. 9.
Mr. Catts wrote, “The first thing we can expect from Congress (Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, etc.) is legislation to silence the conservative voice.” Mr. Catts is wrong on this point. As a matter of fact the Fairness Doctrine simply required that both sides of each issue be presented. It only stands to reason that neoconservatives would be afraid of that.
Mr. Catts wrote, “The second thing we can expect is further stacking of the courts with liberal judges who will push their liberal agenda. I believe that President Bush’s former Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales was the one who tried to stack the courts; I didn’t hear or read any complaints from Mr. Catts. By the way, a sitting president has the right to appoint justices, conservative or liberal, to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Catts also wrote, “The third thing you can expect is accelerated growth and intrusion of government.” Mr. Catts should recall that during the Bush Administration, a new cabinet department (Department of Homeland Security) was formed. Mr. Catts should also recall that the Bush Administration gave us the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretapping, and, of course, the fiasco known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Mr. Catts also wrote, “With an extremely liberal President, a liberal dominated Congress, and a liberal stacked Supreme Court, there will be no check and balance.” I recall that prior to the 2006 elections, a majority-Republican Congress took its marching orders from the White House. As we know, there was no check and balance during the first six years of the Bush Administration. I doubt that Mr. Catts had any complaints with that.
Mr. Catts also wrote, “Economically, militarily and industrially, our nation will be reduced.” Mr. Catts fails to recognize that this is exactly what has happened during the Bush presidency. Thousands of Americans have lost their jobs. The national debt has doubled. Banks are failing. Thousands of Americans are losing their homes. Our military is being ground down because President Bush has underresourced and overcommitted our armed forces. Our military is stretched to its limits and everyone knows that. Our borders are wide-open. We are importing millions of unhealthy and unsafe products into our country each year because the products are not inspected. By the way, I will not allow my fellow Americans to forget that the Bush Administration failed to protect America from terrorist attacks, even with the benefit of prior warning.
One quote from Mr. Catts sheds a lot of light on the situation: “Obama is a good orator…” Yes, Senator Obama is a good orator-and the neocons are really upset about that. The neocons’ worst nightmare has come true. The Democrats have produced a candidate who is brilliant, eloquent, erudite, honest, and personable — everything that Senator McCain is not. I am sure that thousands of neocons are crying themselves to sleep every night. As their tears flow, the neocons stare at the ceiling and ask themselves, “Why not Giuliani? Why not Huckabee? Why not Romney? Why McCain?” Mr. Rush Hudson Limbaugh saw this situation developing. That’s why “El-Rushbo” came up with his ill-fated “Operation Chaos” to get his listeners to vote for Senator Clinton during the primaries.
I would like to share a bit of enlightenment with my neoconservative neighbors. Mr. Catts wrote, “He will bring change, but is it the kind of change we want for America?” In 2006, I predicted that the American people would send a message — and we did. The message is that we (liberals and conservatives) do want change. Unfortunately, Mr. Catts and the neocons still have not gotten the message. Please stand by; we’ll send the message again.

Carl A. Grandberry
St. Robert