Khuri's Arrogance

A letter to the N&T on December 5.

I have heard that many of you Hoosier right-wing Republican zealots and Tea Partiers out there (whom includes some of my friends and relatives) woke up with a bad taste in your mouths on Nov. 7. I hope you were not too alarmed.

I felt sure that it wasn’t halitosis. I am no doctor, but I highly suspected all along that it was a huge dose of poetic justice spooned up by the (revered by most reasonable people) Richard Lugar.

You should be proud of yourselves. You have ousted one of our greatest modern day statesmen. Now if you would move to Kentucky and talk Mitch McConnell into reaching across the aisle so you could oust him in two years, we Democrats would be forever grateful. Now if your conscience allows, may you have a tolerable Christmas and decent new year.

— Charlie Gregory, Charlestown


The December 15th response.

Dear Mr. Charlie Gregory,

Your letter to the editor in the Dec. 5, News and Tribune required my response. I’m sure you expect one. Here it is:

I know your fondness for former Sen. Dick Lugar rates right up there with your (real) fondness for me.

I, for one did not wake up with a bad taste in my mouth Nov. 7. I woke up to reality. The reality that We The People, with grim determination, will continue the fight for our Republic. One day at a time, one election at a time.

Merry Christmas,

— Kelly Khuri, Jeffersonville

Please Ms. Khuri, come down off your high horse.  You trashed a man who had served his party (and more importantly the people he represents) with honor and dignity.  And replaced him with a loud mouth blowhard that couldn't win in the general election, and thus cost your party a seat.  You should still be using mouth wash 5 times a day to get that taste out of your mouth. 

But your arrogance shows itself here.  Instead of admitting a mistake, you choose to move full steam ahead with your idea of what a good candidate is.  Well that idea cost Republicans a Senate seat and caused your Tea Party quite a bit of embarrassment. 

You took an respected and elder statesman of the Senate and trashed him.  Why, because he still believed that reaching across the aisle to band together and compromise was the best way to a productive government.  The Tea Party seems to prefer no compromise and sticking to their extremist attitudes. 

Funny, because it seems to me that the most productive and and prosperous time for this country in my lifetime was when a Democrat President named Bill Clinton (who some people did not like) and a Republican Congress lead by Newt Gingrich (who some people did not like) stuck to their core values but looked to find common ground and worked for compromise.  Now granted, I'm not that old, so I cant speak to the yester-years of decades much past the 90's, but it seemed this was a pretty good time for Americans from my perspective.

Yet despite these facts and a crushing defeat, you continue to stand by you stubbornness in your letter.  And that stubbornness shows in your arrogance.  Unable to admit a mistake or wrong doing because Richard Lugar wasn't extreme enough for you and your Tea Party.  Well let me tell you something about your Tea Party and what it has meant to me.  This was my fourth Presidential election to vote in.  In those previous elections I have voted for Bush twice and McCain.  I was not opposed to voting for Romney either.  It was almost 50/50 basically until the time I went to cast my ballot.  But the thought of one of your Tea Party extremist as a Vice President was enough to sway me to vote Democratic for the first time.  It also lead me vote Democratic for the U.S. Senate seat too for the first time.  And going off the history of Lugar's repeated success in elections, I dare say I'm not the only one.

But you probably have already figured that last part out.  But I wonder from your letter above if that really means anything to you or if you just think that voters like myself either have it all wrong or don't/shouldn't matter.  It seems that your Tea Party after all, doesn't like to see the other side.

But it should.  Compromise and working together is what this country was founded on.  Hence, the President (elected by all), the Senate (elected by smaller denominations), and the House (elected by even smaller ones).  All voices matter and should not be dismissed, as you have done above.  I would reconsider such a hard stance if I were you.  Your candidate lost, and your got the last seat on the council.  Not exactly a ringing endorsement for your Tea Party.