LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tea Party backers spur shutdown

10/7/2013

The government shutdown is not the result of the inability of Republicans and Democrats to compromise (“No progress on horizon to solve U.S. shutdown; GOP shifts demands; Obama says ‘there’s no winning,’” Oct. 5). There is a procedure for changing a law you don’t like. Shutting down the government is not it.

If Republicans are unable to repeal or restrict Obama-care through constitutionally established rules, they must accept that the Affordable Care Act is law.

The current action is caused by a small number of billionaires and multimillionaires, and their 80 or so House members, who extort compliance from the rest of the House Republicans by threatening them with a primary challenge from the Tea Party in their gerrymandered safe congressional districts.

Financiers of the Tea Party do not care about rules or what is best for the country. Their only concern is getting the government out of their way so they can increase their own wealth and power. That is why the government is shut down.

Reasonable House Republicans and most rank-and-file Republicans need to stand up to these extortionists and reclaim their party. These oligarchs are destroying the Republican Party and the country.

RICHARD SCHULTZ
Monclova Township

Monument issue disrespects vets
Keeping veterans from visiting the World War II Memorial is shameful (“Visiting WWII vets find way to view closed memorial,” Oct. 2). Now President Obama has sent guards to keep veterans away.

This is a memorial paid for and maintained almost entirely by private funds. It is open 24/​7.

Putting up fences and sending guards to prevent veterans, some of whom are more than 90 years old, from visiting shows how little respect the President has for veterans and the Armed Forces in general.

BARBARA WISNIEWSKI
Maumee

 

National parks belong to public
My wife and I visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee just days before the government shutdown. We later saw park rangers placing barricades at park entrances, trails, and walkways.

We do not blame park personnel. We find it disturbing that a few politicians feel they have the right to block access, when the park belongs to the American people.

It was heartening to see some people taking down these barricades to park their cars and motorcycles to hike the trails. How dare any politician barricade our national parks against the American people?

CHRISTOPHER TERRY
Whitehouse

 

Politicians are abandoning public
The integrity of the government is jeopardized by self-interested political leaders who deem themselves above the law. Why are they able to abandon the people they were elected to represent to become puppets for political gain?

Whom should we fear: terrorists or politicians?

SHARIFA HOTCHKISS
Elmhurst Road