Essays

Letter to Ed Gillespie, Chairman of the Republican National Committee

Author: Samuel Metz

Date: 01/08/2005

Samuel Metz, MD

8 January 2005

Ed Gillespie 

Chairman 

Republican National Committee 

310 First Street SE 

POB 96994 

Washington DC 20077-7566

Dear Mr. Gillespie, 

Thank you for your invitation to contribute to the Republican National Committee. You requested a response from me within seven days. This is my response. 

The Republican Party offers an extraordinary opportunity for voters to express what part they want government to play in their lives. I believe the Republican Party can provide an essential alternative to the pabulum offered by Democrats in this last election. 

I also believe that our current administration represents the absolute worst aspects of fundamental Republican values. I will not contribute to a Party that embraces these aberrations. For your information, I list below what the George W. Bush administration has done to undermine Republican principles. 

1. This administration has nurtured abortion and gay marriage as issues for government to fix. These are highly charged, personally felt, politically insolvable issues that distract voters from more immediate challenges. The relationships between a woman and her physician and between any two consenting adults in the privacy of their home are absolutely off-limits to government. What Republican in history has advocated moving government control into our personal life? What is most reprehensible about this administration is that it intends to enshrine this invasion by amending the Constitution itself. The Constitution, as sober Republicans will attest, is designed to protect individual rights, not compromise them. 

2. This administration has abandoned one of the greatest strengths of this nation: our military. Our civilian leaders have more than ignored unpleasant but sound advice from our military leaders; it has punished those who attempted to protect our soldiers from unnecessary danger. The Iraq invasion was planned without considering the number and equipment of soldiers needed to do the job correctly. When military victory turned into a prolonged insurgency, we discovered that our civilian leaders had absolutely no contingency plans, although our military leaders warned of this eventuality. Furthermore, our administration shows extraordinary reluctance to commit the additional soldiers, equipment, and funds necessary to let our military stabilize a country in flames and get our soldiers out of harm’s way. This shows contempt for our military and compromises our ability to fight when necessary.

3. Our administration has as its highest priority making America the best place in the world to do business. An admirable quest, and quite in keeping with the Republican principle of individual enterprise. Yet this priority has completely usurped the responsibility of our government to protect those who cannot protect themselves. The administration exhibits a terrifying willingness to sacrifice education of children and protection of our environment. As any sober Republican will confirm, these are both non-renewable resources that if not protected will create dire consequences that no amount of profitable businesses will remedy quickly. 

4. Our administration insists that Social Security needs urgent overhaul, and that only privatization will do for answer. Social Security does not need urgent overhaul, but Medicare and our inept program for keeping our seniors stocked with essential prescription medications do. This fixation on Social Security makes Republicans look bad: distracting the public from immediate problems that require politically difficult solutions by pointing out distant problems that need little attention now. 

5. The Great Tax Cut is "fair" in that all citizens receive an equal share of government largesse, but is "unfair" in that the citizens who most need relief (i.e. those families earning under $50,000) have that relief compromised by diverting funds to wealthier citizens whose need is less acute. As a voter earning more than $100,000, I would gladly have sacrificed my share and those who in my financial stratum to give greater tax relief for those with the greater need. 

This Tax Cut is especially contrary to Republican principles in that it denies our government the resources to equip our military properly. Where will we find the money to equip our troops, rebuild the infrastructure in Iraq, clean out terrorists, and leave the country a model for the Middle East? If we didn’t think better of our administration, it would appear that it intends to stifle the federal government by asphyxiation: no revenues, no government. Aren’t there are some government functions that Republicans endorse? Surely Republicans are not anarchists?

6. Our administration has fumbled the Global War on Terrorism by creating a safe haven in Iraq that is now on the Must-See list of every terrorist in the world. Soon we will have lost more American lives to terrorists in Iraq than died in 9/11. Why has this administration sworn to eradicate all terrorists, regardless of whether they target us or not? We have a very real terrorist threat from within our borders that goes neglected. After all, the second worst terrorist attack on America was conducted in Oklahoma by Americans claiming they represented the people against the government. What has the administration done to protect us from domestic terrorism? Why has the administration not acknowledged that 100% security against terrorists is impossible? Al-Qaeda took eight years between its previous attack on US soil in 1993 before its next attack on the same target, the Twin Towers; how can our administration claim success because it has been four years since 9/11 with no al-Qaeda attack? 

Yes, terrorists are unlikely to hijack commercial airliners for kamikaze missions again. But is our administration outthinking terrorists and shutting down other opportunities for attacks before the terrorists get there first? Are our borders, harbors, trains, and public areas safer than before September 11, 2001? 

7. The Family Values issue is a smokescreen. Do we really believe that Republicans love their families better than Democrats? Do Republicans really believe that Democrats cannot be trusted to raise children properly? In the last election there was an authentic groundswell of voter concern about fundamental fears for our future; instead of providing true illumination and leadership, the administration used this issue as a cheap campaign ploy. I am not proud that Republicans ran to the front of a wandering mob and pretended to be leaders instead of stopping the mob and telling them straightforwardly how Republicans can address their needs.

I feel the Republican Party has better answers to these issues than the Democrats, but that our current administration has few viable answers at all. I will gladly contribute to a Republican Party that returns to its core values, including protecting the greater needs of our society: education, the environment, respecting our elderly, and expecting that those who profit most from our incredible country will see fit to contribute the most to preserving it. 

Sincerely, 

Samuel Metz