A letter to the editor that every American should read in the wake of the presidential election.
A letter to the editor published by the Detroit Free Press in 2014 regarding the U.S. midterm election results is receiving attention in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The 2014 midterm elections were a stunning blow to Democrats with Republicans picking up 9 senate seats, giving them control of the Senate for the first time since 2006. They also picked up 13 seats in the House of Representatives giving them the largest Congressional majority they have had since 1928.
The letter to the editor, titled “You Americans Have No Idea Just How Good You Have It With Obama“, was written by Richard Brunt of Victoria, British Columbia and expressed the confusion by “many of us Canadians” at the results of the 2014 midterm elections, particularly in light of President Obama’s many accomplishments.
Brunt provides a brief breakdown of several victories by the Obama administration such as record high corporate profits, a lower unemployment rate, increased gross national product growth.
“The dollar is at its strongest levels in years, the stock market is near record highs, gasoline prices are falling, there’s no inflation, interest rates are the lowest in 30 years, U.S. oil imports are declining, U.S. oil production is rapidly increasing, the deficit is rapidly declining, and the wealthy are still making astonishing amounts of money,” he writes, adding: “America is leading the world once again and respected internationally — in sharp contrast to the Bush years. Obama brought soldiers home from Iraq and killed Osama bin Laden.”
Expressing dismay that Americans would “vote for the party that got you into the mess that Obama just dug you out of,” Brunt concludes his letter asking: “When you are done with Obama, could you send him our way?
It’s like pouring salt into a wound in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, particularly in light of a CBS News report from earlier today showing Clinton’s popular vote lead over Trump “now exceeds 1.5 million votes.”
And Brunt is not the only Canadian who has expressed interest in Obama’s many successes. Last June President Obama addressed the Canadian House of Commons and was met with adulation, standing ovations and shouts for “four more years,” and overseas there have been calls by many in Great Britain for Obama to come and serve as their Prime Minister.
For now, American liberals and progressives need to unite to rebuild the Democratic Party and to do everything in their power to push back against the conservative agenda. And as Michael Moore wrote on his “Day Two’s To-Do List,” liberals and progressives “must quickly and decisively form an opposition movement, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the 1960s.”
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