The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 2 of 15)

I have heard of Congressional Senators taking the safe route, but Mrs. Dole has carried this to extremes. I suppose we North Carolinians were spoiled by Jesse Helms, who made no secret of his political views, or even Mrs. Dole's husband Bob, who at least made minor waves from time to time. But does Mrs. Dole even venture out of her office and if she does it is in incognito?

I have corresponded with Mrs. Dole's office by email about her stance on illegal immigration, and they respond by sending me a generic flyer on petroleum. These flyers are nothing more than generic middle of the road statements by Mrs. Dole, but I'm getting the strange feeling that some of the information that Mrs. Dole includes, she still thinks she is in charge of the Red Cross. Her statements in her flyer are so wishy-washy that when opened the print jumps up in fear and runs to the back page.

p>North Carolinians had such high hopes for Mrs. Dole to make political fireworks in Washington, D.C., but unfortunately she has been a damp match unable to light a fire under any issue. North Carolina's only hope is that the Republican Party can field a more of a self-starter type candidate, which by all indications of the off year election will be compared to building the Hoover Dam with a teaspoon. br> -- Melvin L. Leppla br> Jacksonville, North Carolina /p>

I'll keep this short. Mr. Babbin asks some interesting questions and makes some interesting points. I have always wondered why Congressional Republicans try to run as Democrats. But, for some reason, that seems to be what they do.

Elections in this country have been decided upon national issues since 2001 and they will be this year. For the foreseeable future, local issues will be national security issues. And the Dems know this. Their problem is that they cannot win primaries by campaigning as being more aggressive on national defense then their Republican adversaries. And, to win general elections, they have to be just that. The Republicans cannot seem to understand this and so run as Democrats, thereby giving voters no discernible choice at the polls.

Once again, as in 2004, a dangerous world loon has begun campaigning for the Republicans. Kim Jong-Il has taken it upon himself to give the Republican candidates a shot in the arm. Though they have dropped the ball on border protection, tax relief, and fiscal responsibility, they have a golden opportunity to make up all that lost ground by reminding the voters that there are very bad people in the world that have vowed to destroy America and have the means to do it. Whether they seize this opportunity remains to be seen. The Democrats, thanks to all the time and effort that they have spent cultivating the moonbat left to be their base, cannot modify their stance on national defense very much. This fact, when coupled with a spirited campaign for national defense by the Republican candidates, will sink most Democratic candidates at the polls. Look to Sen. Joe Lieberman as an example; shot down in the primary, but likely to win the general.

But lest this strategy be, ultimately, in vain, the Republicans will have to remember what got them elected. Security. And they will have to deliver, because the dangerous loons of the world are not some Election Day boogieman, they actually exist and they actually have to be defeated.

p>There are "games" and then there are Games. And the National Security Game is the most important one being played, at the moment. And politicians of every stripe have to remember that easily half the players are outside the United States and play that game accordingly. Winning a Congressional seat is useless if your constituents glow in the dark. br> -- Michael Tobias br> Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

topics:
Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, Supreme Court, Military, Iraq, Iran, NATO, North Korea, Socialism, Immigration, Oil