Editor,
I share James Post's disdain expressed in Thursday's issue of the Daily Lobo for the negative ads that we see during elections, but I have to point out that Madrid is doing the same thing as Wilson.
In one of her ads she states, "We have been in Iraq for 3 1/2 years and still no strategy." She does not say that she disagrees with the strategy - she simply says there is no strategy. Her statement is blatantly false. It shows that she is either woefully uninformed, or that she is willing to lie to the people she desires to represent, which begs the question of whether or not she should be our elected representative.
We have a strategy - The National Strategy for Victory in Iraq - that any computer-literate person can download and read. I highly recommend that everyone do so. The strategy concerns three separate but equally important areas: political, economic and security conditions in Iraq. The strategy is contained in a 38-page document. It has short, medium and long-term goals, as well as the means to measure progress. Anyone is free to disagree with the strategy, but no one can deny that the strategy exists.
By comparison, the Democratic response to the president's strategy is a 10-page PowerPoint presentation. It actually has only five pages of content, but it is presented in both English and Spanish - I guess it is better to be politically correct than to have any substantive ideas.
Another Madrid ad accuses Congresswoman Heather Wilson of supporting subsidies for big oil companies. Clearly, Madrid does not understand the difference between subsidies - payments made to produce something or, in some cases, to not produce something - and tax credits. A tax credit is a device used by the government to entice businesses to do something that is not necessarily in their best interest. In return for a specific action, the companies get relief on their taxes.
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Madrid indicates that the Bush administration is giving oil companies billions of dollars to do what they are already doing. That is not the case. The energy bill provides for $8 billion in tax credits over a period of 10 years. Any energy company - not just the big oil companies - can receive a reduction in its taxes for money spent on domestic drilling or exploration of renewable energy sources. Companies that do not perform these very specific actions get nothing.
The intent is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil supplies. For a variety of reasons, it is more economically sound for an oil company to buy foreign oil than it is to search for new sources within the U.S. The tax credit allows companies that are engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas to deduct intangible drilling and development costs. The bill also gives tax credits for people spending money on researching renewable energy sources. Which of these ideas does Madrid not support?
Both of these ads are very disingenuous. Madrid is counting on the ignorance of the electorate, which very rarely does any real critical analysis of the issues.
Like Post, I would like to see the candidates present their positions in ads rather than attacks. Unfortunately, politicians run negative ads because they work - and that is our fault.
Dave Bergeron
Daily Lobo reader
