Are you from Iowa? Write to the newspapers!

[RDM]

Thank you, GeorgiaAvenger and IndianaPolitico.
The letter will be mailed this morning the the Marshalltown Times Republican.
Here is a draft for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, a paper with a 250 word limit. The draft has 235 words.

Dear Editor:
“Isn’t it a shame that future generations can’t be here to see all the wonderful things we’re doing with their money?” Earl Wilson quipped. He’s right; it is a shame.
Our grandparents worked hard to build a strong nation and to preserve the flame of liberty. Will we cherish the flame and pass it on to our children undimmed? Or will we shackle liberty and bind future generations as servants to debt, so we can enjoy a bowl of pottage?
We must fight prodigal impulses, cut federal obesity, and Restore America Now.
Following Dr. Ron Paul’s plan, federal spending can be cut by $1 trillion in one year by enforcing the Constitution’s strict limits on federal power, and the budget can be balanced by 2015. The Right-to-Work must be protected. The lives of the unborn must be valued. Social Security Promises to senior citizens must be honored while young people are permitted to opt-out. Our troops must be brought home. The military must be revitalized by eliminating waste in a trillion dollar budget, and individual liberties must be ensured.
Let not our generation reenact the story of the little girl who told her mother, “You know the fragile candlestick that you said has been passed down from generation to generation?” “Yes.” “Well, this generation just dropped it.”
Join me in supporting Ron Paul and future generations’ claim to the eternal flame of liberty.

Awesome!!! We need about a couple of hundred just like you creating letters and sending them to their local newspaper.

 

[BethanyGrace]

Thanks again RDM.
Do I need to post all of my drafts here? I plan to keep writing till we win.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Awesome, this is great how you are doing this.

Please post your drafts to inspire people!

 

[BethanyGrace]

Ok, I will. This letter was sent this morning to the Cedar Falls Times.

Dear Editor:
Courage. Hemingway said it’s “Grace under pressure.” Rickenbacker said, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do,” and Andrew Jackson said, “One man with courage makes a majority.” What we need today is courage.

Americans are a graceful people; today we are under pressure. We have a budget deficit; We are $14.7 trillion in debt. We face inflation and rising prices. But we’re afraid to make drastic changes. We want things to be as they’ve always been. Unfortunately, that’s not an option. We either swim upstream and fight the current of establishment that is plunging us into financial chaos and the abolition of individual liberties, or we join the school of big government spending. That school is spent and floating downstream to ultimate bankruptcy and decay.

We need a leader with courage. We need a leader who is a true conservative and will fight to

Stop the growth of government spending, restrictive regulations, and interference in our lives.
Audit the Federal Reserve.
End income tax.
End ObamaCare
Ensure the federal government returns to its constitutional limits by eliminating departments and agencies that are not authorized by the Constitution.
Insist on a balanced budget
Only appoint judges who will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Bring our troops home.
Revitalize our military by eliminating waste in a trillion dollar budget.

That leader is Dr. Ron Paul (www.RonPaul2012.com), a man of principle who has never voted for an unbalanced budget in 12 terms in the U.S. Congress, and who has stood up to the leaders of both parties on so many fronts that he has earned the nickname “Dr. NO.” If we want this courageous leader in the White House, we must have courage ourselves--courage to face the establishment, courage to say “NO!” to big government and prodigal spending, and courage to brave frigid Iowa weather on January 3rd to support Ron Paul at the Iowa Caucus.

“To be courageous,” wrote Kennedy, “requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place, and circumstance. It is an opportunity that is presented to us all.” Be strong, my friend, and of good courage. We fight for America. We vote for liberty.

 

[RDM]

Thanks again RDM.
Do I need to post all of my drafts here? I plan to keep writing till we win.

Your welcome and yes, continue to post here. Those that may consider doing this might want to copy or use comments from your letters to create their own.

 

[BethanyGrace]

Here's a draft for the Eldora paper.

Dear Editor:

PILGRIM
From lives thus spent thy early duties learn;
From fancy’s dreams to active virtue turn;
Let Freedom, Friendship, Faith thy soul engage
And serve like them, thy country and thy age.

