Mister Tredyffrin and Friends

As you might imagine, this blog has received some negative feedback. No, really! There are some who are apparently offended by the satirical way I lay out the truth. And there are others who are offended by the truth itself. There is not really much I can do about the latter, and the former, well… If this isn’t your bag, check out the flat facts offered by the suits at ttdems.com. It’s hard to believe, but some have even called one of my posts X-rated. You all should probably get out more.

Most of the criticism has appeared in other places, on other blogs and web sites. That it understandable. It is safer and easier to put someone down when you’re surrounded by your friends and the target of your abuse isn’t even in the room. It’s a tried and true gossip game played by middle school girls everywhere.

However, there have been a few who have shown the bravery to actually comment with their opinions in this blog or write me directly with their impressions. I’d like to publish one of the more short (and polite) letters I have received, to give others a chance to see what the fairly typical mainstream Republican response is like.

First time on your website and I found it…. very partisan!! Well one man’s partisanship is another man’s truth.

Funny about ther Bush Cheney comparison made by the Barg Walkows… Did we all forget the Clinton years? Well this stuff is what poltitics is all about. Being the minority party is really easier than the majority.. you don’t have to govern, just complain.

Aside from the Mahoney/Post lovefest, can someone tell me when a Democrat endorsed a Republican? In the meantime, I think Tredyffrin is a great place to live and raise a family. Who’s to blame??? Well that’s it for now.

Thank you for the note.

First, yes, this man’s partisanship is exactly this man’s truth. In fact, a main part of my partisanship is my interest in rooting out and airing the truth. What you call complaints, I call the disclosure of corruption in our local government. And we Democrats are eager to do the hard work of governing. I figure someone should. Give us that chance, and give your Republican leaders a much-needed break to sort things out. They’ve been pretty much phoning it in for a while, anyway.

And, no, we have not all forgotten the Clinton years. I remember with yearning the prosperity and peace of those days, when the budget was under control, the deficit was coming down, and the rest of the world respected us. I remember a careful, intelligent, conservative leader who made great strides to put the country on the right tracks, and succeeded. I remember a president whose only real failing was a piddly lie about a sexual peccadillo.

Consider, please, what you think is important in a conservative president. Small government? Fiscal responsibility? A balanced budget? Fostering strong relationships with current and potential trading partners? List them all out in your mind. Then compare the eight years of Clinton to the eight years of Bush. If you are honest with yourself, you might end up in the same mental mousetrap that so many other Republicans find themselves. Knowing what we know now, I think a “true” Republican would vote for Clinton over Bush.

About cross-party support and the Mahoney/Post deal. Democrats tend to support Democrats and Republicans, Republicans. That’s the way it is, kind of by definition, you know? So, I don’t really understand your beef, here. I don’t know when the last time was. But here is a Republican endorsing a Democrat, and vice versa, and a local Democratic party that is supporting their leadership. It is far from a “lovefest". There are exceptionally solid reasons why Republicans and Democrats both should heed the opinions of these two candidates. You might not agree with what these two candidates are saying, but please don’t mischaracterize their opinions or motivations, as has been done by the local papers and their mutual opponent.

Finally, I agree that Tredyffrin is a great place to live and raise a family. I really do. That’s why I care so much. But when I see things done wrong, I’m going to point it out. I’m going to complain. I’m going to try and get things fixed.

The thing is, I think that Tredyffrin is great not because of Republican leadership, but mostly in spite of it. Just think what more could be done!

I would never have undertaken this blog if not for the horrible stories that I heard and witnessed, documented here and on the ttdems web site. My resolve is further hardened by the TTGOP response I’ve seen to these allegations - denials, compounded lies, and smear compaigns. This is my township, too, and I will not stand idly and be led by people with these kinds of values.

Thanks again for the letter and the constructive feedback.