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I am a retired Foreign Service Officer (FSO) from the U.S. Department of State, now living in Sonoma. During the recent violence in Libya, I lost four colleagues. There are only 7,000 FSOs, so when one falls we all cry for them.
I have been in embassies under fire, have had an AK-47 shoved in my face, have faced down a 17-year-old with a loaded rifle in the garden of my home. When violence descends in our Missions thousands of miles from home, the one thing we count on is support from home.
Thus, I was stunned and furious when I saw Mitt Romney’s statements about the so-called “apologies” coming from our Embassy in Cairo.
When our Missions overseas are under attack, the first rule is that Americans stand together – politics ends at the water’s edge. The press officer in Cairo was trying to defuse a dangerous local situation. His message was not cleared in Washington. In fact, Washington told him to standby for a better – constructed message. He did not. Why? Who knows?
I’ve been in these situations. The streets are rumbling; you have the responsibility to try to avert disaster; you are there and Washington is not.
But Romney’s team did not feel constrained by considerations of what might be in the best interest of the people actually under attack. No. They tried to make political capital.
Shame on them. They disgraced the four brave Americans who were truly fighting for American ideals of
freedom, democracy and equality.
Later on, the tape of Romney addressing wealthy donors was released to the media. In that tape, Romney says that the 47 percent of people who support President Obama are people who pay no taxes, people who are totally dependent on government handouts. For me, those remarks added insult to injury.
I was already bruised by how he handled the Libya situation; now he has said that, because I support President Obama, I am a parasite, a leech on society, someone who pays no taxes and takes whatever I can from the government.
Well, Mr. Romney, here are the facts: I have retirement pay of $72,000 a year (before taxes), after 28 years of 24/7 service, under often dangerous conditions. I do not use Medicare, although I am entitled to it. I pay 20 percent federal taxes and 10 percent state taxes on my pension, plus local taxes and bond levies for the hospital, sewage and schools. I am a volunteer in a number of local charities and take no tax deduction for them. Only once in my life have I drawn unemployment benefits, and that was only for five weeks. I have never used food stamps or any other government provided assistance.
So, Mr. Romney, why would I ever support someone who espouses “values” like you? Like so many of my friends who support President Obama, I believe in charity for all, not just for those who think as I do.
I believe that the United States of America should not be a bully in the world but rather a conciliator working for cooperation. And I know that issues are not black or white, but complicated, intricate and not easily solved by bumper sticker mentality. I want a President smarter than I am and I have one. I’m sticking with him.
• • •
Kate Schertz is a retired FSO and Sonoma resident.
Please note: Your full name will be published with your comment.
You go, Kate!
Bill Gertz wrote a great article on the issue of what happened on 9/11/12. Intelligence officials are angered by Obama administration cover up of intelligence on Iranian and Al Qaeda surge in Egypt and Lybia. http://freebeacon.com/revolt-of-the-spooks/
I have a few things to say regarding your letter. First, you
down play the role of the Obama Administration's handling of
the whole Libya crisis. It kind of reminds me of the way
Bush was overly blamed for his role in the hurricane Katrina
disaster. This dispite the fact that MOST of the blame should
have been placed on the door-steps of the Mayor of New
Orleans and the Governor (both are Democrats) of Louisiana.
Second point, based on the wages you earn Romney was not
talking about you. He is talking about the 47% who earn
a wage and pay NO Federal tax. !! Many of these people
also get federal entitlements of some kind which are free
or cost very little out of their pocket. On top of that,
many of these people get tax refunds!! Care to explain to
me how people who are exempted from paying Federal taxes
get a tax refund??
Thirdy, I resent to notion as America being a BULLY as you
call it. A BULLY is someone who wants to take over a nation
or people. That is OFFENSIVE in nature. America has NEVER
sought to take over anyone?? We DEFEND nations and freedom.
Not the other way around.
Wayne, regarding your second point, your 47% of Americans who paid no federal income taxes still pay payroll taxes and are almost all either retired folks collecting Social Security or poor working families making less than $20,000 a year.
