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Local
developer's letter on Iraq war gets attention far beyond USA Today
Central Coast developer Cliff Branch has found himself at the center of an Internet storm because he paid $44,000 to USA Today to publish a letter opposing the Iraq war and the leadership of the Bush administration. The letter ran in a large advertisement in the E section of USA Today on Oct. 27. Branch said he chose a Friday because the circulation of the national newspaper is the highest and reaches "every train, every plane and every hotel room in the country." Interviewed by phone at his San Luis Obispo office, Branch said he had not anticipated the notoriety the advertisement would bring. His letter has been repeated on blogs and message boards across the country, including the one run by Veterans Against the Iraq War. "The letter speaks for itself," he said. "I wrote a letter to the editor one morning, and then I decided to publish it in USA Today instead of my local paper." The letter describes Branch feeling haunted by events in Iraq and getting up to write a letter at 5 a.m., decrying the fact that 20,000 Americans have been killed or injured in the war. The number of American Iraq war dead is about 2,800, and about 21,000 have been wounded, according to recent news reports. He emphasized in the letter and an interview with The Tribune that his opinions come from his heart. "I should explain that I'm not affiliated with any group or party: I paid for this space out of my own pocket," he wrote in the letter. "I'm just one voice from a small town who feels that our brave troops deserve better leadership." The Cal Poly alumnus lives in San Luis Obispo. Branch has owned a stereo warehouse business and a spa business, and he currently develops properties around the county. He is not the former wide receiver of Oakland Raiders fame, though he has found that some responding to the letter assume he is the more famous Cliff Branch. He said his goal in writing the letter was to inspire those concerned about the state of the country to turn out and vote Tuesday. "I have gotten calls from people I haven't heard from for 30 years," Branch said. "Ninety percent of what I have received has been very encouraging and supportive. Five percent has been pretty much -- let's just say they don't agree. Five percent has been really nasty, attacking me personally and that kind of stuff." |
