Columnist gets it right

I am writing to commend Will Wood for his Commentary (April 24, 2022), “I am a Republican because…” in which he artfully sets out why he laments the decline of the party he originally joined and why he abhors the new devolution in his party to VLPs, Very Loud People.

As a Center Left Democrat my whole life I have treasured the social justice role that my party champions but I have also respected the emphasis on self-reliance that has been the hallmark of the

Republican philosophy. Indeed, at times, I have speculated that the ideal would be a combination of the two, a philosophy of self- help combined with a recognition that some Monopoly players were not lucky on the roll of the dice and ended up with just Mediterranean Avenue to work with.

While I did not vote for George W. Bush, I thought his new Compassionate

Conservatism sounded worthy. Hopefully, he actually implemented it in his policy efforts but truthfully I cannot remember any instance of it.

In this interim while we wait for a new election, it saddens me that the GOP has nothing better to offer than promoting a flat out lie which everyone knows is just that, while paying homage to a former president so dysfunctional that he seems passionately obsessed with spreading falsehood whenever and wherever he can — and amazingly some otherwise normal people are believing him. Mr. Wood is insightful to say that the differences between the two parties are now a matter of principle and character.

I join him in hoping that the majority of voters come to the polls to express their principles and character instead of their delusions. Here’s a final thought. Maybe it would help if some of the Republicans’ most outstanding VLPs were to read “Blind Ambition” by John Dean, famed convert to virtue from Watergate.

Bill O’Brien, Consciousness Coach Ambler