Savannah Now: Letters to the editor Sunday - Ring Better for 1st District
Disappointed with Carter endorsement
As a 20-year resident of Savannah and a Savannah Morning News subscriber, I am disappointed that the paper chose to endorse Buddy Carter for Congress.
As I write this, local social media is mourning a beloved Savannah resident, worker and mom, who just died because she could not afford her asthma medication.
Transparency in drug prices is just one small piece of what is needed to make healthcare affordable for all. Carter’s GOP has repeatedly tried to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, including the pre-existing conditions protections despite their current claims. Lisa Ring, in contrast, in line with all other industrialized countries, as well as an increasing number of healthcare professionals and even conservative business people in our own country, understands that our current system of healthcare is not only immoral, when decent Americans succumb to bankruptcy, illness, and death simply because the profit motive is allowed to dominate care, but also wasteful financially.
Medicare for all is not the only area where Ring would put the needs of the community over the wants of the rich. When the profit motive dominates prisons, for example, the incentive is to criminalize as many acts and as many people as possible. When the profit motive is allowed to silence science, massive ecological destruction, resulting in massive costs to human life and livelihoods, prevails.
Social Security and Medicare, which the GOP currently ransacking to pay for massive tax cuts for the super-wealthy, tax cuts which have not and will not trickle down in any substantial way to ordinary people, child labor laws, and occupational safety and consumer protections have all contributed to the very American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Lisa Ring is a patriotic American, a military wife and mom, who wants to conserve many of the values I was raised with — honesty, decency, integrity and equality.
I recently heard Carter state that it is not the government’s business to ensure that women are paid the same as men, and that corporations should be free to try to influence legislation through campaign donations as much as they want. His feigned ignorance of who is trying to influence him and to what end does not fool Lisa Ring or her supporters.
The GOP’s attempt to dismantle our democracy, our values, and our protections is what is truly radical. Lisa Ring is a better choice for the people of this district.
Pauline Goodman, Savannah
Rep. Carter a pawn of others
From viewing Congressman Buddy Carter’s voting record and hearing him speak at the recent forums with Lisa Ring, it is clear that he’s doing the bidding of special interests and not representing everyone in his district. Here’s a couple quick examples.
First, as the nation transitions to renewable energy sources, grapples with the effects of an increasingly hotter planet, and experiences periodic leaks and blowouts of oil pipelines and platforms elsewhere, Carter still supports the exploration of oil off the Georgia coast.
Georgia’s coast is a treasure that gives us recreational beaches, fishing habitats, and natural beauty that attract billions of tourism dollars.
But seismic surveys use massive shock waves to explore for oil deposits deep beneath the ocean floor. Those same shock waves also kill our sea life both large and small and upset marine habitats.
Second, Carter also voted twice for President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, but failed to make hard budget cuts. That added over $1.5 trillion to the nation’s debt. Doesn’t that burden the next generation? Economists say the combination of tax cuts, a growing wealth gap, and a $1.5 trillion increase in deficit is a ticking time bomb. Is he setting the table to cut my Social Security?
Third, Carter bowed to Trump by voting to kill the Affordable Care Act. The ACA brought healthcare to millions of Americans, but Carter offered no alternatives that increased coverage, lowered costs or brought about a healthier nation.
Richard Dickinson, Richmond Hill
Consider voting for Ring in 1st District
This letter is an appeal to the voters of Georgia’s 1st Congressional District. I ask you not to think along party lines, but of what is best for Georgia. This year’s election is far too important not to vote. There are some who think voting for Lisa Ring would be wrong, but I’ll tell you it has never been more important to vote for Lisa Ring. Georgia needs someone that cares about Georgia and the people of the first district.
These points are not in any particular order, just facts.
• We all need healthcare. Even the Koch brothers who donate their money to Republican candidates did a study that reveals “Medicare for all” could save Americans trillions.
• Social Security and Medicare are not handouts. Every working American pays into Social Security and Medicare. This is promised to us when we turn 62 or older. Today many companies do not give pensions, and if we want our parents and grandparents to afford food and medical care, we must continue to allow the people who paid into these plans to collect the money they were promised.