At the beautiful Hardin County courthouse, I scan the veterans’ memorials and find the names of my two uncles, the Cowell brothers, and my great, great, great, great grandpa Eli Carson, veterans of the Civil War. They fought for the Union, and their names go down in history with the names of thousands of other great men and women who strove to pass on to us a united and free country. John and Abigail Adams’ epitaph (above) challenges us to carry the Star Spangled Banner on in Faith, Friendship, and Freedom--Liberty!

Today, our freedom is challenged with the chains of a $14 trillion debt accompanied by undue federal intervention in our lives. It’s time to elect a leader who will bring our troops home, protect our own borders, and revitalize our military. It’s time to elect a leader who has never voted for an unbalanced budget in 12 terms in the U.S. Congress. It’s time to elect a leader who will fight to end Obamacare, a leader who values the lives of the unborn, a leader who will protect the Right-to-Work, and a leader who defends individual liberties. It’s time to elect a leader with a plan. It’s time to nominate and elect Ron Paul (www.ronpaul2012.com).

You, my friend and neighbor, are responsible for the fate of this great nation. Our fathers protected it with their last drop of blood, and yet many of us do not care enough to protect it with one drop of ink from a ball point pen! It’s time for a change! It’s time for a revolution of freedom at the voting booths.

Join me at the Iowa Caucus on January 3rd in support of our great country, Ron Paul, and liberty!

 

[RDM]

@BethanyGrace
Nice letter for Eldora

Keep us posted when your letters get printed in the papers (with links if possible).

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

......

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

.......

 

[BethanyGrace]

I think my letters are getting lost in the mail...I haven't checked all the newspapers, but in the papers I have checked, I haven't found any of the letters printed yet. Maybe I'm impatient, but I'll try to get to the point faster, and see if short letters are printed faster.
Browsing www.thegazette.com, I did find this letter supporting Ron Paul, Bachmann, and Golding: http://thegazette.com/2011/11/04/paul-bachmann-golding-will-bring-stability

 

[RDM]

I think my letters are getting lost in the mail...I haven't checked all the newspapers, but in the papers I have checked, I haven't found any of the letters printed yet. Maybe I'm impatient, but I'll try to get to the point faster, and see if short letters are printed faster.
Browsing www.thegazette.com, I did find this letter supporting Ron Paul, Bachmann, and Golding: http://thegazette.com/2011/11/04/paul-bachmann-golding-will-bring-stability

Be patient. Depending on the paper and how much letters to the editor they receive and how much space they have dedicated to letters may take a few weeks for your letter to reach print. When I submitted mine, it took about 2 weeks for it to be printed.

 

[BethanyGrace]

Before I go on my miserable self-imposed diet of few words (remember the writer who post-scripted "Sorry this letter is so long, I didn't have time to write a short one"), here is my last long letter (for the Red Oak Express)-- A tribute to Captain Eddie.

Dear Editor:
Did Red Oak know in 1910, as Eddie Rickenbacker’s right-rear wheel collapsed in his first race, that in less than 10 years Rickenbacker would be a national hero?

Eddie Rickenbacker was a fighter. As a race car driver, he went from his loss at the Red Oak track to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Vanderbilt Cup. As a World War I fighter pilot in the Hat in the Ring squadron, he was ace of aces. He, and the brave men of Red Oak who fought at Belleau Woods, the Argonne Forest, Sr. Mickel, and Swepps, fought for America. In later years, Rickenbacker fought the welfare state and the steady encroachment of federal power.
Rickenbacker wrote:

“[Over America] hangs the stultifying influence of big government and the big brother philosophy in Washington, this so-called ‘security’ nullifies the basic American values and the incentives that are actually stimulated by insecurity. The more that is done for the individual, the less he does for himself. Self reliance, ambition, and determination, all those natural human traits that were common in the pioneering days and that made this country great, are being softened, even eliminated, in America today.”

Rickenbacker’s statement is true. It’s time to elect a President who will fight to:
Stop the spread of socialist, big government healthcare.
Stop the growth of government spending, regulations, and interference in our lives.
End income tax.
Protect the rights of the unborn.
Protect the rights of homeschool parents.
Ensure the federal government returns to its Constitutional limits.
Bring our troops home and revitalize our military.

Ron Paul is that candidate. We can and we must Restore America Now (www.ronpaul2012.com ).

