Article: Letter to a conservative friend

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We've had lots to say over the years, so you may not recall that shortly after the invasion-which I said I'd support, despite misgivings-I mentioned the "incompetence" of the administration's pursuit of the war and its aftermath...

Now, we've seen the results, despite years of hearing about "dead-enders" and "last throes."

It's worth noting that this administration has walked away from injured, maimed, and emotionally damaged troops when they've returned. Why? because, for our leaders, it's all about rhetoric, not reality.

And that's why, on Tuesday, it's important to recognize the massive hypocrisy that's been the real tale of GOP success: from Ken Mehlman's support of gay bashing, despite being gay, to a President who says we're "addicted to oil" yet does little about it; from senior officials who exposed the covert identity of the CIA's senior person tracking weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, Valerie Plame, as retribution against her husband, to "Mission Accomplished;" from incompetence in responding to Katrina to tossing out billions for "Help America Vote," by purchasing voting machines that seem designed to be hacked; from proposing a "gay marriage" amendment with help from many secret gays, to fostering a culture where influence peddlers like Abramoff were welcomed to the White House; from running as a "compassionate conservative" and "a uniter not a divider," then leading the nation to a growing divide between the super rich and everyone else and presiding over one of the most divisive periods in our history, to Peter Pan thinking applied to global warming and pollution; and from a defense of torture that allows no right for those imprisoned to challenge their jailing and mistreatment, to then asking a court to prevent those tortured from even telling anyone-including their lawyers-about treatment they've received...

For all these reasons, and most of all, because you are a decent and caring human being, I encourage you to hold accountable those who've failed this nation and its voters--by supporting the Democratic ticket...if only because, in a democracy, those who fail the voters must be held accountable...lest democracy itself fail.

John Blackford