Don - Very well said. On a positive note, Tewksbury voted for Romney, Brown, & Tisei. We are an oasis in a sea of stupidity. The great people of Tewksbury are workers who understand that we need change and hope. Not exactly the change and hope we got. The fiscal cliff is coming and it will be very interesting on how it will affect the nation. We are broke and all the insentives need to expire and we need to bite the bullet. Thank you for your sage comments.

I am a Tewksbury resident who voted for President Obama, Senator-elect Warren and Congressman Tierney.
I consider myself to be an oasis.
I do not attack others who do not agree with me.
I do not call them names.
I encourage everyone to put forth their positive ideas and see who supports them.

Hi Bob, my comment extended beyond Tewksbury. This is conservative country. My points are to warn all Americans that we are about to face a crisis larger than we have seen since WWII. We must not fall asleep on guard duty. The country will not have a future if Americans do not change our course without delay. It is citizens such as yourself that must shine the light of truth on the fiscal cliff and devastation we face on both sides of January.

Simon, I am not here to defend Rush Limbaugh, he does that better than I can. I defend good ideas regardlesss of their source. The debate platform is not the proper forum for presenting the DETAILS of an economic plan or ant other plan. Obama does it all of the time because his ideas do not go beyond Democrat talking points. Romney new that his plan would be dead on arrival if he allowed the President to control the presentation and he would have spent the rest of the debate allowing the President to escape without a scratch if he was trapped in the corner hearing negatives on an otherwise good plan. It would have been a diversion accomplishing little. The President did not care about the answer he wanted to embarrass his opponent. He would't have gone one round with Romney in any debate on the fiscal cliff we are about to face, the economy, jobs or any of the issues that people should care about at this time. Thye President simply did the rope a dope and that was enough for his constituents.

My first response Bob was that if I voted as you did then I wouldn't want to talk about my votes either. A healthy civil discusssion is what the country needs. We knew nothing about the President when we elected him to his first term. He should have been fired this past November 6th but we knew less about him then than we did the first time he ran. Today the country is in worse shape than it was when he took office. We have a right ot know who our leaderis, in fact it should be our obligation to know. The media covers for him and we can thank them as well. Beware of the cold nights of of January and the fiscal cliffs we must address.

Bob & Simon - I did not intend to insult anyone. Sorry. We are a nation divided. I applaud those that did in fact vote. It is important to voice our opinions. The conservatives lost and the liberals won. There is now a lot of work to do and the fiscal cliff and deficit both scare me. We need to rebuild our great nation and it will not be easy.

I have had well intentioned people over the years that tell me that Republicans are born without hearts. They don't understand the pain and suffering going on all around them. Using a phase that Bess Truman tried to get Harry to adopt. Accusing Republicans of having no hearts is a phrase "that's pure horse manure, Harry". Both Parties care a great deal. They simply have different approaches toward solving the problems. Tough Love, and finding God as AA does. Restore the family the families have been shredded by government incentives. My response has been that President Roosevelt introduced the "Great society". It has grown out of control since the end of WWII. It was dorment during the JFK years as he asked more of the people, When Johnson took over it began to grow again. The experiment had failed. It was off to a good beginning but then it became a way of life for many people robbing them of their dignity and self esteem. A word that I hate. Self esteem is eaned it's not a gift. Try to look at both sides of the equation, Republicans seldom give up on people they expect people to rise up because we know they can if we provide the necessary incentives. "Help them find work worth doing. Abe Lincoln " Provide limited finacial support while they work, but get them off the streets and mind control drugs of all types. When your job pays $330/week and your government provides $800/week plus incentives it's pretty hard to go to work everyday. It destoys a family.

That is insulting and condescending.

And really, if you would like to be taken seriously, you probably want to give up the birther nonsense. It makes you seem ridiculous. To say you know less about the president than you did 4 years ago, thats as you say "horse manure". The problem is you know who our president is and what hes about. His philosophy is different that of your party's. You have another 4 years of this president so it would behoove you to find common ground to build on.

It is difficult when people turn discussions into confrontations. I have a right to state my opinion and you have the right to disagree, but within the limits of sincerity. I hope the people reading this opinion piece don't leave with the same misunderstanding you have. If they do then I have failed. I may fail one hundred times but refuse to be intimidated. I will say that I have a better understanding why they have so much trouble working across the aisle. You may call my earlier comment a political statement, however, I stand by it. If it wasn't for Dinesh DiSousa and his movie 2016. There has been little if anything said about the Presidents past; primarilly the result of the media covering up. The people have a right to know who their President is. I can't wait to visit this Presidents Library when it's completed. I knew his poiltics 4-5 years ago and that has not changed and may not. The people have spoken. If anything; I was trying to clarify the Republican position on policies in general. It was intended to quiet the storm brewing that Republicans need to come to the left if we expect to win. I say horse manure our policies need to be clarified not erased. When understood I believe the people will have choices. We allowed Democrats to define us; and they did a poor job in my mind it was successful for them. "RepublicansWe really aren't bad people." (Jerry Williams) We're use to asking questions and then question the answers. We need a two party system in MA.

Steve Crane, why do you pick on older voters? Are they not Americans too. I vote for my country and anyone in town that knows me will vouch for that. In an attempt to promote civility I will not answer the rest of your questions. It's time for me to go kick my dog. Have a good day.

Bob Rauseo, I agree with your statement and would have no trouble discussing issues with you. We agree on many of your issues and It is obvious that you are an informed voter. We simply don't agree on everything. It is also obvious that you care about our country. Keep it up.

