Dear Tom,
I hope you haven't been taking my blog the wrong way. It's certainly been an oversight on my part to omit all the benefits for you if you withdraw from this race and all future races. Tom, I'm not just trying to save VA-11; I'm trying to save you, too. I would have hoped your wife and children would have said something by now. Or maybe they've seen even uglier things than you've shown the public. But surely, I thought, a close friend could have been enlisted to tell you what you need to hear. Alas, it's apparently up to me. How sad. I don't know you. If I did, I'm not at all certain I'd like you. Our politics are quite different. I hope, however, that our fundamental values are close enough that somehow my message will get through to you.
I think it would be useful to revisit the past together to understand how we got where we are. I'm comfortable going way back, but I understand if for now you have trouble going much past the politically correct turning point, Sept. 11, 2001. I completely understand why about half of the electorate were willing to take a chance on George W. Bush. The economy seemed fine. We were at peace, sort of. The biggest complaint by Republicans about Bill Clinton was that he was ashamed to publicly admit cheating on his wife. How silly that all seems in retrospect. Tom, you of all people probably could relate to how difficult it must have been for Clinton to have to juggle being a public figure, being constantly under attack by political enemies, and having to hide a shameful secret. All in all, though, the country must have been pretty happy. I bet even Newt Gingrich wishes he could turn back the clock. I'm sure you and I wish that, too.
In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, despite clear evidence that Bush just may not have been the best President to have at such a time, a significant majority of Americans rallied behind Bush. That's natural. We were in shock. We didn't know if more attacks were on their way. Most rationally, however, we [or to be technically accurate five craven Supreme Court justices] had put Bush in charge, and we really had no choice but to hope for the best.
I won't waste time here debating our military response to Sept. 11, 2001. Even Clinton, for whom I voted twice, was to the right of me on the use of our military. Nevertheless, there is no evidence to support the notion that Americans' blood lust for revenge wasn't completely sated long before you, and yes, way too many Democrats, voted to allow Bush to invade Iraq.
But, Tom, even your vote then isn't enough for me to honestly say that my fellow voters in the 11th should have voted against you in 2004. I didn't vote for you, but I didn't expect you to lose. Nor did I expect Democrats to regain majorities in Congress. I did expect Kerry to win the Presidency, and I do think that had voting irregularities in Ohio not occurred we would have seen a much closer election, possibly with Kerry winning.
Polls show today, however, that big majorities of Americans do not support the President and do not support Republicans. Bush's entire premise for asking voters to give him another four years was the need to stay the course in Iraq. Now that it's become obvious to virtually all Democrats and some key Republicans, like John Warner and even James Baker, that staying the course is wrong, even to the point of making Americans less safe, it's too late to punish Bush. So, on Nov. 7, voters will be looking to punish whomever they can.
Andy Hurst has clearly stated his view that we need to change direction in the war in Iraq. Tom, I see your dilemma. If you do what I hope your heart tells you and join Andy in this, it could seriously hurt your chances to win this race. Independents will think more highly of Andy, and Republicans will become disheartened. But Tom, every day you resist acting on principle, you look more and more like the very career politicians that you and the other Republicans in the Class of '94 claimed should be ousted in favor of your "revolution." Remember Tom? You guys were all about "reform." You even signed on to the notion of term limits. By your own, self-imposed rules, Tom, you shouldn't even be on this year's ballot!
Tom, you may think it'd be better for you to win than to lose. I understand that. In normal circumstances, that would be the case for all politicians. But you've become a willing participant, even a leader, in the Bush-led Republican effort to say post-9/11 these are not normal circumstances. Listen to what Bush's generals have been saying even very recently. There's no end in sight in this War On Terror. Reportedly, the commission headed by James Baker and Lee Hamilton will say (sadly, after the election) that victory in Iraq is no longer an option.
Look at what your fellow alleged moderate Chris Shays just did because he's in a much tighter race in Connecticut (where even the Democrats are being driven nearly insane by the position Bush has put us in). Chris Shays in a debate the other day refused to call what our soldiers did at Abu Ghraib torture! Tom, you haven't had to twist as much, because Virginia isn't near as blue as Connecticut, but Virginia, especially Northern Virginia, is becoming bluer. If you think you're getting heat now, just imagine how hot you'll feel in another two years.
Or, perhaps you manage to sleep at night telling yourself that in two years you'll still be on the ballot, not for the 11th District, but for the Senate. Tom, wake up! You're dreaming. Even if Virginia gets no more blue than it is right now, the very way you've had to fend off Andy Hurst by claiming that you've stood up to Bush will doom you in '08. I'm not sure you could even survive a primary, because surely you'd be opposed by someone who says to the rest of Virginia's Republican primary voters that they shouldn't vote for someone who didn't stick by Bush, who is from Northern Virginia, and who barely beat a liberal political novice like Andy Hurst.
Tom, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. If you do beat Andy on Nov. 7, you're going to immediately tack to the right. You do not want to go there. You will be supporting thousands of more needless deaths in Iraq. You will be supporting further erosion of civil liberties here at home. You will be supporting further enriching of the rich and impoverishment of the poor. You will be supporting discrimination against immigrants who are just chasing the same dream all of our ancestors chased. You will be supporting discrimination against people who only want to be free to privately pursue their sexual preference. You will be leading this country in a very bad direction. You have children. Why would you want them to grow up in a worse place than you did?
Tom, please. I'm begging you. Drop out now.
Sincerely, Joel
