A sickening sense that it just might work again Had they a shred of conscience, the Republicans would have used their convention to beg the forgiveness of the American people. They would have announced a temporary withdrawal from politics, to search their souls for what went wrong and find their way back to conservatism's honorable principles.
Instead, we saw the same old puppetry of Karl Rove -- from Mitt Romney to Rudy Giuliani to Mike Huckabee to Sarah Palin, a succession of speeches obscene in their thuggish sarcasm, disrespect for decent people, dishonesty and complete unconcern for the lives ordinary people are trying to live. The delegates, of course, loved it. The media loved it too, since bullies are way cooler than people who actually care about stuff. But among friends and neighbors, I have found an overwhelming anger at what the Republicans are willing to do to our country to keep their patrons in power, and a sense of dread that it just might work again.
Which brings us to John McCain, who emerged at the crescendo of this ugliness to, laughably, declare himself the agent of change (which the Strib dutifully printed in banner headlines, as though he meant it). The presidential nominee steers the convention, meaning one of two things is true. Either McCain gave control of the proceedings over to Rove, showing that he has no leadership to exercise and that, like George W. Bush before him, he would be content as a figurehead for the same set of private and ideological interests that have laid waste to our republic for the past eight years. Or this stagecraft was McCain's, demonstrating that his only interest is to win, that he is happy to cultivate ignorance, fear and thuggery if it will get him there, and that "principle" is a word long vanished from his vocabulary. Perhaps he can tell us which it is.
CHUCK HOLTMAN, MINNEAPOLIS
Selection of Palin brings joy and excitement I must say I cried tears of joy when I heard that an Alaskan governor, named Sarah, was to join the McCain team. A young woman! A mother of 5! A Down syndrome child! A governor! What history we will have with the two of them in the Oval Office. I am excited, more now than ever, to see a Republican victory!
DONNA BURCH, RUSH CITY, MINN.
Another side to the youth vote Wy Spano says in his recent commentary ("Young voters are suspicious of GOP," Sept. 2) that the youth vote is increasingly turned off by the Republicans' conservative social policies. In fact, he correctly posits that this platform is supported by only a minority group within the GOP.
As a young voter myself, I believe that there is another side to this issue: Young voters are politically energized by polarizing social issues. Moreover, they typically lack the basic economic insights necessary to understand that liberal fiscal policies that increase taxes, regulation and social insurance programs, while usually well-intentioned, generally stagnate economic growth, leaving society's poor dependent on the state, rather than themselves, for their well-being. Conversely, the conservative fiscal platform of low taxes, limited government regulation, free trade and market competition results in increased wealth and prosperity for everybody, most importantly for society's poorest members.
ELIZABETH JACOBSON, MANKATO; UNIVERSITY STUDENT
Media were wrong to emphasize violent protesters As somebody who proudly participated in the anti-war march on Labor Day, I'm not sure what I'm more upset by: the small number of protesters who intentionally provoked violent clashes with the police, or the media who focused on them and ignored the story of the thousands and thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds who peacefully and passionately called for an end to a morally corrupt administration and war.
ANNAMAY SNYDER, MINNEAPOLIS
Beware the bill for police mistreatment On behalf of the many nonviolent and patriotic citizens who were so rudely and brutally mistreated by the police, we wish to thank the taxpayers of Minnesota in advance for subsidizing these righteous causes for millions of dollars in damages that folks will likely obtain through the courts.
We don't enjoy getting physically abused, arrested and detained without cause, searched without warrants, vehicles and property impounded or watching journalists locked up. But we will defend with honor our Constitution and your liberties from abuses by the government. Keep defending (and ignoring) the police abuses at your own peril.
MICHAEL BEER, WASHINGTON, D.C.
What's worse than war In this time of protesters, I think it would be beneficial to recall the thoughts of a great British philosopher on the topic:
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
-- John Stuart Mill
MARTIN R. WELLENS, SHOREWOOD
