Letter Of The Week: "Republican Revolts"

I've actually found two great letters today. One you will find below, the other gets special honour in being awarded letter of the week. The letter is by Steven Kroll of Crystal Bay and was published in the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza:

Jim Clark perfectly illustrates the present-day Republican approach to dealing with America's problems at home and abroad: just change the subject.

Death, destruction, and a massive hemorrhaging of this nation's treasury and respect in the world? Talk about gay marriage; talk about flag burning. Asked to address the tragedy and outrage of Guantanamo Bay, Mr. Clark launches into a riff about the American Civil War that has nothing to do with the issue until - as if reminded that this was to be an article about Gitmo - the writer abruptly concludes that his "history lesson" teaches us to "Stay the course with bulldog tenacity and ignore your detractors. It will all end happily ever after."

As a registered Republican, I have to say Mr. Clark does not speak for me. Ours is not a "trust me" dictatorship, but a democracy whose ultimate power lies with the people. It is we who bear the responsibility for the actions taken in our name, and we who must feel individual shame for what Mr. Clark's opposite number, Andy Whyman, calls "an American Gulag," in his thoughtful analysis of the Guantanamo's blight. Citizens burying their head in the sand in blissful certainty that their great leader will make everything come out all right is what happens in North Korea, not the United States of America.

I usually vote for the person, not the party. But voters need to send a loud and unmistakable message that they are in charge, so the next election will see this Republican vote a straight party line ... Democrat.