THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610260015
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 27 lines
This is it, my friends. No longer shall I identify with the Republican Party. Oh, I shall continue to vote for conservative (read Republican) candidates. But no longer will I go door-to-door, make phone calls or run up and down the aisles of convention halls shouting myself hoarse.
Over the last two years, I have watched the party snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A party that will tear itself apart over parochial issues, rather than unite against the common foe, does not deserve my support and effort.
What happened to the ``big tent'' that elected Bush? The Reagan Democrats? Nixon's ``Silent Majority''? All the people who liked Ike? I'll tell you. Alienated, chased off by constant bickering over abortion, prayer, pornography and a slew of items best settled on a local or personal basis.
Ronald Reagan left us a party united behind two ideas: defense of this country and free-market capitalism. How was one man able to adhere to his principles? First, by having some. Second, by compromising when needed in order to advance his goals.
DAVID L. BOLTON
Norfolk, Oct. 16, 1996 by CNB