Jessica’s email is fairly representational of the many responses to today’s column.
Excellent article. You told it exactly like it is.
For the first time in our lives, my husband and I are ashamed to be Americans. We are in our late 60’s and have always been Republican. We are now ashamed of the Republican party, especially the Bush brothers. Our opinion about the Bush’s has turned from trust to disgust.
When a probate judge has more power than congress, the governor and the president of the USA, it is clear that the cause is one of two things or perhaps a combination of both.
#1. Our court system has too much power and we must take steps to diminish that power
#2. Our elected officials are cowards
JL loudly echoes similar sentiments:
AS I READ YOUR COMMENTARY TODAY, IT WAS CREEPY. IT WAS LIKE YOU HAD LITERALLY GOTTEN INSIDE MY HEAD AND READ MY MIND. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. WE KNOW FOR CERTAIN THE BUSH BOYS COULD STOP THIS AT ANY TIME. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY’RE FOOLIN’? THEY ARE COWARDS, AND I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT KNOWING THIS ATROCITY HAPPENED ON YOUR WATCH AND YOU DID NOTHING. THEY SHOULD BE TOTALLY ASHAMED
COD sums up her opinion in a succinct manner that will strike fear in many a Republican analyst:
I can’t believe I voted for Bush….
And for once, even regular critics are in accord, however briefly. TP drops this brief missive:
It may not mean much, but as one who once criticized you, I want you to know that I think this latest column was a magnificent effort.
Actually, I don’t mind being criticized at all. I depend on regular criticism to keep me from floating free into absurdity, as so many of the bigger names in commentary seem increasingly prone to do. Sometimes I find my critics’ cases persuasive, more often I don’t, but the frequent testing of my thinking is something I find quite valuable. I understand why most of the bigger blogs are nervous about allowing comments, but I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives. A little mild policing goes a long way towards weeding out the recalcitrants and the crazies and prevents the blog from devolving into a mere echo chamber.
The mere fact that nearly everyone is writing in support of the assertions made in my column today instead of, as is more often the case, taking vociferous exception to them, indicates to me that the Bush brothers may have badly miscalculated on this one. George Bush simply doesn’t have much credibility left with the conservative half of the Republican party, which is why he couldn’t successfully skate on this issue as he has on so many others. It is also why the mere mention of the possibility of a third Bush running for President makes many Republicans feel nauseous.