Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

When the Twin Towers fell to a bunch of Saudi Arabian terrorists piloting American passenger planes, our Republican administration, with the wisdom of a crazed hawk, decided to attack Iraq (not Saudi Arabia). Isn’t that like: you’re sitting at the a friendly bar and the guy to the right pours beer on your head, so you smile at him . . . then punch the guy to your left in the nose, blaming him for laughing (and having an imaginary gun in his pocket). The more rational thing to do would have been to send out an international posse to hunt down the guys who planned and financed the attack, to show the world that planning such terror is beyond the pale, is and flirting with death and is going to hurt.

Similarly, in the case of women, union workers, teachers, senior citizens and firemen, the Republican strategy today is to ask them all to turn around, kick them in the ass, and when they turn to look at you, punch them in the nose and pour beer on their heads. Then unbelievably, ask them to vote for you, because things could get worse.

So how could the Republicans be so successful winning elections using such an apparently self-defeating strategy? Do people, deep-down, want to be screwed and beaten? Do they look up to people that can do that to them? Or are they so brainwashed by their Republican bubble, in which there isn’t a single who ever voted Democratic — except crazy Carl the Communist. “If I voted for Obama,” such a person might say, “I could never admit it. And besides I think abortion is murder and the government is spending too much on socialist programs.”

Well, it doesn’t look like this punch-and-switch strategy is going to be successful this time. I was just wondering . . . suppose I was one of those super-rich guys pouring money into Republican war-chests? I might say something like: Hey, all that money may be going down the toilet and not only won’t it buy me access, but my lobbyists will face a closed door after the election.

If I were, say, a big polluter or a Wall Street crook? What should I do?


How about rushing out to find someone to punch?

Edward Housman, Edgartown