Dear Mayor Kelly I felt genuinely betrayed by your endorsement of Bush. I voted for you over the DFL endorsed candidate in the DFL primary, because I have always felt that the caucusses were too heavily dominated by public employee unions.
As the owner of a small business in Saint Paul, I have argued with other DFLers that the Democratic party needs to be more supportive of business interests, and I saw you as someone who could bring a more practical voice to the DFL. However, I have always believed that our strength as a free society comes from remembering that no one ever succeeds except by building on what our civilization has already achieved. No person's achievement belongs to them alone. Republicans do not believe this. They believe that individuals owe nothing to the society which nurtured them. Bush and his supporters believe this in the extreme. Your endorsement of Bush is an endorsement of a civilization that nurtures and protects the people who have been most fortunate, and tells the least fortunate that there is something wrong with them. I don't agree with you that staying with Bush is the better way to protect our country, but even if it was true, the damage that right wing extremism may do to our country is equally important. Our military and police can defend us against terrorism. Our choice of leaders is the way we defend our essential values. Kerry can defend our country from external threats, and defend our values from erosion by right wing extremism. I do think you have every right to vote for whomever you want, but by publically endorsing Bush, you have betrayed the people that voted for you. -- Bob Treumann, Saint Paul Please Note: Replies to this email address all go to the trash except where the subject line contains a recognized mailing list identifier, such as [TCMETRO],[StPaul], MP-N ... _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
