It's not about race

Editor's note: The following letter to the editor is in response to the letter "GOP vs. Obama" that appeared in the March 1 Southeast Missourian.

A recent letter to the editor reflected once again a theme by many Obama supporters to paint Republicans with a racial bias toward our first African-American president, rather than debating the issues of debts, deficits, taxing and spending.

"Deep-rooted prejudice" and "hate for the president" were offered as reasons why Republicans were unconsciously resisting President Obama's proposals, all "cloaked in lofty ideals of patriotism, the future of our children, and the need to reduce the deficit."

In 2008, candidate Obama called Bush "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic" for running up an additional $4 trillion in debt during his eight years as president. Meanwhile, as he starts his second term, President Obama has run our national debt up from $10.6 trillion in 2009, to $16.6 trillion currently.

He won his job because of his many promises to "change" how Washington does business, including the promise to "cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term."

Our current budget is $3.6 trillion, which simplified is $36,000 billion. The sequester savings is $85 billion. If you had a $36,000 annual budget and your goal was to find $85 in savings, your first-grader could accomplish the task. Even then, America has to borrow 46 cents out of every dollar it currently spends.

Reducing America's deficit and balancing our budget has absolutely nothing to do with the color of a man's skin. Disagreeing with a president's policies is neither prejudicial nor racist. It's a First Amendment right.

WILLIAM PIERCEY SR., Jackson