Let’s look at who failed

EDITOR:

I read, with awed disbelief, then with hilarity, “Democrats fail the Valley,” the Jan. 18 letter regarding political affiliations and their effect on the Mahoning Valley. A common sense look and reflection on the past 40 years of Republican accomplishments yields a dire need to respond.

On Black Monday in 1977, we lost an industrial base of 50,000 jobs that have yet to be replaced by a viable replacement industrial base. So far, we’ve lost almost half of our population base; and the majority of jobs created have been in the service sector. And what have the Republicans done? Ronald Reagan campaigned as an FDR/JFK clone and promised help for the Valley. How many jobs did Ronnie bring here? George H.W. Bush promised assistance for the Valley. How many jobs did Daddy bring

here? The best help Daddy gave the Valley was his tenure that created a campaign slogan for Bill Clinton: “It’s the economy, stupid!” Dubya made promises (twice) that he would give us a hand. How many jobs did Dubya bring here?

Let’s recap. Reagan/Bush I/Bush II 20-years. Carter/Clinton = 12 years. That leaves us 8 years short of the letter writer’s base number. Hmmm? Oh, yeah ... eight years of Nixon and Ford round out the number to 40 years. Which means that regardless of who held the reins of government, the Valley hasn’t got much help since Black Monday. We’re still waiting for help as the workforce dwindles. General Motors’ desire to own the universe has resulted in the loss of almost half the workforce at Lordstown since 1977.

The letter writer “forgot” to mention the disastrous, lackluster careers of Mike DeWine and George Voinovich in the Senate, which created little, if any, help to the Valley. Adding those names substantiates the Valley’s current voting record.

A companion article in The Vindicator by a scribe with a slanted viewpoint asked the question, “Are Americans getting tired of Obama?” What Americans are getting tired of is obfuscation, obstruction and lies of the Republicans serving in Congress and its media. That’s why the Valley votes for Democrats. And Obama cannot be expected to fix in a year what Dubya and the government broke in the last eight years.

JOHN ZORDICH Youngstown