The following is an open letter to one of the newest stars of the Tea Party, Sen. Chris McDaniel of Mississippi. He is currently running against incumbent Thad Cochran to be the Republican nominee for US Senate.
Dear Sen. McDaniel:
I listened to a piece on NPR about your
campaign against Sen. Cochran to become the Republican candidate for
US Senate for the State of Mississippi. In one of clips of a speech
you gave you said that you wanted to reduce Federal subsides to
Mississippi. Speaking as someone who lives in Massachusetts, a state
which contributes a fair amount of its Federal tax dollars to
Mississippi and other poorer states, I appreciate your concern for
our expense.
However, let me make the observation
that Mississippi is the poorest state in the Union, with entrenched
pockets of poverty that are as desperate as anywhere in the Western
Hemisphere. Many communities in Mississippi are already on the brink
of social collapse with the little that Washington does. How can the
Federal Government cut its contributions to Mississippi without
destroying the state?
The people of your state are starving
and your response is essentially to exacerbate their suffering. No
government, no matter how willing it is to use overwhelming force,
can tell the vast majority of its citizens that they no longer have
access to the basic necessities of life. The last time somebody was
that indifferent to desperate poverty her head was lopped off by a
guillotine. For your sake and for mine I hope you do not get elected.
Sincerely,
Gene Ogorodov
