Archive for July, 2006

Smigiel and Broomell attempt to intimidate critics

Posted in Whig Letters by Administrator on July 26th, 2006

Dear Editor,

On Monday at the Cecil County Fair Democratic Club booth, Smigiel staffer and Republican candidate Diana Broomell created a scene over distribution of my campaign flyer criticizing Smigiel’s voting record and publicly reported comments. Smigiel personally made several visits to the booth to object to the flyer. The flyer was basically an unpublished opinion piece sent to the Cecil Whig.

Broomell attempted unsuccessfully to remove the flyer from the table of candidate literature. She claimed that my contention that Smigiel routinely votes in the interests of the wealthiest of the wealthy and the largest corporations was untrue. I stand by my interpretation of his voting record and do not retract my opinions. I did unintentionally spell his name as Smigel and apologize for that error.

The flyer gives Smigiel’s position on the so-called “Wal-Mart health insurance” law as an example. I am more than willing to debate Smigiel on his record, in a mutually agreed neutral forum, if he is unhappy with my opinions.

I am not going to be intimidated into silence by Smigiel or his staff. Smigiel and Broomell both should develop thicker skins if they wish to remain in politics. Criticism is a natural and healthy aspect of our American Democracy. I fail to understand why both candidates seem to think they are above criticism.

It would appear that both reacted emotionally instead of logically to the normal rough and tumble world of politics. Are they both excessively fearful of being defeated in the upcoming elections?

Sincerely,

Stephen Scott Crockett

Candidate for Cecil County Democratic Central Committee

P.O. Box 283
Earleville, Maryland 21919

Send us your pro-Democratic or anti-Republican letters that the Cecil Whig will not publish

Posted in Whig Letters by Administrator on July 25th, 2006

Email them in text form to midsouthcm@aol.com for submission.

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9-11 Should Not Have Changed Everything!

Posted in Whig Letters by Administrator on July 25th, 2006

9-11 Should Not Have Changed Everything!

In the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, it became accepted politically that everything had changed in America. The idea was always simply nonsense. The Bush Republican machine used the public hysteria to sell a broad array of pro-Corporatist and anti-civil liberties measures.

The terrorists were never going to destroy America or American political traditions by acts of terrorism. The assault on American institutions and traditions were only going to be successful if they were launched by strong elements of the American political spectrum. Our nation was unfortunate to have the Bush Republicans in power during the 9-11 attacks.

The 9-11 attacks were successfully executed largely as a result of incompetence by the Bush Administration. The outrage expressed by the Republican establishment and their Fox News allies during the 2004 Presidential Election concerning Michael Moore’s movie, Fahrenheit 9-11, was based on fear of facts. There was great fear that the American public would discover that political and policy failures by this Republican Administration. They could be documented unless the documents were hidden from public view.

The cult of government and corporate secrecy that surrounds Republican rule was sold on the basis of National Security. The doctrine has been used to conceal and justify a broad array of corruption and oppressive measures. The secrecy cult has not extended to the behavior, activities or privacy of individual citizens.

Big Brother government spying on average citizens has long been a fear of traditional conservatives but not by the Corporatists of the current Republican Right. These Bush Republican Corporatists want government behavior protected from the constraints of both law and public opinion. They want hide their corruption and abuses from the citizenry. This change is a serious threat to what America should be about…. true responsive and representative government.

Traditionally, Americans have rallied to the traditions of our Founding Fathers when faced by serious national challenges. We stood by our Constitution and Bill of Rights during World War II. The current conflict, with the forces of Bin Laden, is certainly not as serious as the worldwide war with the Nazi-Fascist- Japanese Axis.

The 9-11 terrorist attacks hurt us emotionally as a nation but were not seriously going to destroy our nation even if repeated over and over again. We are a much stronger nation than most Republican politicians want to admit. The 8-11 attacks were tiny when compared to our vast resources. We are by far the strongest military power ever seen on this planet. Our population is around 300 million and growing. We dominate an entire Continent and more.

Our economy is huge. Only the largest corporations can adversely damage our economic health as a nation. It is unfortunate that the 9-11 attacks did not focus on the damage that these corporations are doing to the interests of our American nation with the active support of Bush Republicanism. They are undermining the national security of our nation by exporting our manufacturing base and creating foreign enemies for the American nation.

