“Anger is one letter short of danger.” ~Author Unknown
LAKE WORTH-Last night, I had coffee at a nearby Dunkin Donuts with my friend Dave.
Dave is an affluent retired Republican businessman. He is your classic American success story. He built a small family business into a multimillion dollar operation and eventually sold it, guaranteeing the financial future of his family.
Dave has a nice middle-class lifestyle and is not extravagant in any sense. He lives in a modest home, drives a mid-size car, and once or twice a year takes a nice vacation with his wife. I would label Dave a fiscal conservative with a moderate social bent, a typical moderate Republican.
If you want to categorize someone as a loyal Republican, you would think of Dave. He is one of those people politicians love. If Dave believes in a candidate or a cause, he will make generous contributions and volunteer his time and services, asking nothing in return but a thank you at the end of the campaign.
When I meet Dave, we usually talk politics, sometimes for hours at a time. Dave is one of the brightest people I know and I highly value his opinions. In terms of politics, he is extremely grounded in his assessment of events and issues.
I had anticipated that we would be talking about the upcoming Senatorial primary in Florida and other races last night, but Dave began the conversation with words that surprised me.
“I am really angry.”
“You’re not the angry type. What are you angry about?” I asked.
“I’m just totally disgusted with the party. They just don’t get it.”
Dave told he was not happy with the lack of change taking place in local, state, and national Republican parties. He stated that they continue to be extremely ineffective in taking on the Democrats in power and in making the party stronger, both locally and nationally. “It’s just SOS,” he said.
He then expounded on his anger, citing how recent events in Washington and the lack of effective opposition by the Republican Party to the bailouts and stimulus package had really hurt him.
Dave is a bondholder in GM and stands to loss a tremendous amount of money because of the GM Bankruptcy. As part of the proposed Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan designed by the Obama administration, GM bondholders will forfeit all but a small fraction of their investment in the bonds.
If the GM Bankruptcy Court approves the proposed settlement, Dave told me he will lose a big chunk of his life savings and most of the disposable income from interest paid by the bonds that made life very comfortable for him and his wife in retirement- it is also the money he used to make generous contributions to the Republican Party and its candidates.
“What really bothers me is that the Republicans did not offer a real alternative to the whole situation,” Dave added.
“Dave, you did not see it coming?”
“Of course I did. But when I called my broker last year, he insisted the bonds were a “solid” investment. He made me feel stupid for questioning an investment in GM, a bedrock American company. I should not have listened to him and followed my instinct.”
I told Dave he is not alone, that most Americans now wake up every morning pissed off that their lives have been permanently changed in a very negative manner. “We are all angry.”
I also told Dave I’m disgusted that the Republican Party is not truly rebuilding and instead is still exemplified by moral hypocrites like Governor Sanford who continue to hurt the image of the party.
“There are no fresh ideas, no new Republican ideology to fit today’s circumstances. Worse, there’s no real fight going on,” I said.
I told Dave we need new leadership, like a Jack Kemp, to step up to promote real, practical free market alternative solutions to get people back to work and fix our credit, healthcare, and the housing situations. So far, nada.
“Instead,” I said, “we still have morally superior conservative throwbacks like Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich touting antiquated ‘conservative’ dictum and at the same time filling a dangerous vacuum of leadership that is leading the Republican Party down the road to permanent political insignificance.”
We both took a moment to reflect and finish our coffee. Dave then replied:
“I totally agree. They will be traveling that road without me from now on. I get several calls a day for contributions from the Party and I ignore them now. Like I said, I’m pretty angry and disgusted. I got other things to worry about now.”
This week's Kurlykomments Tweets on Twitter:
- When is a smart,moderate Republican going to step up and claim the mantle of the Republican Party? NO MORE SANFORDS!
- Danny Choi should stay in military-don't ask, don't tell just plain stupid & violates civil rights-Truman integrated-Obama should tolerate.
- Wanna bet Madoff does not get maximum sentence today?
- Dana Milbank was absolutely right on CNN today calling out the fake press question to Huffington Post lackey by Obama "press conference"
- Sick of fanatics calling for excommunication of fellow Reps.voting their beliefs rather than what Palm Beach Rush says to do-enough already.
- You know what is wrong with this country? We care more about a perverted singer's death than the radicalization of economy & health care.
- Sanford's wrong was to leave SC w/o telling anyone where he was, not hanging out eating empanadas in Argentina after his wife threw him out
- Gov. Sanford is scheduled to appear on jon and kate plus 8 to join jon on a hike to a strip club
- Home prices still falling. Massive foreclosures have ruined pricing in housing markets. Time for banks to stop and work out longer amorts. from web
- Hiking in mountain woods is ultimate way to gain perspective in life-Gov. Sanford should complimented on hike away from gov't stimulation.
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