Matthew Vannette

Mr. Hasenmiller’s opinion piece in the Nov. 11 edition of the ISU Daily offers clear support for one of his points: The skills required to be a journalist do not include logic. I do apologize to the real journalists for lumping Mr. Hasenmiller in with you, as he does not so much report information as he consistently spouts neo-conservative party line mantra without any deference to the facts.

Perhaps the real reason the Republicans lost this election cycle so convincingly is that the so-called conservative party has strayed so far from true conservatism that it is unrecognizable. The current incarnation of the Republican party is so focused on social issues that it has completely forgotten its foundations, in fiscal responsibility and control of the government, other than to pay them lip service. If recent Republican economic policies are so very effective at helping the economy grow, why is it that in the past three decades the only time the federal budget was balanced was under the Clinton administration? Too, if the Republican party is concerned with national defense, why has the military gone so far toward privatization under George W. Bush? I call your attention to Blackwater as the most egregious incident of this. And if Republican ideology is tied to the Constitution, why has this President done everything in his control to consolidate an inordinate amount of governing power in the Oval Office?

Contrary to Mr. Hasenmiller’s thesis, a vote for the Republicans this time around was a vote based on emotion and base instincts rather than thought. One definition of lunacy is to repeat the same procedure and expect a different outcome. Logic dictates that if results are to be different, then what is done must change. The inverse of the aphorism ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is incredibly apt here. Our government — in particular the Executive Branch — is broken. The American people voted to try to fix it.

Matthew Vannette

Graduate Student

Physics and Astronomy