David vs. Goliath

Dear editor:

I never thought l would say this, but I’m going to vote for Democratic challenger Hayden Shamel in November over incumbent Donald Westerman. And I’ve been a lifelong Republican.

But I don’t believe Westerman represents the conservative values of our district any more. He has twice voted against common sense gun registration measures, and voted to federalize and effectively open up a huge part of the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, which would allow millions of protected acres to be manipulated for oil pipelines and big game hunting by wealthy people. That particular piece of legislation actually allows “hunting from helicopters” and “gassing of wolf cubs while in their dens.” I’m no tree hugger or PETA member, but that’s not what someone from The Natural State should endorse.

I’ve come to realize that Westerman’s primary loyalty is to big business and the wealthy. I get it. That’s who pays the bills, via campaign contributions. But we need checks and balances, and from his voting record, Westerman seems to be a political puppet for Donald Trump, a man who is neither a Republican nor Democrat, just a narcissistic, pathological teller of falsehoods. We need people in Congress immediately who will provide a check to Trump’s turning of the White House into a dictatorship.

I realize Shamel is a novice politically, with an underfinanced and poorly run campaign. But she’s a two-decade public school teacher, and I think she brings ample intelligence and integrity, something sorely missing in Washington.

It’s David vs. Goliath, I get that. But we all get one stone to use in November. I’m going to hand mine to David.