Monday, Nov. 6, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.
With nothing positive to show for six years in office, the Republican Party has nothing to campaign on other than the pretense that Democrats might do worse. How could they do any worse? How many failures does it take before the other side gets a chance?
President Bush failed to capture Osama bin Laden, the man behind the 9/11 attacks. Against strong advice to the contrary he contrived an invasion of Iraq on the contrived idea that Iraq was a threat to the U.S. He failed to secure that country and turned it into a breeding ground for anti-American terrorists that will last for generations. His failure in Iraq has cost 2,800 American soldiers their lives, billions of dollars and the respect of the world.
He failed to provide the Gulf Coast with adequate emergency aid after Hurricane Katrina. He failed to secure our borders, leaving the country open to future terrorist attacks. His economic policies have made the wealthy wealthier at the expense of middle-class Americans. Although the economy is stable with the Dow Jones average hitting record highs, the Republicans conveniently forget that it was near those record levels when he took office.
As a registered Independent, I have always voted for the candidate rather than the party. Since George W. Bush was elected I have seen many questionable decisions made by his administration go unchallenged by the extremely partisan, Republican-controlled Congress.
This election I will be voting for the party and not the candidate, since the Republican majority cannot seem to tell a good idea from a bad one, or right from wrong. If a few good Republicans have to lose their jobs for blindly supporting the failed policies of George W. Bush, then so be it. Whatever our politics are, we owe it to ourselves to give the Democrats a chance to straighten out this mess.
Phil Ventura, Las Vegas
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