Winston-Salem Journal LTE SA 10/20/12

Editorial board

In reference to John Railey’s Oct. 14 column “We’re the editorial board, and we approved this message,” and the photo of the members of the board, how disappointing but not surprising to view the all-male board.

ANNETTE LANCE

Winston-Salem

Representative

The writer of the Oct. 13 letter “A proud Republican” misses the point.

In replying to the letter “Hard-right takeover” (Sept. 18) from a woman who has left the Republican Party, she touts some of the party’s past achievements — and she’s right about them. But all of those achievements are at least 50 years in the past. The woman she’s replying to left the party because it’s not like that anymore. Maybe the Republicans supported the Voting Rights Act when it was introduced, but many of them are trying to pull the rug out from under it now.

Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan are the representatives of today’s Republican Party.

They’re not standing up for anyone’s rights; one wrote off 47 percent of the country and the other 30 percent. Their economic policies shift more money from the poor to the rich — redistributing wealth — and nothing they’ve proposed would reduce the deficit. They would both like to eliminate our traditional social safety net, which would plunge even more Americans into poverty.

Today’s Republican Party is not the one that either letter writer admires. If the Republican Party represented today what the writer of “A proud Republican” says it once represented, I’d want to join it myself.

BOBBY FIELDS

Winston-Salem

Flawed survey

The Journal did a disservice in reporting the results of a survey conducted by the N.C. Bar Association purporting to evaluate district court judges running for re-election. The results of the survey are flawed (“Candidates differ on evaluations,” Oct. 9).

Full disclosure: I am an attorney. Except for one case presently pending, I never have practiced before the district court. Some of Forsyth’s County’s judges are friends; more are acquaintances. I endorse no candidate. I have had substantial experience evaluating surveys.

The survey reportedly was sent to all of the approximately 20,000 North Carolina lawyers, including more approximately 1,100 who have addresses in the 21st Judicial District (Forsyth County). Of those receiving the survey, 4,278 (about 20 percent) statewide responded and less than 300 (less than 30 percent) of the local bar responded.

While the absolute number of respondents is significant, it is the nature of those respondents that damn the survey. Those who responded do not represent a random sample. They self-selected their participation and that makes them different from the overwhelming majority of their colleagues who chose not to participate.

Did those who responded have an interest in skewing the results? Some of the candidates have numerous colleagues who may have participated with a view toward helping them. This could be done by providing very low ratings.

The survey was flawed. The bar association never should have released the results; the Journal never should have reported them without explanation.

GUY BLYNN

Winston-Salem

The path for America

No matter what the networks and Super PACs think, we know we aren't voting on who is most charismatic or better at slinging barbs in a debate. We'll be deciding what kind of country we want America to be.

What the Republicans seem to be promoting, for those of us who can afford it, is insulating ourselves inside a heavily-guarded gated community.

Let's all sock away our money, hoard resources and paint the poor, minorities and immigrants as drains on the nation instead of embracing them as integral parts of a vibrant, dynamic society. Let's restrict the rights of individuals we deem unworthy while bestowing privilege on those who already have it in abundance.

Those who believe they can thrive in this environment, good luck. But it's not the path I want America to take.

I want the America that tries to elevate the standard of living for all its people. The one that recognizes retaining our superpower status means more than having the largest military complex on earth, it also means leading the world in our infrastructure, innovation, talent, productivity and integrity. Fiscal responsibility and social compassion do not have to be mutually exclusive; we can have both.

I'm voting for the people I believe will best stand behind working families, who want us to have the best-educated workforce and the healthiest citizens in the world, and who believe that America's strength is in its diversity and its heart. I am voting for Elisabeth Motsinger for 5 th Congressional District.

MELODY THOMSON

Winston-Salem

Stunning events

The stunning events in Bengahzi, Libya on Sept. 11 showcase the vacuum of leadership in the White House. Testimony before a congressional hearing by state department officials on Oct. 10 confirm a situation where our Libyan consulate was virtually defenseless even though our ambassador had requested (and was denied) more security.

After the death of four Americans, President Obama and his representatives (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, White House press secretary Jay Carney, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, etc.) blamed the attack on reaction to an obscure anti-Muslim video rather than on radical Islamist terrorists' hatred for the United States. This cover-up went on for days.

Such a tragedy and the administration's response speaks volumes about a foreign policy of weakness where our enemies become fearless and our allies become fearful. Obama's domestic policies have been ineffective and costly. His foreign policy is inept and downright dangerous.

MARY LOU WILSON

Winston-Salem

Against Obama

I plan to vote against President Obama because:

He hates the nitty-gritty work of governance. In “The Price of Politics,” Bob Woodward describes how this president’s strong distaste for the governing process contributed significantly to the rancor surrounding passage of the Affordable Care Act, the collapse of congressional debt negotiations and the current political gridlock in Washington. Obama seems to like the bright spotlight of the presidency but not the hard work.

His rhetoric and policies are hurting business. Whether he’s demonizing Wall Street and big oil, using the National Labor Relations Board to block Boeing’s South Carolina plant or ordering the EPA to stop the Keystone pipeline, Obama is killing the animal spirits that lead business to invest capital and hire more workers.

His foreign policy is a disaster. Al-Qaida, described by the president as “severely weakened,” is attacking our embassies around the world. The Taliban is emboldened in Afghanistan by our announced pull-out date. Iran is racing toward a nuclear capability unfazed by economic sanctions. Israel is preparing for war. Yet, our president refused to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu in September.

He refuses accountability. Presidents Clinton and Bush both compromised to pass legislation through an opposition-controlled Congress. President Obama continues to blame Congress and President Bush for our problems, claiming no culpability of his own.

He said if he didn’t fix the economy in four years, he didn’t deserve another term. I agree.

SCOTT RHODES

Clemmons