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The long wait to get nation on track

Referring to a recent letter titled "Time for the era of liberalism to end," I was confused by the writer's desire to "wrap up this reckless experiment and get back on track." I don't know to what "reckless experiment" and "track" was he referring. Does the "reckless experiment" refer to the accomplishments of getting us out of the Great Depression and creating the Social Security system? Creating Medicare, many social programs that have improved the health and welfare of the American people and, recently, preventing a catastrophic meltdown of our economy? I don't think these were "reckless experiments."

"We need jobs, fiscal responsibility and debt shrinkage." That's true, but the "track" Bush took lost 462,000 jobs in eight years. He also presided over the economic meltdown, the "Bush tax cuts" that failed to pay for themselves, the unfunded prescription drug plan and the unnecessary Iraq War ($800 billion, 36,000 dead and wounded). Together, they all helped turn the budget surplus he inherited from Bill Clinton into a whopping $6 trillion deficit. Why would anyone want to go back on that "track"?

Have the liberals made mistakes these past six years? Let me grow a few more sets of fingers and toes so I can count the ways. But blaming the liberals or conservatives is really an exercise in futility because neither is capable of accepting responsibility nor giving us acceptable government. Apparently their brains have developed giant sphincters that prevent new ideas from penetrating their biases. They jointly created the current mess, and nothing is going to change until we get rid of the far right, the far left and the money that put them in office.

Track? I don't think we've had a real good one in the 59 years I've been voting.

Len Brauer

Palatine

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