I'd like to respond to Michael Schrimpf's article "How Republicans Feel" (Nov. 8). As a Massachusetts liberal, I'd like to thank Mr. Schrimpf for his articulate defense of a conservative national agenda. While I may disagree with many of the policies he champions, they are a reflection of different priorities and are not without merit.
I hesitate to use the word "stupid" to refer to those who helped reelect our president, but I won't deny that many Kerry supporters question the judgment of the Bush supporters around them. Mr. Schrimpf seems to believe that this attitude stems from a difference of opinion on issues. He attempts to defend his choice by defending his belief in traditional conservative values.
What confuses many Kerry supporters is how those who voted for the president fail to identify the disconnect between President Bush and these same conservative values. Are record deficits a conservative value? Is misleading our nation into war a conservative value? Is the dismantling of the first amendment a conservative value? Are no-bid contracts a conservative value? Is imprisonment without trial a conservative value? Is fighting against a 9-11 commission a conservative value? Lastly, Mr. Shrimpf may personally feel that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, but wouldn't the conservative view be to let the states legislate on the issue?
Though some items on the president's agenda are truly conservative, I find it appalling that for these initiatives, supporters are willing to endure the slow erosion of checks and balances and the not-so-slow onset of corruption. Many will claim that as a Clinton supporter, I was willing to endure the erosion of values for the agenda I supported. While I too was appalled at President Clinton's behavior, I make a mighty distinction between sexual indiscretion and misleading a nation into war. When U.S. soldiers lay down their life, justification must be clear, moving and, above all, honest. I shudder at the mention of aluminum tubes or yellow-cake.
I don't expect Mr. Shrimpf to suddenly reverse his position, but I do want to make it clear that Kerry supporters do not think Bush supporters are "stupid" because they disagree about issues.
We are saddened that they might not realize what the man they elected actually stands for. We are terrified that they might.
John Hugg
EN '05