Steve - I think you might be on to something but I wouldnt want to generalize. I voted for Obama, but I also proudly voted for Scott Brown. The "people, not party" message resonated with me and I was sad he lost. I completely agree about the social policy problem with GOP. Though I am actually on the opposite side from you on the assisted suicide issue (just not comfortable being God in any circumstance), these discussions need to be had. A lot of the old guard GOP would sooner you follow party platform blindly and quietly.

Don - the intent is neither to confront or intimidate and Im sorry if you feel I am trying to do that to you. I think you are a good and decent person. You seem however extremely partisan, and that does not always lend itself to moving forward to common ground. I agree with many of your sentiments, but some of the GOP platform is outdated and frankly, authoritarian. Sorry if you cant see that. The GOP can clarify some issues, but need to evolve on others.

Please dont think I'm picking on you just because Im a Democrat. Remember I voted GOP for Senate. I would be interested to know when the last time you voted for a Democrat.

Steve Crane, I am pro-life at any age. Euthanaisia not only offends my religious beliefs it also attacks my personal beliefs. Christ suffered his final hours for us and I will suffer mine for him. I have witnessed euthanasia personally. It is not fair to the survivors. It comes at a price whether you pulled the trigger or not. These are my personal beliefs and I don't think they belong on a poitical platform. Both are sacred, abortion and euthanasia and they should not be decided on a political platform. I felt the tone of your questions was presnted in an inflamatory manner. I apologize for my reaction on this type of question, people need to know that there are options to euthanasia. They think they are making it easier, but instead leave others with a lifetime of pain and guilt. I euthanized my dog 30 years ago and it still hurts regardless of the species. I am referring to pets, domestic animals. If I missed any questions please ask again.

Question - Steve Crane ask - When was the last time you voted for a Democrat? I responded thsat I voted for Jim Miceli for many years. When Mario Marchese entered the arena I voted for him. Thank you for voting for DOUG SEARS. Yes he did do a good job. The state needed to return to the two party system. All Jim had to do was add an "R" after his name and he MAY have won without an opponent. The subject never came up between Doug and myself. I also voted forJohn Silber Pres. of B.U. running against Bill Weld running for Governor.
Question - How do you expect to work across the aisle? Simple all the Democrats have to do is to present an idea that is better for America than the Republican plan. There would be no blank checks and I would require my own team of lawyers check out every single word of the proposal. No hand shakes. They still won't admit to written statements in Obama Care. Trust but verify.

I would like to add that the threats to Israel are real. one nuke and 10 million Israeli's are dead. I believe 20% are not Jewish. The military cuts are placing the world in great danger. Soon they will have their own warheads as well fearing the mood of this administration. Romney would avoid many attacks with his approach toward being Commander in Chief. Peace through strength.The President must replace existing officials with people with experience. The President must attend all briefings in order to minimize attacks around the globe.

Thank God Doug Sears lost He is such a pompous person and his negative tactics finally caught up to him. Now if we could get him out of politics all together

City Guy, you personally may have that impression of Doug Sears but you are not being fair in your your assessment of him. I've known Doug Sears for nearly twenty-five years. If you were in need of moral or legal advice tomorrow, Doug Sears would be there for you or anyone else. Look beyond the cover. This will be my last comment on this subject. Personal feelings about a candidate are not productive. That is not what this article is about. It's about rebuilding America the land of the free and the home of the brave. Our country is in trouble, it's time to unite there's no room for hate at this time. We need ideas, answers and solutions. I thought long and hard about answering your comment. I think we can be more positive and work together on solutions. Please stick to the subject matter. Returning from single party rule to two party rule. It's not about personal grudges. The clock is ticking we are in trouble we must act without delay.

Steve Crane, I'm not trying to prove that I always listen in church, but I do. A week or two ago Father was discussing euthanasia. He asked the congregation "If it's not okay to kill your neighbor, why is it okay to kill yourself? It was enough to get the wheels turning; coming to the conclusion that it's not okay to assist in your own suicide. When you have faith you believe in something. We should know that we don't have all of the answers, in fact we have very few allowing faith to guide us. Thank God we have faith, because God never sends us down the wrong path. This is just another piece to the puzzle; but I know how I feel.

Steve, I have always thought that our taxes are far too high. I am a firm believer that we have a spending problem. Our problem has never been insufficient funds from the taxpayers. The more we give them at State and in Washington it ends up being wasted. We really need a tax holiday lasting until we get spending is under control. Let the people keep their money. How long would it take before we were broke if a home owner budgeted his paycheck as the government does. The Fed. Governtment can't balance their budget. The outgoing funds exceeds the amount of money coming in. What is the interest on our loans, 45 cents on every dollar that we spend? I fear we will not be addiction free until the pain hits all of us. It makes absolutely no sense.

Hi Ski, If politicians had a desire to fix problems they would. Unfortunately most of us vote in our own interest. Either for re-election or getting a pot hole filled in front of our house. We are paying for greed. If we understand the issues and still and vote the same way then our greed is overpowering us. If we don't understand the issues and still vote in our personal interest shame on us. Americans are passing their financial burdens on to future generations. This will be the first time in U.S. history. You are correct we are a Nanny Country which has caused many marriages to break up and depend totally on their government and neighbors for their survival. They're being encouraged to sell their votes. There is a pupose for government support but it should not become a way of life. Americans have only begun the decline much more to follow. You discussed huge staffs on Capitol Hill and Beacon Hill, what amazes me is the lack of ideas flowing from them. The ones the get thru are usually without reason. I don't blame the politicians we select, I blame the people that select them. They know exactly what they are getting. Transparency is no longer being practice. None of this will change until the people change forming a more perfect government consisting of two Party's. People must stop selling their votes in their personal interest. I fear pain will soon wake them up. Our forefathers placed their lives on the line today politicians we won't place our jobs on the line.