Right wing just spoiling for a fight

10/15/2005

OK, now I think I actually have heard everything.

In her Oct. 11 column, Mona Charen suggests that the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court by President Bush is the "fault" of liberal Democrats - that she was only nominated to appease the left.

She buttresses her argument by contending that liberal senators (unlike their conservative colleagues) only vote for liberal justices.

Ms. Charen conveniently seems to have forgotten that Antonin Scalia was confirmed 98-0 by the Senate in 1986.

Ms. Charen's blatant distortion of facts is yet another example of how right-wing extremists in this country actually view the truth - when it doesn't fit the ideology, ignore it.

I don't presume to know why President Bush chose to nominate Harriet Miers, but I don't think it was to appease liberals (I suspect the President would agree with me on that). The fact is, the Republican right wing wanted a fight and President Bush didn't let them have it.

At a time when the United States needs to unify against foreign threats and heal the internal wounds caused by recent natural disasters, the Republican right wing wants an ideological civil war, despite the damage it will do to the country.

Unfortunately, those right-wing Republicans are playing right into the hands of our enemies.

Russell Gerney

Brighton Avenue

I'm really feeling sorry for the Republican Party.

I was a Republican in the 1980s before becoming an independent and have always looked to the party for things like fiscal responsibility, intelligent leadership, and conservative ideals. I'm afraid that is all gone now.

The saddest part is watching as friends and others who I once respectfully listened to continue to try to defend what the Republican Party has become.

Their arguments have grown ridiculous and bizarre.

They look and sound more like the supporters who stood out in front of the courthouse at the Michael Jackson trial every day.

Robert William Russ

Oregon

Perhaps testing for drugs and alcohol would thin the field of candidates for public office even further. Everyone from professional athletes to fast food workers must pass that test; why not politicians? Could anything else explain the way they act sometimes?

Bradley G. Berger

Oregon