In reply to “Say no to whiny, childish behavior” by Ken McCalip (March 19):
I love reading the Sun, but lately it has me laughing almost every week. The articles get crazier, and the justifications people use get more far-fetched. I laugh at the lengths some go to, as the author points out, show their own “childish behavior.” For the record, I didn’t vote for Chris Mitchum, nor would I vote for Lois Capps in any possible scenario. Heck, I even considered running, although as an average citizen I would have had no chance versus her Washington machine. I found this commentary childish, boorish, and comical at best.
Is Mitchum a sore loser? Probably—but hey, welcome to politics. I love his example: Al Gore’s “gracious high road” behavior after he lost his election, forgetting the road show he embarked on for years after this. It’s like 15 years later, and the liberals are still hurt by the outcome. Gore is the same guy who claimed he “invented the Internet” and challenged the election because of hanging chads, as if he knew what people wanted even though they didn’t vote that way. I’d probably use a better example here.
Next is where McCalip’s left-wing “extreme fringe views” falls out for all to see his spin on reality. He calls Mitchum an “extreme right-wing Tea Party-type candidate.” So the Tea Party is “extreme right-wing” because they want the government—not some of it, but all of it—to follow the Constitution. You forgot the “racist” part, and you spelled Teabagger wrong; am I right? His point on “a steady decline of Republican voters in most states” is not even close to the truth. Did you miss the last election? There are more GOP governors and state-run legislatures, and the House of Representatives has more Republicans, since 1929. Just because the working Republicans have left this state doesn’t mean their numbers are going down. Finally, he uses Lois Capps, as if that helps his point. She’s a person who has been in office for more than 20 years now and has done almost nothing to benefit this area, although getting the flood protection must have been a lengthy and drawn-out process.
So the next time you write an opinion piece anywhere, step out of your academic mindset and focus on facts and not emotions. This commentary was so poorly written that I feel bad for you, in that all those degrees you hold have not helped you curb your whiny, childish behavior. Mitchum, regardless of how he does it, has the right to protest any indifferences he sees in connection with his campaign. I’m not saying you have to like it, but at least look at the bigger picture more objectively.
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2015.