• A living wage for all. There are people who believe that working people should be kept down and not allowed to ever move up or get ahead. I say everyone should be able to have a job that would allow them to afford a home and food on their table.
• We do not want anyone drilling off Georgia’s shores for oil. We all have seen the massive oil spills that keep happening. We must protect our beaches and shoreline. If you’re interested, please look up the General Accounting Office oil report to see how much oil America has. There is no need for offshore drilling.
• Climate change is real. Please think of your children and grandchildren. It is important to have people in our elected offices that will fight for Georgians.
• Please consider voting for Lisa Ring and the Democratic ticket.
Jim McGaffin, Savannah
Ring better for 1st District
I attended several public meetings held by Rep. Buddy Carter and Lisa Ring and watched the televised forum. I read Carter’s email letters. Ring is the better candidate. She is the chair of the Bryan County Democratic Committee and the vice chair of the Georgia Democratic Rural Council. She is a former corrections officer, and has worked on numerous community boards. Her husband is in the National Guard, and her son serves in the Army.
Ring spent 18 months traveling throughout the 1st Congressional District, meeting with citizens and groups to listen to their concerns to craft her agenda. Expanding affordable healthcare, a living wage, and protecting the coastal environment are priorities. She is progressive, but by no means radical. She is open-minded and pragmatic, which positions her to address our district interests, both business and individuals.
Where Ring listens to constituents, Carter obeys his handlers from Washington D.C. He does not listen to constituents, unless they are in lock-step agreement with his narrow frame of mind. His offices are unresponsive to concerns expressed by citizens, veterans and military personnel. Carter distorts a great deal in his claims. He supported the bills addressing opioid addiction, which is a good stop gap emergency. He failed completely when it came to improving upon the Affordable Care Act. The pharmacy “gag” rule law he sponsored will have limited effect.
His facts on the tax cut are plain wrong. Unless you make high six-figures, you do not benefit significantly from the tax cut. Instead, it is a blank check corporate welfare, where less than 1 percent has gone to raising salaries, and most to stock buy-backs and dividend increases, thus the rise in the stock market. Like previous major tax cuts, it does not pay for itself. The deficit is ballooning. He claims he does not know where his million-plus political funds come from, which is absurd. He is in the pockets of big pharma.
Ring does not accept corporate contributions, relying on local support. Now is the time for a change. Vote for Ring for congress.
Chris Nitsche, Savannah
Highlighting Carter, Ring forum views
I was one of 400 attendees at the Oct. 24 forum in which Buddy Carter and Lisa Ring answered a large number of excellent questions provided by constituents of the 1st Congressional District. Responses by the candidates demonstrated differing viewpoints on a number of important issues. Sadly, the Savannah Morning News front-page story provided only a thumbnail sketch of the evening’s event. Regardless of which candidate you support, I suggest that a more thorough and inclusive article would have been beneficial to readers.
Examples of important issues that were discussed and were not covered in the story:
• Healthcare: Ring believes that all citizens are entitled to healthcare and favors a single-payer system. Carter is opposed to a single-payer and supports the GOP plan.
• Gun laws: Carter supports Second Amendment Rights and made few recommendations for changing current laws. Ring supports restricting certain automatic rifles and large gun clips.
• Privatization: Ring supports no privatization of schools, veteran’s hospitals and prisons. Carter believes that competition and privatization is beneficial.
• Corporate donations: Carter accepts and favors corporate donations to political candidates. Ring does not accept corporate donations and believes that they can influence political decisions.
• Offshore drilling: Ring opposes offshore drilling, their potential environmental hazard and rejects the idea that the possible oil found is needed by the United States. Carter supports seismic testing to search for oil reserves and to assure energy independence.
These examples represent some of the issues not discussed in the news story. Clearly, the candidates have very different viewpoints. This news outlet would have better educated its readers with a more comprehensive account of the evening’s discourse.
Paul Fardy, Savannah
Read other letters relating to local, national politics, and the governor’s race: https://www.savannahnow.com/opinion/20181102/letters-to-editor-sunday-democratic-party-is-off-rails