From Red to Blue

Dear Congressman John Campbell:

I am deeply concerned about the budget crisis that has been all over the media over the last few weeks. I am afraid that the arguments in Washington are going to lead to further economic agony for my friends, family, and fellow Americans. I was born and bred Republican right here in Newport Beach--I will always have sympathies with the Republican party; however, I can't help but feel that the party has grown immensely irresponsible over the last few years.

From a logical standpoint, it makes no sense for Republicans to blame President Obama for the national debt that was mostly incurred by President Bush. I do not blame Bush arbitrarily--I blame him because it was in fact Bush who incurred the debt through war and overspending in the first place. The debt increased to over 10 trillion dollars under Bush and only to 14 under Obama when he spent most of the money on fighting the recession and continuing to fight the wars started by President Bush.

Why should I support the Republican Party?

Both of my parents were laid off during the recession. Both educated, both Reagan loving Republican, and both used to making six figure salaries. Both of them have slowly begun to lose faith in the Republican Party during this time—they were forced to live off of unemployment checks from the government, and the Republican party doesn’t seem to be jumping through any hoops to improve the lot of the American middle class, but only corporations and the rich.

Why should I support the Republican party?

I lost the house that I grew up in. My Father is very responsible with money—he has almost perfect credit, has saved for retirement, and to pay my brother and I through college. If he had not sold the house, I would not have a college degree and he would not have been able to start a small business to help support the family and the local job market. He did not get trapped in the sub-prime mortgage bubble, but he was forced to sell anyways to insure that his family and his community would be taken care of in the long term.

Congressman, do you care that this man’s hopes and dreams for his family were crushed by this recession?

My grandmother, who lived with my mother at the time, is retired and lives off of social security, Medicaid, and Medical, also a former avid Republican turned Democrat. She has been sick for so long that she wasn’t even able to work long enough to save for retirement. If these programs were cut further, she would lose the care that she needs to survive.

Congressman, do you care about my grandmother?

Is it really a surprise that the Democrats are slowly making a resurgence when Republicans want to do nothing but cut spending in this time where the country is in great danger? The Great Depression reached its worst point in 1937 after attempts were made to cut back on spending—do you and your party really want to send us down that path again? We certainly can’t count on another war to fix our economy like World War II did—war is what got us into this mess in the first place.

Congressman, I urge you to rise above the bipartisan disagreements and do what’s right for America. While the middle and working class suffers, the rich continue to benefit from tax cuts that are at one of their historic lows. It is Obama, not the Republican Party who reformed Medicare to make it more affordable for U.S. citizens. It is Obama, not the Republican Party, who has reformed taxes to benefit the suffering middle class. It is Obama, not the Republican Party who wants to reform taxes to a reasonable point where everyone pitches in their fair share—including big corporations and the rich. We need to increase revenues and reduce expenses in the United States. This is the only way we will fix our nation’s debt in the long term.

Why should I support the Republican Party?

Tell me why Congressman—because I’ve turned from red to blue, and I’m proud of it. I dare you to prove me wrong by doing what’s right. Make me proud to have been raised Republican again—compromise with the democrats on a budget plan that is fair for every American.

Your time to act is running out.

Sincerely,

Ian Anderson