The Party is over by Mike Lofgren

How Republicans Went Crazy Democrats Became Useless And the Middle Class Got Shafted I just happened to catch a Public TV program where Jim Lehrer was interviewing Mike Lofgren. Afterwards I ordered a copy of his book. Wow, he really takes the Republican Party apart and at the end gives the Democrats’ a shot, just too even things out. Since the early eighties until just recently he was a Republican working in various positions on Capitol Hill. He finally became fed up and just walked away. He writes in clear unmistakable language the problems he sees in the party. For those reading this who have agreed with me that Obama must go you will not enjoy reading this book. I must say I didn’t either. I purchased it in the interest of fairness. We get carried away only reading articles and books that support our agenda and refuse to listen to the other point of view. Those of you who have not agreed with me should rush right out and buy a copy. You will be thrilled. Most of you who have received articles from me in recent years know how I feel about our current president. You should also remember my complete disdain for the past president. In short it would appear that neither party nor president has performed as government should, in my opinion. That is why I register as an Independent except for a brief changeover so I could vote for Ron Paul in the primary. He was the only one who promised to bring our troops home from Afghanistan and the rest of the Middle East. There are twelve chapters. He is most irritated by the tax policies slanted for the benefit of the richest among us, their drumbeat for using our armed forces as a tool instead of diplomacy (Senator’s McCain and Lieberman are the chief proponents), the influence of the religious right and the incessant overextending our military machine, all of the above without regard to taking us down to financial ruin. In the last chapter he provides thoughts on how to get our government under responsible control. The number one item is to stop the outrageous money being poured into both parties principally by Corporations who the Supreme Court has granted that they have the same rights as real people and can spend as they desire on campaigns. If you are paying attention at all you must realize how bizarre this is. Over $1billion has been raised for each presidential candidate alone, and similar amounts to all other candidates for office. With those funds comes leverage to pass legislation favoring the contributors, not the American people. The amount of time devoted to raising funds rather than enacting the countries business is outrageous. His solution is public funding of reasonable candidates with no money from individuals, corporations or unions. Shorten the election campaign to several months as other nations do. Perpetually running for office leaves little time to solve our problems. I proposed similar thoughts in my “Still Angry” book, but that is beside the point. You must agree that constant concentration on picking candidates and campaigning is out of control. The media, of course, love it for the revenue they receive. I wonder who will be interested enough to check out this book? Jack B. Walters September 13, 2012