That doesn’t mean they don’t contribute. It just means they contribute in other ways; community service, volunteerism, non-profits, helping others, raising a family, serving in the military, charity work, and many other ways. It’s not always about the money Wayne, it’s about what you give of yourself to your society.
Fortunately we have a progressive tax system that allows those with the least amount of money to keep a little more of it. Most economists agree that the best use of money is to put it into the hands of those with least amount of money, because they will put it right back into the economy. When you give the rich another tax break, they just start another company in China. A progressive tax, like the one we currently have, is simply good economics.
Another thing Wayne, did you know that about 7,000 millionaires paid no federal income taxes in 2011, including Mitt Romney?
Wayne regarding your first point; while I think Kate was pretty complete in her assessment of Romney’s politicizing a national tragedy for his own personal gain, your analogy of Bush’s incompetency during the Katrina debacle was not exactly right one. I think a more direct contrast would be a comparison of how Obama handled regime change in Libya to how Bush handled regime change in Iraq.
Comparing Bush’s regime change in Iraq with over 4000 Americans killed, 25,000 wounded, a hundred and fifty thousand Iraqis killed, our loss of a bulwark against our real enemy Iran, and a cost to us of nearly four trillion dollars and counting to Obama’s regime change in Libya, you have a more direct and accurate comparison, don’t you agree?
Tom...Explain to me how those poor families making less then
$20K (and who get back nearly every dollar of Fed. Income Tax
withheld)get a Federal Tax refund?? In other words, they get
more money then they paid into the system. Many of these people
also get some form of Federal (and state as well)entitlement that
are free or cost very little out of pocket. My question to you
is this. What is wrong with requiring the poor to pay their
fair-share? Why should they get tax refunds beyond what they
even paid in taxes? Why can't they forefit those refunds to help
pay for the many entitlements they get at no cost to them? It's
sort of double-dipping in my thinking.
Regarding Romney's taxes. Obama paid 20% in FITW and Romney
paid 15%. I paid less then 10%. It's a non issue Tom. Unless
you have evidence of Romney doing something ILLEGAL. Which
I do not think you do.
Tom stated, " It’s not always about the money Wayne, it’s about what you give of yourself to your society"
Tom...It seems when it comes to Romney and his his money
you throw that line of thinking out the window. Do you
have any idea on how much of Romney's wealth is given
to charity?
Interesting how many are making Romney the issue rather than the failed policies of the President and State Dept.
I agree Phineas. That has always been the Democrats M.O.
Instead of pointing out good reasons to vote for their
guy they spend all their energy on how horrible the GOP
opponents are. In other words..."Vote for me because the
other guy stinks".
Wayne, you said: “What is wrong with requiring the poor to pay their fair-share?”
So you want the working poor who make less than $20,000 to pay more than they already do? I can’t even imagine someone living on less than $20,000 a year, but according to you, that’s not enough; you want them to pay more. But when it comes to your rich friends who make more than a million a year; please no more taxes, they’re taxed enough already! Sorry, but I’m more than a little tired of your kind of right wing class warfare.
Wayne, you said: “Instead of pointing out good reasons to vote for their guy they spend all their energy on how horrible the GOP opponents are. In other words.”
That’s right, all we do is castigate Romney with accusations that he was not born in America, is a Hitler, a racist, a socialist, a communist, a Muslim, not an American citizen, and worse. Oh wait a minute, that’s what you guys do; sorry, my bad.
Here are a few good reasons to vote for Obama: He killed bin Laden, ended Bush’s war in Iraq, created Romneycare (sorry, Obamacare, can’t tell the difference), bailed out the banks, saved GM, repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, came out for equal rights for all Americans including gays and lesbians, and began the slow process of turning our economy around from the disaster created by eight years of Republican mismanagement.
As far as I can tell, the foreign policy of nation building and waging half-ass undeclared war using proxy armies that are marginally loyal so long as we bribe them is a bi-partisan policy spanning decades. And Mitt is offering more of the same in that regard for Syria.
In fact, some are reporting that the very arms supplied and militants we supported to topple Ghadafi were used in the assault on the Benghazi consulate. Blowback is an understatement.
We need a whole new policy based on Constitutional principles and our own selfish self-defense, not altruism.