To the Editor:
Born and raised in Gettysburg, I went into the U.S. Navy following high school and returned home after that service; that was followed by two years of a pre-engineering curricula at Northern State Teachers College and two academic years at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, receiving my Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering. I have great memories of my birth state and return as often as time and budget allows ... but always for the opening of pheasant season.
Continuously registered as a Republican since 1962, I worked with many staunch Republicans, all of whom would fight like heck to reinforce their party's values but had abiding respect for the views of members of the opposing party. It seems that this caliber of elected officials no longer exists.
Here's my take on current conditions at the National level: A Republican-controlled Senate that 1. Fails to hold a hearing on a U.S. Supreme Court nominee; 2. Is anti-science; 3. Delays budget approval; 4. Fails to enact a Federal minimum wage above poverty levels, and egregiously (on the part of some members, including South Dakota's John Thune); 5. Sent a letter to Iranian leaders pleading for Iran to reject the Nuclear Pact; this action seems akin to aiding and abetting; and 6. Maintains an attitude that rejects any kind of cooperation or compromise.
And to worsen matters, my party now has an absolute nincompoop egomaniac as its Presidential nominee!
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As your readers will sense, I am not very pleased at my party's leaders at the federal level. I'm voting mostly for Democrats this time around and urging others to do the same. Strange as it seems, by electing more Democrats, we may provide an antidote to the Republican Party.
William Sheldon
Tucson, Ariz.
