Republicans deserve scrutiny

I wanted to write in response to your editorial on Aug. 5.

Never before have I been this upset with an otherwise great news agency, and for good reason. A paper's news coverage is an extension of the philosophy of it's editorial staff and especially its managing editor. Your predecessor had his faults, but not one of them was taking sides using a medium designed and intended for unbiased coverage.

Editorial strength is determined not by how strongly an opinion is argued, but by how many arguments are listened to. Your editorial failed to acknowledge the validity of the position of the Democratic candidates and the Alaska Democratic Party in general in regard to ethics. Instead, you tried to discredit their message by disparaging the messengers. Editorial leadership truly welcomes all opinions by focusing on debates and not the debaters. Consider the merit of the other point of view and then form an editorial opinion on fact and logic, not emotion and affection.

Ethical behavior should not be the goal of an elected official, it should be the entry fee and mandate. The goal of that elected person should always be the fair and equal representation of his or her electorate. When your objective is self-serving, then you focus on serving self. Focusing on how to appear ethical requires concentration on personal image, not measuring the achieved objectives on behalf of your constituents.

You claim that the freezer shouldn't be judged by freezer burn on one steak. But we aren't talking one bad steak. These charges came not from a Democrat or an Independent or a Green, but from registered Republicans telling the feds that they were bribing those individuals.

That is not a black eye or a bruise, that is the stench in the trough of the sty that our Legislature has become. In the history of Alaska, I can think of no Democrat legislator that has been convicted — heck, even indicted — on any bribery charges. Over the past decade, no Democrat has been forced to resign to avoid prosecution or recall. Yet, in one year at least five current and former Republican legislators have been. Once you achieve three it's no longer a coincidence or an inconvenience — it's a felony.

We do need change. Regardless of the party, regardless of the tenure, every person needs to judge their representation and see if it fits their wants and needs.

Christian M. Hartley

Willow

Chair District 15

Democratic Party