FLAIT

I wrote a Letter to the Editor but it was too long so I cut it in half. It was published but they still removed about a third of it, including the ending. Here it is in it's entirety with some changes and additions.

Much of the attention during the presidential campaign will be on the two nominees. But as far as the Republicans are concerned, this election is more than just about Donald Trump.

For instance, over the last seven plus years, President Obama has a responsible, constructive record: the stock market has more than doubled, the deficit has been cut by two thirds, unemployment has been cut by more than half, bin Laden is dead, and the American auto industry was saved. And over 15 million 20 million Americans have health insurance who didn't have it before.

He also came to a nuclear agreement with Iran that probably saved us from going to war, and he also opened diplomatic relations with Cuba.

If a Republican had a record that like that, they'd be adding his bust to Mt. Rushmore.

What have Republicans been doing during that time? They tried to sabotage Obamacare while it was working its way through Congress, and after it became law, voted to repeal all or parts of it over 60 times ("pro-life" my foot). They held hostage an increase to the debt ceiling, and in the process, shut the government down and almost forced a catastrophic default on our debt. They keep trying to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, and won't stop their endless and costly Benghazi "investigation" until they find something on Mrs. Clinton, despite seven probes showing otherwise.

And from the first day of Mr. Obama's presidency, Senate Republicans have immaturely and stubbornly blocked an unprecedented number of executive and judicial branch nominees, including acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Adam Szubin who's been waiting over a year for his confirmation vote. And his job is kind of important. It would be to go after terrorist organization's money, such as ISIS's.

Senate Republicans also filibustered Republican Chuck Hagel's vote for Defense Secretary, which never happened in the nation's history, and forced Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch to unnecessarily wait months for hers.

And then there's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, a perfect compromise choice by a Democratic president with a majority Republican Senate. That's exactly how it's supposed to work. But Republicans have left Mr. Garland twisting in the wind; no vote and no hearings are scheduled. They won't even meet with the man. Meanwhile, lower courts are experiencing "judicial emergencies" because Republicans won't allow vacancies to be filled.

Republicans also blocked aid to Hurricane Sandy victims and blocked health care funding for 9/11 responders, twice, in 2010 and 2015.

Calling Republicans and the Republican Party irresponsible, reckless and destructive doesn't go far enough. Let's not be politically correct and call Republicans what they truly are: political terrorists.

I challenge Republicans to name one responsible or constructive thing they've done for the country. Just one. And "standing up to Obama" doesn't count (although it would prove my point exactly).

Actually, I'll make it even easier for them. Just say something responsible and constructive.

They won't be able to because Republicans have nothing to offer except ignorance, incompetence, irresponsibility and political terrorism. They can't even pass Mr. Obama's four month old $1.9 billion request to combat the Zika virus (the Senate passed a bill for a third less money, and the House bill turned out to be nothing but a gutting of pesticide regulations. Really). "Pro-life," Ha!

And you can be sure, that when it becomes a health emergency, or epidemic, Republicans will blame it on Obama.

(July insert: Now it's five months, with a possible outbreak in Florida, and still no Zika funding.)

And Republicans at the state level aren't any better. They've made harder to vote, harder to get an abortion, harder to get health insurance, and because of extreme racial gerrymandering, harder to elect Democrats. But they've made it easier to buy and carry guns.

I present your Republican Party.

July insert:

It should also be pointed out that Republicans use this same type of scorched Earth strategy when it comes to spinning, obfuscating and deflecting blame for their scandals and political terrorism. In a post very much worth reading, Jon Perr of Daily Kos does a brilliant job of showing how Republicans skirted their scandals, which includes the "losing" of millions of emails. (IOKIYAR).

When you compare what they've done and gotten away with, they make Hillary Clinton look like a Girl Scout.

This is just another example of the gaping double standards between Republicans and Democrats.

August insert:

Republicans got away with torture too. And when all else fails, accuse Democrats of "criminalizing politics."

August insert:

Proof of the unprecedented blocking of executive and judicial nominees, and typical GOP hypocrisy, is here.