LetterstothePresident

Don't Support the Auto Company Bailouts!

Well, voters have spoken, and the Republicans have lost the presidency and more seats in the House and Senate! The economic recession and stock market fall sealed the fate of McCain and Palin. Ironically, the progress in Iraq worked to Republican disadvantage; it made the economy an even greater issue. No one truly expected Obama to withdraw from Iraq too quickly, and his position on taking it to terrorists in Afghanistan helped him show enough strength to prevail.

Now, it’s clear that conservative talk radio is not enough! Too many in America have forgotten the principles that make America Great. I hope, in your retirement, that you join us in doing a better job of educating America on what we stand for. Newt Gingrich said of Reagan, “He wasn’t just a great communicator. He was a great educator.” In short, he explained in stories and examples why Republican principles were important. With our citizens today, they have a short attention span, a constant need to be entertained and an inability to look at anything in depth. We must take that on by using the Internet and public forums to do a better job of selling what truly makes America great. At my YouTube channel, DrTerryP, I have started to collect a series of short videos on the principles that define us as Republicans. Too many believe their optimism comes from bigger government they’ve stopped believing in themselves. We will never be great waiting in line for bailouts from Washington! But your actions make me question your commitment to free markets.

This letter may be too late to make a difference, but I am absolutely AGAINST any bailout of the American auto industry. They have a failed model and inflated costs, and they deserve to fail. Let them file for bankruptcy like the airlines. They will come out with lower employee costs and focus on adding value where they can succeed. You are supporting taking our tax money earned by our hard work and success to support their failure! That is not Republican thinking, Mr. President. Trust capitalism and money will move to what adds value instead of sending good money after bad companies! Let the Democrats take responsibility for these stupid stimulus packages, if they want!

The stimulus packages and bailouts have done only one thing—they have made companies and citizens get in line for more money! They’re competing for how awful things are instead of getting busy finding their own way to success. Do you no longer believe in self-reliance? Or do you just believe it is OK for us fools who do all the work and pay the taxes to support these bailouts!   

In Support of Conservative Principles,

Terry L. Paulson, PhD

use Your Bully Pulpit to Fight the Good Fight for Our Shared Principles

Your legacy of a free and prosperous Middle East will turn on this election. If Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton win the presidency with a Democrat controlled Congress, they will do everything they can to distance themselves from the “Bush War.” Their desire to leave the battle before our mission is complete will cost lives and leave Iraq to a very precarious future. McCain is correct. If he can’t sell Americans on continuing to victory, he will lose. You must sell the progress and the need for resolve to see this through. Help McCain by sharing the craziness of Obama’s statement about leaving and returning if al Qaeda takes control. Point to the time and money it takes to move troops and to position resources to do the job. Give America some specifics about what this choice means. Yes, it costs us to keep troops there—it takes money and lives. But show them the cost of vascilating and having to return to do what we could do now. Keep painting the picture of progress by giving specifics.

Keep pressuring Congress to maintain the right to monitor incoming calls from known terrorists. Let them know that they will be responsible for any security problems because of their failure to act in renewing the act. Keep pressuring the Iraqi leaders to maintain progress. Let them know that the failure to show progress could result in a Democrat winning the presidency and a quick withdrawl of U.S. troops. Don’t let the Democrats have this issue on emotion alone. Everyone wants peace, but not at the price the Democratic retreat would have us pay!   

Hold the line with a threatened veto of any attempt to give over setting mortgage rates for the Americans facing foreclosure to the judicial system! Soon everyone will have reasons they can’t afford the rates they took on and the only winners will be the lawyers pleading their cases. The responsible Americans will again be asked to pay for everyone. This stupid “stimulus package,” which is nothing other than a wealth transfer scheme any socialist would love, has given the Democrats hope that they can get more.

Why are we facing a loss in November? Washington has trained Americans that government is the answer and that someone else will pay. They can emotionally respond to eloquent candidates who promise more entitlements because they think there is a Santa out there who will pay for it. You may have cut our tax rate, but you cut taxes even more for low income citizens. The end result is that even though our rate is lower, achieving Americans pay even more of the income tax bill than before you took office. You failed to explain that! I never heard you say it.

We now have so few people paying the bill that people think they can get everything they need—healthcare, pensions, mortgages, child care…and Santa’s list keeps growing. We can’t afford the entitlements we already have, and they are promising more. Will you please stand up for smaller government? You can’t keep spending and just assume that the money will be there. We’ll survive, but our grandkids will be paying the bill…or rebelling.

We have an uphill climb to November. Start using the bully pulpit to sell your policies and our guiding principles. We can’t afford to quit the fight so easily. Attack their emotion and attacks with facts. The winners get to define history, and, with the media’s help, they won’t have any trouble blaming everything bad on one person—President George W. Bush. You aren’t up for election, but our way of life is!

In Growing Conservative Frustration,

Terry L. Paulson, PhD
(Source: First sent by mail on March 1, 2008, my 180th consecutive monthly letter to the current president!)