The people of Red Oak--the people of Iowa--have never shied from action, and we have no reason to now. Our fathers protected liberty with their last drop of blood; we are not among those who are do not care enough to protect liberty with one drop of ink from a ball pointed pen.

Join me on January 3rd at the Iowa Caucus in support of Ron Paul and liberty.

Captain Eddie, our hat is in the ring.

 

[BethanyGrace]

Ok, RDM...I'll try to be patient. One of my favorite (and most thought of) verses in the Bible is "Ye have need of patience..."

 

[BethanyGrace]

179 words

Dear Editor:
Ron Paul is the only candidate with a complete, practical plan ( www.ronpaul2012.com ) to balance the budget in three years and cut federal spending by $1 trillion in one year. Ron Paul has a perfect record of never voting for un-constitutional spending in 30 years in Congress.

As President, Ron Paul will only nominate justices who will reverse Roe v. Wade. As an OB/GYN who delivered over 4,000 babies, Dr. Ron Paul knows firsthand how precious, fragile, and in need of protection life is.

Dr. Paul is dedicated to ending Obamacare. As a physician, he knows that government healthcare does not equal quality health care.

As Commander in Chief, Ron Paul will make securing our borders a top priority, bring our troops home, honor veterans, and revitalize the military. To quote Reagan, “Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country.”

 

[wyldstallynz]

Personally, I would leave out the abortion topic. Stick with the smaller goverment message. Telling some people that Ron Paul would overturn Roe v Wade is the exact opposite of smaller government. If abortion is that important of a topic to someone, I bet they already know the candidates position on it.

 

[BethanyGrace]

Personally, I would leave out the abortion topic. Stick with the smaller goverment message. Telling some people that Ron Paul would overturn Roe v Wade is the exact opposite of smaller government. If abortion is that important of a topic to someone, I bet they already know the candidates position on it.

Since I am trying to write the shortest letter possible I'll take your suggestion (though I don't perfectly agree with your reasons ) and cut the letter down to 142 words, leaving out the abortion paragraph.

I see from other posts that you are also from Iowa, wyldstallynz. Excellent! Thank you for the critique & Welcome to the forum!

 

[BethanyGrace]

I had to cut my Rickenbacker letter down to 250 words. Final draft (which I have submitted)follows:

Did Red Oak know in 1910, as Eddie Rickenbacker’s right-rear wheel collapsed in his first race, that in less than 10 years Rickenbacker would be a national hero? As a driver, he went from his loss at the Red Oak track to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Vanderbilt Cup. As a World War I fighter pilot in the Hat in the Ring squadron, he was ace of aces. Later Rickenbacker fought the welfare state and the steady encroachment of federal power.

Rickenbacker wrote:
“[Over America] hangs the stultifying influence of big government and the big brother philosophy in Washington, this so-called ‘security’ nullifies the basic American values and the incentives that are actually stimulated by insecurity. The more that is done for the individual, the less he does for himself. Self reliance, ambition, and determination, all those natural human traits that were common in the pioneering days and that made this country great, are being softened, even eliminated, in America today.”

It’s time to elect a President who will fight to:

Stop the spread of big government healthcare.
Stop the growth of government spending, regulations, and interference in our lives.
End income tax.
Protect the rights of the unborn.
Protect the rights of homeschool parents.
Bring our troops home and revitalize our military.

Ron Paul is that candidate. We must Restore America Now (www.ronpaul2012.com ).

Join me on January 3rd at the Iowa Caucus in support of Ron Paul and liberty.

Captain Eddie, our hat is in the ring.

 

[V3n]

That's awesome!

 

[BethanyGrace]

Here's my shortest letter yet--100 words. Let me know what you think. I'm rather concerned about the heavy usage of the word "I."

I believe in America. I believe she should be great and free from heavy chains of debt. I believe she deserves a balanced budget. I believe her people are intelligent enough to think, feel, and act--to make their own healthcare decisions. I believe that though we face difficult times, we can emerge from these times stronger--with sound money, lower taxes, greater prosperity, and greater individual liberties. To do this, we need a leader with a plan, a leader who believes in America. That leader is Dr. Ron Paul (www.ronpaul2012.com). Ron Paul believes in America. I believe in America. Do you?

 

[BethanyGrace]

That's awesome!

Thanks! 100% agree with your signature.