LTTE on Leach in the Burlington Hawkeye

[rurallib]

Not sure if I am violating rules by posting this LTTE. Pretty well sums up Leach these days:



Replace Leach

Regarding Mr. Gillette's letter of Jan. 28 in which he mentions that Rep. Leach has been designated as a Rino (Republican In Name Only):

I would suggest that the positions that Mr. Leach took in seeming opposition to the Bush administration were politically safe since they did nothing to stem the reactionary tide the country has been forced to ride in recent years. Even the vote of Mr. Leach's against Arctic drilling is, I fear, little more than a momentary stay that will do little to change the current administration's narrow course.

And he knows it.

Where has Mr. Leach been during the attempt to destroy Social Security? Why was there no reaction from Mr. Leach when our own Sen. Grassley stated again and again that raising Social Security taxes on the rich would destroy the economy? Where and when did Mr. Leach speak up for the 90 percent of us who are "little guys"?

Where was Mr. Leach when this mad Medicare Part D plan was formed? Why has Mr. Leach's voice not been heard as 5 million more Americans have slid into poverty since Jan. 20, 2001? What has Mr. Leach done to stem the rush of good–paying jobs out of southeast Iowa?

Most particularly, given Mr. Leach's history, where has he been as corporation after corporation has reneged on its pension promises to its employees or has declared bankruptcy with the express purpose of gutting its legal obligations to its retirees?

During the Reagan years, Mr. Leach was a leader, if not the leader, to reform and save our savings and loan system from collapse, and, by extension, saving our entire banking system. This effort cost us taxpayers billions and billions of dollars, but, as Mr. Leach stated again and again, it had to be done to protect the savings of millions of small investors then and in the future.

As a small investor, I bought that, but now, seeing Mr. Leach so studiously ignore the plight of people whose pensions and retirement savings have been wiped out by the Enrons and United Airlines of the world, I have to conclude his efforts and words in the '80s were a crock.

All of the work Mr. Leach put into the savings and loan scandal back then now appears to have been merely an effort to protect the big investors, the moneyed interests and their lobbyists, and the criminal element with good connections. The fact that there was some sliver of benefit to us small fry gave the whole unseemly business a veneer of compassion and even nobility.

With all that said, I have no doubt Mr. Gillette and I are worlds apart politically, but I think we might agree on this: Mr. Leach must go.

[pstans]

1. Great letter

[9119495]

2. Great letter. Did you read it or write it?

I'd like to see more of it. Hope Loebsack saw it.

[rurallib]

3. Passed to me via Rapidresponse

BTW if you are not on rapidresponse you should be. But I am not sure how you get signed up.I will try to find out and post it here.