There's Growing Frustration from Conservative Republicans

I thought you said that you were a supply-sider! With no election at stake, you worsen the deficit and set the stage for longer range problems with the “compromise” stimulus package. Such stimulus packages have not had a good track record. They have a short-term, small impact and fail to allow for the corrections that need to be made.

You again fail to articulate to America why supply-side tax relief works. You are acting like a Democrat again. Like McCain, no one is sharing the truth—supply side tax relief rewards increased productivity and capital investment. That means growth that creates job and increases federal tax receipts. You know this; tell the people over and over again. Do a Perot by showing them on a graph! Instead of sharing that your tax relief plan has INCREASED both the percentage and the amount of income taxes the “dirty rich” pay (when compared to the middle class and the poor), you promote a stimulus plan that won’t even give anything back to the rich who are paying the bill. Your package is a pure wealth transfer. You’re taking from the successful and rewarding the financially incompetent—the banks and the borrowers! I’m so sick of politicians who promise one thing and then act like candy dispensers with someone else’s money! 

You are bailing out companies that failed to do their due diligence, home owners that should not have received a loan in the first place, and fail to allow people who played by the rules to now take advantage of being responsible. They waited because they knew they couldn’t afford the homes. Now, they can, but your actions will make it harder for them to get a loan and keep some of those foreclosures off the market. The incompetents get support, and the responsible are left holding the bill.

The best economists are saying, “Do nothing!” Instead, you are freezing loan rates; that just puts off the problem! If you bail out these people, shouldn’t you bail out all who fail? America rebuilds home in places insurance won’t provide coverage—that isn’t being a “caring conservative” that is rewarding irresponsible behavior at the citizen’s expense. True Republicans care enough to let people experience natural consequences—whether that’s teens in the home or citizens in life.   

Now, I hear that you are upset about Mitt Romney’s stand on illegal immigration. You want him to have a path to citizenship. So do I, but it’s your failure to take seriously the need to build a SECURE FENCE that has created this. You disregard the fact that Americans have had enough of illegals coming here without a solution to the border problem. You know you could get this fence build in 18 months if you wanted to. You also could have better controls and punishment for companies that don’t check immigration status. You could support national ID’s. You could deport those who have committed crimes, but you haven’t done it with the speed needed to gain the trust of your own party. If you had listened and acted, we’d be talking about how responsible illegal immigrants could find a path. Instead, people are still angry about promises unfulfilled!

I, like many Republicans are afraid we’re going to get stuck with a second Clinton because of the splintered mess we have in our own party. We will all do what we can, but conservatives are feeling betrayed. And you’ll share part of the blame by not going to the people directly over and over again to explain your actions in Iraq, for failing to veto spending and starting new entitlements and for failing to secure the border.

Certainly, we owe you for taking action in the Iraq War. You had the strength of character to act and the resolve to continue. If only you had shown the communication skills necessary to keep the citizens with you. If only you had held the line on spending as well as you created the incentives through your tax relief plan. If only you had cared enough to secure the border as much as you wanted to support illegal immigrants.

We have an uphill climb to November. I hate to see your final months end with such decisions. Your State of the Union address had some nice statements, but put the words into action by living the principles you’ve said you supported.

In Growing Conservative Frustration,

Time to Lead on Immigration, the War on Terrorism and Fighting Entitlements #175

As I said last month, it's time for a "Bill Clinton" in regards to any immigration bills.-"America has spoken, and I will now work to lead in the direction they are taking me! America has said strongly that we must secure the border first. We are making progress. More of the wall is going up daily. The numbers of illegals making it over is down. The cost of trying to get in is going up. Our security efforts are increasing." Soon, two laws may come to your attention-temporary workers for agriculture and the so-called "Dream Act" which allows illegal immigrant children who have successfully graduated from high school to be given a path to citizenship. I suggest that you veto both. The Dream Act gives illegal immigrant children resident status and lower tuition. That benefit will just spur more parents to bring their children to America. They may not get a benefit, but they will know their children will. If you attempt to support this, you will again stir up the hornets' nest of people who are tired of illegals getting better deals than citizens.

While you are at it, I suggest you encourage others to follow the lead of what they are doing in Atlanta. They are using existing law to check for illegal status on criminals and intitiating deportations. I think your decision to lower the number of National Guard at the border sends the wrong message; I suggest you keep them there. While I support your decision on Libby, I'd love to see you pardon the two border guards in prison. They made mistakes, but have served enough time while the man they wounded has already been caught again for border crimes. Just remember, if Republicans see you take the lead on dealing with illegal criminals, denying benefits to illegals and improving border security, they will eventually be ready to deal with comprehensive reform.

On a very positive note, when even liberals are admitting things are going better on the Iraqi military front, we know we have the Democrats afraid. They have built their whole campaign on losing in Iraq and a bad economy. The surge is working. Don't drop the ball on taking the offensive when the evidence is there. Please, please, please institute weekly fireside chats to keep America updated on the plan, the growing good news and the areas that still need improvement. Identify what is happening on the other fronts on the war on terrorism. Don't let the media be your filter. Go to citizens directly. The momentum has shifted. When MO moves, use it.

