A Concerned Voter - NAFTA Highway and Other Issues

"After watching hours of political debates and reading endless articles devoted to Democratic and Republican “views,” this voter still has many unanswered questions.When more than 1,500 people marched in Texas objecting to the “Super Highway” just hours before the Texas debate, this topic was never addressed. The question was never asked. Why?When Americans came out so strongly against eminent domain, why suddenly will all the land needed for this highway be taken away from the rightful owners using eminent domain?

If NAFTA is so important to our economy and supposedly creates jobs in the United States, why is our trade deficit at an all-time high and our unemployment figures growing every day? John McCain is in favor of NAFTA, Hillary Clinton say it didn’t do what she expected and Barack Obama will renegotiate it.If Social Security is in danger of going bust, how will adding millions of illegal immigrants on the rolls make it better? Obama, Clinton and McCain are all in favor of amnesty to some degree. Won’t that encourage others to follow suit? It did before.

Americans were told we couldn’t buy prescription drugs from Canada because they might not meet our safety standards. There were incidents reported of senior citizens taking a bus to Canada, buying their medications and being arrested when they returned to the U.S. Yet, China has exported tainted food, bad toothpaste, poisonous drugs and lead-laden toys.McCain, Obama and Clinton assure us they are ready to ‘‘keep Americans safe.”

While they campaign day after day in a needlessly long campaign, they are missing important votes in the Senate.Every day, Mexican trucks are crossing our borders and, according to some reports, are not being inspected. The borders are still not adequately protected, and remember the two border patrol agents who are in jail. Did any of the three sign the petition to review their case? If not, why not?

Our technology is still going abroad. The Air Force decision to award the latest contract to a French company will result in the loss of countless good paying American jobs. What do these candidates intend to do about this? We outsource our automobiles, our tanks and our planes. We freely share our technology and rely on others to manufacture it. Are we still in a position to defend our shores if necessary?How do these candidates feel about our existing trade agreements, the Law of the Sea Treaty and the need to maintain our sovereignty? Will any one of them put America first?

Instead of endless speeches about experience vs. charisma, how about getting down to the real issues? It looks like Pennsylvania suddenly has become a big issue in this election campaign. If Pennsylvania does hold debates, I hope it won’t be more of the same old, same old. Won’t somebody please stand up for Americans and demand answers to the real questions?"

Roberta Andersen
Orwigsburg