An Open Letter to the GOP

Dear Republicans,

First, let me begin by congratulating you on running your succesful campaigns. You've retained your control of the House. You won a couple of seats in the Senate. Your bid for the White House was unsuccessful. I'm not sure you would call last night a success but hopefully you will learn from your mistakes and put forth a better effort in the next election.

This is actually why I am writing. I have to tell you: You picked a bad nominee. A lot of people in the Northeast knew that. Mitt Romney just wasn't the guy. Oh sure, he had some good ideas but the man's image was just off-putting. Mitt Romney was trying to save us from Barack Obama. We didn't want to be saved. We wanted a better option. Obama sailed into the White House because the nation was tired of George W. Bush and the rest of your party. Iraq was a mess, to say the least. The economy deteriorated. Americans, as a whole, were upset. John McCain, God bless him, didn't have a chance.

President Obama should have had a simple game plan in his first term: Don't screw up. Do the bare minimum and things will be fine. Talk about having your ducks in a row. Democrats control both houses. Americans from sea to shining sea love the new President and he hadn't done anything yet. Heck, the world even gave him the Nobel Peace Prize, for God's sake. He had been President for how long? Eight months? ObamaCare was slammed through the halls of Congress and down the throats of Americans. Some liked it. A lot didn't.

Fast forward to 2012. The economic recovery is anemic. Unemployment is high. People are upset. Hope? Change? Where?

Here is where Governor Romney dropped the ball. Americans wanted someone who would come in and lead the nation out of the troubles that have plagued it for so long. We didn't want to see some smug face smiling at the throngs of supporters whooping it up when the rally speech du jour predictably degenerated into a laundry list of flaws of the President. We all knew his flaws. We've been living with them for the past four years.

Governor Romney thought he was our Knight in Shining Armor. He thought he would ride into Washington, save us from the evil perils of President Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, et al. The truth is, for all the times we are rolling our eyes and tried to control our urges to throw something at the television, we got the same sensations seeing the likes of John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.

In short, my friends, you allowed Governor Romney to overplay his hand. You overestimated your nominee's role and image and underestimated the frustration and disdain of  your fellow Americans.
As we all know, time is short and it won't be long until the Mid-Term Elections come rolling around. Here is some advice: Shut up and put up. Stop talking about Political Hardball and masking it with challenging the President and the rest of the Democrats to, "reach across the aisle." Work together. avoid that fiscal cliff and your work and cooperation will be rewarded in the next election.

I know. I know. I'm a Liberal. I'm an Obama Apologist and I'm only justifying the acts and failures of the President and the rest of the Democrats in Congress. The truth is, I'm really a fed up American who is tired of hearing Republicans slam President Obama just 'cuz.

And I really didn't want to vote for Mitt Romney.

Your friend and fellow American,

Greg

Take advantage of your right. Do your civic duty

The 2012 Campaign is coming to a close. Some are thrilled about this.

I am one of the many undecided voters who are wondering which direction the country is headed. My phone has been ringing with robocalls from politicians and celebrities asking me to vote for a certain politician or to vote yes or no on a question. I will give my thoughts on the ballot questions further down on this post but for now, I want to encourage you who are reading to vote tomorrow.

I don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat Parties, groups and factions have been making noise for the entire year about the issues. Thie only voice that matters is yours when you go to your local polling station and cast your vote. This is your right. You get the chance to decide who will represent you and what laws will be passed. This is your chance to tell who is in office if you agree with the policies that have been set. Do not waste this chance to improve your city, state, and country. If you do not take advantage of this opportunity, you will have negated your right to complain.

Now for my opinion on the questions on tomorrow's ballot:

Question 1 asks if consumers should be able to have access to diagnostic and repair information. If the question is passed, effective in 2015, a new car will not be sold unless the consumer has access to this information. The consumer will have to pay in order to access this information.
While I am a proponent of the "Right to Repair" and have explained my reasons for supporting it, I do not support this question. Why a consumer should have to pay extra for a car they already own is beyond me. This is nothing more than another reason to force someone to pay more. The law should be rewritten so that people should not be charged more and the consumer is truly protected. Vote No.

Question 2 will allow a terminally ill patient to end their own life. This is an issue that I hope I will never have to address. The patient will take medication perscribed by a doctor. I believe if a patiend wants to end their life they will, regardless of a balot question. I also believe if they want to end their life, they should have a quick and painless way to do it. I am not convinced this question does that. Vote No.

Question 3 will allow people to have a 60-day supply of marijuana for medicinal purposes. While I understand marijuna helps ease one's suffering, I also believe the law is too broad. For instance, There is nothing in the law that describes a "60-day supply". The law also gives people the right to grow marijuana on their own if they do not have access to a treatment center. In my opinion, this law is not specific enough when it comes to describing accessibility and hardships. I also feel it will be confusing for law enforcement in determining if someone is lawfully possessing it. There is too much of a gray area. Vote No.