I know in the conversations with the conservative talk show hosts you talked about resolve. You talked about how unpopular Lincoln had been and how respected he is now. He had to die and wait years for that respect! I think history will look at you positively, but that won't help us in the next election. We need you to more assertively drive and sell your plan for America and freedom around the world.

Make good on your threat to veto the new entitlement plan to extend the healthcare coverage to more children. You are right. This is expensive and sets the stage for universal care by extending that coverage beyond the poor to the people who say "they can't afford healthcare." Entitlement is coming unraveled and is NOT the answer. Please take the lead in letting Americans know that saying "yes" to this bill is a blank check we can't afford. Healthcare needs a radical change where the cost is not paid by the government or corporations but by citizens. Let everyone have the same deductions and require people to have major medical coverage. Your medical savings account and insurance package is the answer; SELL IT!

Good leaders paint the picture for their vision. All the media does is turn your vision into nonsensical modern art! You must sell it yourself. As a newspaper columnist, I'm out there trying to responsibly support the principles we stand for as Republicans, but we all need your support.

In Conservative Support,

Terry L. Paulson, PhD

Looking at Harriet Miers and Your Poll Numbers (10-1-05, #153)

Good Morning!

Harriet Miers may be committed to you personally but I am not sure she is equally committed to the principles conservatives are counting on to reverse the liberal drift of the Supreme Court. At a time when you have a majority in both houses and the mid-term elections in doubt, this is the time for a fight. With so many wonderful conservative women jurists to choose from, you are betting on your ability to read the heart and mind of this woman. Only history will tell whether your reading was right, but there seems no indication from her history that her principles are rock solid. Anyone who could give a donation to Bill Clinton and Al Gore in the 80's is unlikely to be a rock-solid conservative. With the freedom she will have as a Supreme Court judge, will she show the fickle nature she has already shown as so many Republican appointments have shown over the years? We don't need another "Trust me Kennedy and Sutter will be good judges." If Senator Harry Reid's compliments and Chuck Schumer's smiling reaction to your appointment are any indication of where Harriet Miers stands, we are in trouble. I am very disappointed at what they are calling a "mainstream" selection. Clinton had no trouble staying true to his principles in appointing strong liberals with clear track records. Why are you wavering at this critical time?

You may never again get the chance to appoint a conservative and have the power to see that appointment through. Your loyal supporters were ready to fight along with you to right the drift of this all important court. That you have not taken this golden opportunity to fight for a clearly conservative candidate will hurt the party. You are putting a stake in the heart of the very people who fought to secure this right. You campaigned on appointing justices like Thomas and Scalia. Harriet Miers has not evidenced those kinds of credentials. You are going on your personal assessment when the best indicator of principle is behavior under fire. With Miers, you have no judicial behavior to judge from. This is a crap shoot when you could have been playing with loaded dice by picking a judge with a strong conservative judicial track record. 

I know these last few months have been brutal for you and your poll ratings. Liberal Democrats are holding to their strategy of attack anything Bush, and the media is supporting their efforts. If you think this appointment will in any way appease the rabid Democratic attacks on you, you are mistaken. On the contrary, it will show them that their strategy works! Attacks weaken your resolve to fight for your principles! Ronald Reagan had the resolve to see his principles through to the end of his second term. Follow his example not the polls!

If you move to take a stronger stand, your poll numbers will gradually rise. I call on you to show more restraint with the budget. Don't try and buy the hearts and souls of your detractors by over spending in the Gulf States at the expense of the rest of the country, tax payers and the principles of personal responsibility. You cannot appease the entitlement trained citizens and politicians in Louisiana with any amount of money. It is time that we provide a helping hand without trying to give survivors a mansion. Americans are giving like never before to those impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They don't need a blank check from the government that will set a bad precedent for future disasters. Why take responsibility to save or buy your own insurance when the government will give you more when you are not responsible for your own future?

Show the same resolve you have in Iraq on the domestic front! Veto some spending bills, or shall I say, veto at least one! Challenge Congress to eliminate some of the pork spending they have passed. Take a stand on illegal immigration by securing the border and driving a realistic plan to hold employers accountable for who they hire. You are losing power and support by wavering, not by standing for Republican principles.

I respect you, and I'm still proud to have voted for you. I also know the strain that Iraq and the recent disasters have put on you and your administration. When under stress, it is wise to use principles instead of polls as your guide. The rabid attacks will always be there, but I hope you can listen to your strong supporters that are concerned about some of your recent decisions. As my great uncle used to say, "When one person calls you a horse's ass, don't worry about it. But when four people do, go out and buy a saddle!" As president, you may need to add a few zeroes to that number, but there is wisdom to be found in the statement. If people who respect you are consistently calling you to change your direction, maybe it is time to buy a few saddles! At least as a Texan who rides, you would have a use for them. 

To close on a positive note, your handling of Katrina and Rita has been strong. Everyone wants to blame you, but without your actions and follow-up the loss would have been far greater. The governor and mayor dropped the ball badly and the media is by and large giving them a pass. But most Americans know better.

With Conservative Concern, 

Terry L. Paulson, PhD