To the editor,
On September 10th, I was very excited to see Michael Finnagan’s piece McCain: Walking a fine line on the environment. Everyone has made such a big deal about Sarah Palin but she is helping McCain slip further away from the Maverick he used to be. The piece really gets into an issue that is close to my heart which is the environment. I try to be an environmentally conscious person and growing up in a Republican household McCain seemed the right choice in the primaries. Since McCain has become the official Republican candidate his ideals that made him the more moderate candidate have flown out the window. Now with Sarah Palin on the ticket he has lost most of his credibility with environmentalists.
There was a great hype when Sarah Palin was added to the ticket. I honestly thought she was a very good choice until I started learning more about her previous policies. Finnagan highlights some such as “aerial shooting of wolves and grizzly bears” so that the moose and caribou population will be higher for hunters. She has also argued that global warning was not caused by humans, an issue John McCain actually has several policies to control.
McCain has gain many points in the poll because of Palin and her down to earth style that many in the Bible belt agree with. Palin has closed the far left wing gap many Republican’s had when McCain was chosen. But at what cost to the environment has that decision made? If McCain’s policies continue to fluctuate he will become just another candidate catering to his party, a mold McCain had never before fit into.
Finnagan has made such a good argument for people to really think about the issue. I know the environment has been pushed to the side in this election with issues like the war in Iraq and the nation’s gas problem. But if more people would focus on the environment I think a lot of those problems would subside. If the candidates knew people cared about the environment more money could go to researching renewable energy which would decrease the gas problem and the war in Iraq could be less expensive. I am so glad someone actually pointed out the issue of the environment and McCain’s policy change to suit the ideas of his party and new running mate Sarah Palin.
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1 comment:
Teresa, I enjoyed reading your letter to the editor. I agree with you that the environment is highly important and we need to be taking great care to preserve it. My only concern would be that there are currently other pressing matters, and though the environment is extremely important and we need to be stewards of what has been given to us, the economic situation at this point needs to take priority, especially with the bankruptcies being declared and the mergers. Since we still are in Iraq, we can't quite abandon our soldiers, and I know you definitely are not suggesting that. But once things subside I would definitely say we need to start "going green" and preserving what we have left. If you could somehow address or make these areas seem not as vital as the environment, it would make your argument even stronger, but well done!
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