Romney needs to focus on independent voters
Re: “Conservatives like Jindal as VP,” July 11
I read many commentaries discussing what candidate Romney must do to appeal to the “conservative base.” This includes mention of the Tea Partiers, Evangelicals, social conservatives, etc. Each commentary seems to be stressing that Romney must energize the core to ensure a high voter turnout and, therefore, win the election. Most recently, I have seen commentaries discussing the merits of choosing Jindal or Christie to appeal to the core.
It seems to me that the key to a Romney win is an appeal to the moderate and independent voters. After all, it may be argued that the independent vote put Obama over the top.
Conservative commentators should be providing insights on how to gain this appeal to swing voters rather than waste their time on instructing Romney on appealing to the core conservatives. If the prospect of a second term for Obama is not sufficient to spark a high conservative turnout, perhaps the Republican Party and core conservatives should throw in the towel now.
Vernon Mallu
Washington
Don’t blame the Republicans
Re: “Republicans once backed outsourcing they now criticize,” July 11
A recent Examiner news story noted that Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package backfired and funded jobs overseas, citing a “2010 Energy Department report” that “showed 60 percent of the 40 largest wind farms financed by the stimulus bought their central components from foreign manufacturers.”
But it perversely blamed Republicans, the very people who opposed the stimulus package, for this. Why? Because they unsuccessfully voted against a “Buy American” provision in the stimulus package, which they warned would “set off trade wars” against the U.S. But the stimulus did just that, triggering trade wars that wiped out American jobs. Many Canadian towns retaliated against the stimulus package by effectively barring U.S. companies from their municipal contracts. Mexico retaliated with tariffs on 90 American products worth $2.4 billion, wiping out more jobs. Stimulus-caused outsourcing occurred mainly due to the administration’s uneconomical green-jobs boondoggles.
Hans Bader
Washington
America didn’t have benefit of hindsight when developing electrical infrastructure
Re: “D.C. bills target underground power lines,” July 11
We should not be targeting or blaming Pepco or holding them accountable for our frequent power outages, nor should we be blaming those dastardly trees for wreaking king havoc upon our utility lines. We should cast the blame upon history — yes, good ol’ history.
Europeans and Asians laugh in jest at our misfortunes, but in reality, they’ve had the simple foresight to predict these calamities after World Wars I and II. Would you rebuild your towns and cities with local vulnerable overhead lines after the devastation of a major war? America was fortunate in avoiding these catastrophes of war, but not of nature; instead, we were naive and built our electrical infrastructure above ground, because this practice was cheaper and quick.
As the old saying goes, “hindsight is better than foresight.”
Edward Abramic
Washington
