Editor:
You've really pissed me off this time. Your article "Incumbent Symington Wins" (Nov. 9) sounds like a trumpet to the apocalypse. Throughout the entire article, there is nothing but a dark picture of the future painted by the Republican victories registered on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
All the opinions are distinctly one-sided. The statement by Dan Benavidez is almost slanderous in its content, implying that Kyl is a member of the KKK. Benavidez was also quoted as saying,"If we are going to give the Republicans control of the Senate we should at least make them work for it. What voters have to look forward to now is gridlock and deadlock." What a bunch of bullshit! Deadlock and gridlock have occurred for the past 14 years, mainly from the Democratically controlled Congress. Maybe the reason the Republicans carried the day is that the people have seen 14 years of Democratic Congress and two years of Democratic policies that promised the world but delivered nothing, leaving most middle-income families with less total income and higher taxes. Perhaps the people (the ones who VOTED IN the Republicans) want something that isn't a Democratic economic policy.
Petri Darby is quoted as saying,". Symington hasn't had a commitment to education and we aren't looking forward to four more years." Symington has had an outstanding devotion to the welfare of the state as a whole. The economy is growing, and Tucson has been projected as being the next phone center of the country. I have two friends who are now employed from this acquisition of our state business. Needless to say, they were working menial part-time jobs or living at home while being unemployed. Now, both earn a good deal of money and can start supporting themselves and they feel a lot better about themselves. Education will be a priority, but it will not show immediate effects. It will pay off.
The most bothersome aspect of this article is the negative light it paints of the future. It seems like now that the Republicans have control of Congress and Symington has been re-elected, Earth will fly off its axis and crash into the sun. Not once was a Kyl worker interviewed to get their views on the future. Kolbe's comment seems to be the only positive aspect of the Republican takeover, but it follows up two whole columns of gloom and doom.
The Democrats had total control of Congress and the Executive Suite for two years and the reaction of the people was so strong to Clinton's leadership that the Republican ideology caught hold in the people. Now the people want to try something new. I didn't throw a tantrum when Clinton was elected, so why don't you just relax and ride through your party's stormy tide. I know I've had to weather it for the past six years.
The article also sparks within me an ill-reaction to the double standard imposed by liberals about tolerance. Liberals are always pounding on our doors demanding that we be tolerant to people who are different (gay, HIV-positive, eccentrics, etc.). I have no real problem with such people. But people are intolerant of me because I am pro-life, Republican, male and Catholic. When I mention that I am Catholic, I receive a barrage of comments about how bad Catholicism is and how closed-minded I am because of my religion. Nobody bothers to ask me why I am Catholic or why I am pro-life or why I register Republican. Instead, they lump me in with their stereotypes and talk "at" me rather than "to" me. I have had my fill of being treated with zero-tolerance because I took the time to rationalize my beliefs and live by something other than what the media proclaims to be the "proper" and "correct" way of living. Tolerate "my" choice of living and don't force your doctrines down my throat. If I want to know more about a subject, I'll ask and make an informed decision.
Mike Ruane
Chemistry Senior