Here are a couple of good letters-to-the-editor. peace, mjh
ABQJOURNAL OPINION/LETTERS: Letters to the Editor
GOP Going Down as It Heads Far Right
THE NOMINATION of Steve Pearce, Darren White and Ed Tinsley and the election of Pat Rogers as GOP national committeeman indicates that the extreme right wing has taken control of the Republican Party.
The Republican Party of Sen. Pete Domenici, Gov. David Cargo and Rep. Heather Wilson no longer exists. That party as we knew it is gone with the wind. The positions of these candidates as promoted in their advertising are as far right as any candidate has ever taken in New Mexico. The extreme right-wing views of Rogers are known to everybody who has followed politics in this state.
This move to the far right will have dire consequences and may well cost the GOP a Senate and a House seat. Any chance of retaking the governor’s mansion will also be affected.
For those who think that the election of John McCain will move the party to the center, forget about it. The senator, to placate the so-called base, has begun pandering to it with a flip flop on such issues as Roe vs. Wade, tax cuts — which he twice opposed — and immigration. So much for the “straight talk express.”
I see nothing but disaster for the GOP so long as it insists on promoting extreme right-wing views and candidates.
BOB BACA AlbuquerqueRanchers Don’t Own Our Public Lands
LIKE THE majority of residents in New Mexico and Arizona, I am in favor of the wolf-reintroduction program. Wolves are a distinct, unique part of our natural heritage. They never should have been eliminated and should be reintroduced in a way that will allow them to successfully sustain a permanent population.
The Endangered Species Act should not be sabotaged by a radical minority, which represents a special interest. Of course the interests of cattle ranchers must be taken into consideration, but they cannot be allowed to doom the program to failure. That is what is currently happening.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just pick and choose the laws we personally want to follow? But that’s not the way America works. Most cattle ranching is done on public lands. Those are our public lands. I would like to see all cattle ranching done on private lands, but that is not the law. When people from areas where cattle ranching is a way of life come to the big city, they have the same right to use public facilities and infrastructures as everyone else. For them to claim that I should have no say on how my public lands are used, simply because I don’t live nearby, is very wrong. …
DANNY RUPPERT Albuquerque