"The tide of junk mail from irate Republicans suddenly abated and in its wake came a few pleasant letters from Republicans who said, "Don't judge us all by the extremists." These are the Republicans I know from my youth, those moderate, business-minded civic boosters and unapologetic patriots who were the linchpins and bulwarks of small towns across the Midwest, the enthusiastic backers of projects for the civic good, usually in partnership with the town liberals (the librarian, the bar owner, a lawyer or two, the Methodist minister, the banker's wife). These Republicans were uniters and diehard optimists and persons of compassionate conscience, inveterate doers of good deeds. They're still around, doing good deeds and working for their communities, but here in Minnesota their party got shanghaied by the religious right and they became the party that waved photographs of bloody embryos, and it took the moderates a long time to reassert themselves. When Republicans set themselves up as a religious party, they get very scary. Their strongest appeal is to common sense and decency and to civic optimism. Anyway, those are the Republicans I know, and the fine folks who've been filling up Mr. Blue's mailbox are another species entirely, characters out of Flannery O'Connor. Interesting folks but not ones you'd want on the school board."Yes: "uniters and diehard optimists and persons of compassionate conscience, inveterate doers of good deeds." Those are the Republicans I know, too. Surely they won't stay quiet forever.
http://www.brecheen.org/cbrecheen/Entry2001-02-24.htm; © 2001 Cole Brecheen; All Rights Reserved.