It is time to use some logic politically. Use your votes to restore common sense. We need to open the actions of government to public view. We need to restrain excessive Corporate power. We need to restore individual liberties to our citizens. We need to secure the established traditions of our nation and rely on the teachings of our Founding Fathers. We need to admit that the 9-11 attacks should not have changed us in fundamental ways as Americans… because America is stronger than the terrorist threat!

Written by Stephen Crockett (co-host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com ). Mail: P.O. Box 283, Earleville, Maryland 21919. Email: midsouthcm@aol.com .

Calling anyone a “hack” is in poor taste!

Posted in Whig Letters by Administrator on July 25th, 2006

Calling anyone a “hack” is in poor taste!

Dear Cecil Whig Editor,

In response to the recently published Meadows attack letter, I would like to point out that calling anyone a “hack” is in poor taste and in this case untrue. The emotionally neutral, more accurate terms would be Party loyalist or activist. I am no more a Democratic hack than Meadows is a Republican hack.

I am a strong Democrat and proud of that allegiance. I do criticize Democratic officeholders when the need arises. Anyone interested in my public record can easily find hundreds of my writings on the Internet. I criticized Zell Miller in 2001 for supporting Bush’s budget busting tax cuts for the Super Wealthy. Senators Ben Nelson and Tim Johnson were criticized for supporting the Alito nomination. Many Senate Democrats have been criticized for not supporting the Feingold Censure Resolution against Bush. I criticized Joe Biden for supporting anti-consumer elements of Bush’s bankruptcy laws. Pro-Iraq War Democrats are often criticized, as are Democratic supporters of the anti-American, falsely-named Patriot Act.

In each of the above examples, I thought Democratic officeholders were not sufficiently supporting Democratic ideas and principles. Democrats should be strong defenders of working Americans, the poor, the Bill of Rights, honest elections, consumers, small investors, small businesses, the environment, civil rights and American traditions. I believe that the Republican leadership has sold-out to Corporatist interests and ideas.

At times, certain Democrats cave to political pressures from Republican Corporatists or Big Business. When they do, I criticize or question them. Meadows was wrong to state otherwise!

Sincerely,

Stephen Scott Crockett

8 Valley Road, P.O. Box 283
Earleville, Maryland 21919

SMIGIEL BAD for CECIL COUNTY

Posted in Whig Letters by Administrator on July 25th, 2006

CENSORED WHIG LETTER!

SMIGIEL BAD for CECIL COUNTY

Dear Editor,

The recent story on the Delegate Smigiel’s $500 per ticket fundraiser was revealing. Such expensive tickets are far outside the budget of almost all working Cecil County voters.

The ticket price was outrageously obscene. It reflects his values. Smigiel votes in Annapolis in the interest of the wealthiest of the wealthy and the largest corporations. His voting record does not show concern for the average Cecil Countian.

Smigiel is good at introducing bills that grab headlines in the Whig. Unfortunately, he is poor at actually getting anything passed. His dismal record at passing bills has been well-documented in news reports by the Whig. Headlines serve Smigiel’s political career but do not serve the actual interests of the citizenry.

We are wasting our tax dollars by paying Smigiel to represent us in Annapolis. The same basic thing can be said for State Senators Jacobs and Pipkin. All are representing the Big Money interests, instead of us, and not getting legislation passed.

Smigiel attacked recently passed legislation that requires Maryland’s largest corporation to provide increased health care coverage for their workers. Companies like Wal-Mart were sticking taxpayers for these costs. Smigiel falsely described the measure as “anti-business socialism.”

His description was absurd. He was protecting the financial interests of the Wal-Mart corporation instead of the health of Wal-Mart workers and at the expense of Cecil County taxpayers. Wal-Mart already has excessive market power that hurts local businesses. They should not be picking up health care costs for Wal-Mart workers in the form of higher taxes.

Sincerely,

Stephen Scott Crockett

midsouthcm@aol.com

P.O. Box 283
Earleville, Maryland 21919

Educate Yourself

Posted in Whig Letters by Administrator on July 24th, 2006

Educate Yourself for Civic Activity and Democratic Activism Using These Information Sources:

Websites: only a few of many…

Books: only a few out of many

  • Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast
  • Armed Madhouse by Greg Palast
  • Fog Facts by Larry Beinhart
  • Shrub by Molly Ivins

Information provided by Stephen Scott Crockett, candidate for Cecil County Democratic Central Committee, union member (IAM and UAW), co-host of Democratic Talk Radio and Democratic Voices columnist.

Paid for by Democrats for Crockett, West Strahorn, Treasurer.