In response to the comments from Dao Jones directed to me, I will address each of the points as I always try to do, in a logical manner.

Point one: you, Dao, state that the Clinton years had our country on the right track financially. I submit to you that the Clinton years were a direct result of the accumulated effect of Reagan’s financial philosophy. On this point, I am sure we will have to agree to disagree.

Point two: You say that you’re glad I woke up and that I was probably napping. Why is it that when conservatives speak up, we are attacked personally rather than being engaged in a debate on the issues? There were several issues that I had with George W. Bush’s policy on uncontrolled spending as well as national security and immigration. I’ve spoken out on these issues, so I have not suddenly aroused from a decade long slumber.

Point three: You claim that Republicans allow American business to locate offshore. You seem to conveniently forget that NAFTA was pushed through during the Clinton administration. NAFTA is the single biggest driving reason for American businesses being encouraged to move outside of the U.S. If Cap and Trade passes, what do you think is going to happen then? Do you think that American businesses are going to stay in the U.S. if they can build products more cheaply in other countries/offshore? I submit to you that the more we continue to burden businesses with unfair restrictions and cost, as Cap and Trade will do, the more they will either move outside our borders or the more they will outsource their services. Either way results in less American jobs.

Point four: Taxes and pushing more people into poverty. I am not against all taxes. I understand that the services that we enjoy are financed by taxes. I also think that at a certain point, enough is enough! As far as our local government’s shortfall, apparently YOU are the one that is somewhat uninformed. Are you aware of how much the Decatur County governmental payroll has increased in the last few years? Are you aware of the salaries of the upper management of our county government? Let me ask you this, Dao: If your budget won’t allow you to eat out at a fancy restaurant as often as you would like, what do you do? Do you take more money from someone else? No! Unless you’re the government, you tighten your belt and you do without some of the things that you would normally like to have. In other words, you live “within your means!” That’s what our government needs to do. Slash the things from our budget that are not absolute essentials during times of economic strain.

Point five: You want me to go back to sleep and let Mr. Obama straighten everything out. Guess what? We’re not going back to sleep—Ever! Heck, if I even take a nap, the country I love will have disappeared in the name of Obama’s corrective action! To begin with, the Obama administration blamed it on just the last eight years, but now you seem to think that Obama’s poor performance needs more than just eight years to blame. You’ve pulled in the older Bush administration and even Reagan as well. I thought you said that we prospered during Clinton, so wouldn’t the end of the Clinton era have been a new starting point for blame?

Point six: I assure you that I am much more than a pothole in life’s highway that needs filling as you state. However, if you prefer to think of me as a pothole, consider this: Potholes are everywhere you look. No matter how often you fill them in, they always come back, usually in greater number. Potholes have a bad habit of growing ever bigger. The presence of potholes usually signify substantial structural issues that lie beneath the surface.

Keith SellarsBainbridge