OTTUMWA —
The historical and beautiful language of the Hebrew people contains the unique word “chutzpah,” a word best defined by the apocryphal story of the youth, who having just been convicted of killing his parents, pleaded with the judge for mercy because he was now an orphan. The current presidential campaign has been laced, liberally, by such chutzpah. When Obama took office, the loyal opposition party took to heart the urgings of its titular head, Rush Limbaugh, that “this president must fail!” Accepting the oath, none in the party, principally in Congress, would allow themselves to be seen as doing anything, no matter how small, which might be interpreted by their base as cooperating with President Obama or any of his programs. They routinely placed party politics ahead of anything for the good of the country. “This President must fail.” Their goal was to make certain Obama was a one-term president, and nothing else mattered. Gridlock, stonewalling, intransigence were their marching orders and government ground to a halt. And now the Republicans stand up and cast total blame for all of this on Obama, apparently in the belief that most Americans would forget these Republican actions and accept their pleas for “mercy” from a forgetful electorate.
Mitt Romney repeatedly asserts that when he was governor of Massachusetts, he worked with the opposition Democratic party and accomplished much, totally refusing to note that those Massachusetts Democrats had not drunk the Kool-Aid of total defiance, even, dare I say, hatred. It would be most unfortunate and destructionist if this type of non-patriotic opposition should prevail in this election. Haters should not be permitted to win with such tactics. The good of the country should be the paramount purpose of Congress and its members, regardless of party.
I urge our voters to keep all of this in mind when selecting not only our next president but our local and state representatives in our national government. Vote for those who will be good stewards of democracy, not just good party members. Don’t vote for hate. Let reason and political honesty prevail.
Michael Vinyard
Ottumwa
Letters to the Editor
November 2, 2012
Chutzpah liberally laced throughout campaign
- Letters to the Editor
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- Superintendent says 'thank you' May is School Board Appreciation Month. Today, the district held its Staff Appreciation and Teacher of the Year Breakfast, and last week was the Faculty Follies program organized by the Education Foundation for Fairfield Public Schools. I am full of
- Address mental health concerns for veterans Memorial Day will soon be here and we will pay tribute to our deceased loved ones. This Memorial Day, let's pay special tribute to our deceased veterans — like my dad — Don Butts, who served in World War II (Battle of the Bulge — one of the worst bat
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- Judicial system is out of whack
- LWV responds to letter The League of Women Voters — Ottumwa would like to respond to a recent letter to the editor. We will explain more about our forums that we co-host with the Chamber of Commerce every spring, specifically regarding the issue of asking Curt Hanson to
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