My letter to Mike DiResto
Aug 25th, 2007 by Daniel Z.
Mike DiResto is the blogger on the new LA GOP blog i linked to earlier in the week.
This is my letter to him.
Dear Mr. DiResto,
I am a Democrat and I wanted to email you and tell you that I also wouldn’t have run the ad if I was the chair of the party. That, however, doesn’t mean the ad is completely wrong.
Bobby Jindal’s comments in that essay have the potential to be insulting to Protestants. The failure of logic of you, the Republican Party, and the Bobby Jindal campaign is that you assume that all Protestants will be fine with Jindal’s writings just because some Protestants have come out and said that they are not offended them.
Did the Democratic ad get it exactly right? No. But it IS close.
He may not specifically say “Protestants are heretics” but he does say that being a protestant (and therefore not accepting “Catholicism’s authoritative Magisterium”) leads to heresy.
He may not specifically say that “Protestants are scandalous” but he does say that the divisions in Christianity (that created Protestantism) where scandalous.
He may not specifically say that “Protestants are depraved and selfish” but he does imply that the way Protestants interpret the Bible is flawed because humans are “utterly depraved” and selfish and they need the Catholic Church to determine what the Bible means.
And to claim that he doesn’t support the term “utterly depraved” is plainly misleading on the part of Jindal and his apologists. Yes, he quoted Calvin when he used those words. However, he used those words in support of his argument on why Protestant thought is flawed.
Another failure of logic on your part is the idea that just because the party is running these ads means that there is nothing else to point out about Jindal. There are many examples of Jindal’s failure at all levels of government and his hypocricy. Those have been, and will continue to be, revealed.
I understand that you have a job to do, and that is to get Jindal elected. Just know that while you will be keeping an eye on the Jindal detractors, I will be keeping an eye on what you say and calling you on your half truths and misleading spin.
Sincerely,
Daniel Zimmerman
P.S. I will be posting this letter, in its entirety, on jindalisbad.com (just in case you feel like partially quoting me and misrepresenting my statements).
(10 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
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Just to let everyone know, Mike responded and was very civil and while we do disagree on the issues he was reasonable in his response. If only more political conversations could take place like that, perhaps we could get somewhere positive.
Well, Dan, it is you who is the negative one, blogging on a negative website.
And Jillil, you know better than to post a huge block of copyrighted text. That is not “fair use” and that is why I had to delete your post.
And what is ironic about you, and the LAGOPBLOG, is that you guys only post the parts that are important to your side of the argument. You guys ignore the information from the 2nd page.
Take for example these quotes:
“But if Jindal has his way, many more will hear him say that he’s being attacked for his Christian faith. If that’s misleading too — and it is”
At least she knows that the Democrats are not attacking his faith.
“The simple fact is that, rather than dodging it, Jindal loves to talk about religion. In his standard stump speech, he genially jokes that “I’m not worried about my children being exposed to prayer. I’m worried about them being exposed to Paris Hilton.” A Jindal flier explicitly asserts that “Our Christian values are our state’s greatest strength.”
I guess my Jewish values are what, chopped liver? But see, here again is Bobby Jindal campaigning using his faith. If Bobby Jindal feels that his faith is a relevant issue in this election, then why shouldn’t others discuss it?
Stephanie Grace seems to agree because she states, “And since he does bring it up, there are plenty of relevant questions the Democrats could have asked. Like just what are those Christian values, how do they differ from values espoused by non-Christians and what message does that statement send to those who practice other religions, or no particular religion?
Also, where does he stand on separation of church and state in general? How much would his faith dictate policy decisions? ”
Clearly those are questions that can be asked, and they should have been asked by the Democratic Party.
Did Stephanie Grace feel the ad was a good idea? Of course not, she said it backfired. But the point is that Jindal’s faith is a relevant topic of discussion because he is the one who brings it up.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/grace/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1188109037271940.xml&coll=1&thispage=2
As a businessman it is hard for me to understand why Bobby Jindal would run for Governor. If Bobby truly wants to serve and help Louisiana he needs to stay in Washington. Bobby knows and understands the ropes in Washington. With the problems Louisiana has in Washington right now with Jefferson and the slap against David Vitter we need Bobby in Washington. This State would be taking a step backwards by moving Jindal into the office of Governor. It would cost the citizens a special election as well as take the person who would take his place more than a year to be effective.
Would Bobby Jindal be a good governor? I believe so but this is not where he is needed the most. Jindal is needed the most in Washington and should do what is best for the State and Citizens of Louisiana. I can not vote for Bobby because it does not serve the State or citizens best interest.
John Georges is a good businessman and so is Walter Boasso this state would be well served to have either and would have the needed support in Washington.
If you look into previous campaign contributions you will see that John Georges has supported Bobby in the past. It is time for Bobby to support the State and do what is best for the State not himself. Bobby needs to stay in Washington and finish the job we elected him to do
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where r u Dan, you coward? you are the epitimy of a democ”rat”! you commies have ruined this state! we are trying to fix the corruption and political profiteering your party has wielded over this state for far too long! Katrina got rid of your parties crooked voting block of welfare reciepients and dead people who have been bussed and bought by dems every election to hold on to their precious seats at the trough of government! We, the true citizens of LA, the backbone of this state who don’t sit around waiting for a government handout, are taking this state back! The Revolution will be televised! (on election night!)
Phil you almost sound like a Bolshevic or a sandanista. Why so violent?
Phil: True citizens of Louisiana? You sound like a plantation owner that doesn’t want to let his slaves go.
Republicans trying to fix corruption? HA! That is laughable. Haley Barbour’s family has been profitting from Mississippi taxdollars since he took office. While it may not be illegal, it is definitely an example of the corrupt behavior that has plagued Louisiana.
Halliburton (the company that used to be run by Dick Cheney and who has donated money to Bobby Jindal) lost billions of taxpayer dollars and overcharged the american public for its services.
Jindal has already been shown to have taken money from people with ties to Abramoff and he has also been shown to vote to help unethical people of his own party.
But go ahead, keep digging your head in the sand. Keep fooling yourself and believe that Jindal will bring an end to corruption in Louisiana. He is the “same ole same ole”. He is a cog in the corrupt political machine.
Trotsky: I am blogging on an anti-Jindal site and I was also civil to Mike. Go figure.
Savela1: While we disagree on whether Jindal would do a good job in Washington, we can agree that Jindal becoming governor would not be in the best interest of the state.