Young editorial was way off base

To the editor,

Your editorial of 16 October (“Time for Alaska to put Young out to Pasture”) calls for the retirement of Rep. Young because of politically incorrect comments (surprise!) he’s made concerning marriage, school discipline (including profanity), immigrants, and probably dozens of other topics.

I don’t remember you calling for VP Biden’s resignation when he dropped an F-bomb on national TV while congratulating President Obama on the ACA bill. Or when he described candidate Obama as “articulate and bright and clean and nice-looking”, which many people took as a racist dog whistle. Nor do I remember any indignation when Sen. Harry Reid said the US would accept a President Obama because he was “light-skinned” and had “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

I don’t cite these examples to be partisan, but to demonstrate that politicians, even when talking about a member of their own party and a sitting President, say dumb things. The voters can decide which are truly offensive and which are just stupid, but there isn’t a politician in this country (of either party) that hasn’t put his foot in his mouth on a least one if not multiple occasions. And personally, I think many of Young’s remarks are part of his “schtick”. Those comments are made deliberately in order to stir a little controversy, gain some attention and publicity and garner a few votes. Pundits, politicians and entertainers have been known to do this occasionally.

Bottom line? If you like Young’s politics and the results he gets for Alaska then vote for him. If you don’t, pick another candidate and work to elect her instead. However, I find it ridiculous that the Frontiersman can publicly praise Young’s vigor, work ethic and the results and money that he gets for Alaska and still call for his retirement because their exquisitely delicate and finely honed sense of political correctness is offended.

As Rep. Young would say: Don’t be a d**khead.

Paul Scheideberg

Palmer