Dear Warren...

A Brushfires Open Letter to Warren Buffett

History is calling you, sir. Actually, it’s not too much to say that humanity’s calling you. You’re going to have to do some soul-searching on a level you’ve never done before, and you’re going to have to find out if you’re able to answer that call with the courage and force of character that marks the truly great.

We know you’ve demonstrated hard work, uncommon common sense, a shrewd eye for commercial opportunity—and the result has been an accumulation of wealth like few others in human history. We also know you’ve shown a generosity of spirit in your decisions to give to charitable causes much of what you’ve earned. Your actions speak of an intelligent and decent man, with a good heart.

But the calling we’re talking about goes deeper; it brings to mind a calling answered by some truly great men who once publicly pledged their ‘lives, fortunes and sacred honor’ to establish a nation built squarely on the idea of ordered liberty derived from the Creator. As you probably know, for most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the pledges came due: lives and fortunes were in fact sacrificed so that ‘posterity’ could live in freedom, under the rule of law and not under elitist tyranny. We believe you’re humble enough to acknowledge that but for the sacred honor of the signers and others around at the founding of America—an honor that truly is sacred and will never be lost to history—you would not have been able to amass the fortune that you have.

So here’s your calling: it is to state publicly, visibly and repeatedly what your gut has been telling you for weeks if not months: what Barack Obama the President is doing is NOT what you expected him to do based on his presidential campaign; that you made a mistake in judgment when you endorsed Obama; that you do NOT support him any longer; that you believe Americans of the left, middle and right need to unite to oppose, reverse and rescind the Obama agenda, immediately. (See “Not the Obama We Knew; Not the Government We Chose" ).

Before you go into self-justification/rationalization mode, just note that we’ve heard your public comments expressing various levels of ‘concern’ about Obama’s direction regarding: (1) card check; (2) the vilification of corporate jets and those who own and use them; (3) cap-and-trade as hidden taxation; and (4) the lawless cramdown of Chrysler’s secured lenders. Each time we’ve also noticed that you express your concern and sometimes opposition, but scramble quickly to reaffirm your belief that nevertheless “Obama is the right guy” and/or engage in some kind of ‘well, gee, I can see both sides of the argument’ hedging in order to give Obama cover and keep yourself out of the radical left’s line-of-fire.

We won’t claim to have your level of business experience, but we have some, and we’ve spent plenty of time with very bright business leaders like you. And our take from listening to your comments is that you know damn well that what Obama is doing is wildly out of control and wrong for America. Privately, we’d guess you’re aghast that anyone holding the office of the Presidency could actually think like Obama. And that’s without even commenting on Obama’s actions in other areas of the presidential playground: ordering the closing of Guantanamo Bay without knowing what to do with detainees; releasing dangerous detainees in America; supporting Hamas against Israel; handcuffing our intelligence-gathering capabilities; and on and on.

Sorry to remind you and your conscience, but your endorsement of Obama was an important factor in his election. It provided credibility to Obama’s economic ‘expertise’; it gave comfort to many voters who weren’t all that sure but decided ‘if Warren Buffett is okay with him, then I guess I can ignore my doubts’.

Well, it’s now pretty evident to any serious person that the Obama of the campaign was a fraud. But of course that’s too harsh a word for civil discourse, and since we’re all supposed to believe in the almighty popularity polls, no one with any visibility in the leadership circles of America will stand up and say it.

Frankly, we can’t blame you for wanting to run from anything so confrontational. Most people would. Plus, you’re getting up there in years, and a gentle rocking of the boat must seem infinitely wiser and safer than calling a fraud a fraud. The courage it would take for you to stand up to the radical left’s vitriol—a ‘senile old man’ would be their gentlest sobriquet if you were to denounce Obama, and death threats would be abundant—is orders of magnitude above the courage required for tough business negotiations. And who knows—maybe you still can’t quite come around to the fact that this guy fooled you; you still want to believe he can ‘grow’ in office. Maybe you really believe we're dealing with shades of gray, and not right and wrong.

But here’s hoping you’ll acknowledge the truth and find the courage. We think the stakes for America and the world are much higher than most of us want to believe. We think we really are at an American Revolutionary moment—a moment when a new group of patriots are going to have to pledge lives, fortunes and sacred honor to stop this George Soros’ directed destruction of America and her Constitution. A second American Revolution is needed.

Your voice would be the second ‘shot heard ‘round the world’. As soon as you step up and state the obvious, hundreds of other leaders will shed their fears and join the chorus. The Obama popularity balloon will be punctured, once and for all, and the radical left agenda will be derailed. America will remain alive as the last best hope for mankind.

Yes, we know it’s easy for us to tell others what they ought to do, when who knows whether, if we were in your position and at risk of losing everything, we would have the courage to do what we ask you to do. But we’re pretty sure John Hancock did have that level of courage when he put his signature on the Declaration of Independence in large enough letters so even the King could read it. America would be grateful if you would rise to John Hancock’s stature.

There’s still time to do the right thing.

Sincerely yours,

Paul Gable

Posted May 7, 2009