ANOTHER VIEW: LA Times columnist's account is not representative of all Kern Republicans
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Sharon Thomas
Wow! After reading the recent piece by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez ("LA man comes over Grapevine, gets an earful," published Feb. 15 in The Californian), it must be true that the fiscal conservative is, indeed, a dying breed in Kern County. Obviously, The Californian's own Christine Bedell's knowledge of conservatives extends to only those few names that she gave to Lopez. And while Lopez prefaces his article with the statement that his poll may have a wide margin of error, somehow Kern County is once again branded with an ultra-conservative label of Republicans.
I wasn't at the house of Rosalyn Strode, so I can only rely upon Lopez's stellar reporting of that meeting. Did anyone else notice the smugness of his reporting of that meeting? He purposefully elected not to mention to the group about Ronald Reagan's record as our California governor and president on two issues with the premise of not being an impolite guest. Yet he includes the information in the article. For what purpose, other than to make the group appear ignorant? And wow again!
There were eight people at that meeting, and somehow this group is presented as representative of Bakersfield. I am writing to announce that I am a fiscal conservative, who believes in smaller government. I have been a Republican since I registered as such in 1968. And I have voted, other than a few exceptions, a Republican ticket. I support a woman's right to an abortion and the right for gays to marry. I believe that there are millions of illegal immigrants, not only in California, but throughout our country, and the only rational way to deal with this issue is to create a path to citizenship.
When George W. Bush proposed such a plan, and nothing passed, my heart began to break. Even though I didn't vote for Barack Obama, my heart lifted because my belief was that the immigration issue would now be resolved. But alas, even with a majority of Democrats in both houses of Congress, the issue was not even addressed. I wonder if Lopez is aware of those facts. After scanning his article again, nope, nary a word. Hmmm? Oh, and by the way, Social Security and Medicare do need to be revamped, as well as does the Department of Defense. The welfare-to-work program installed by the Bush presidency has unfortunately expired, but needs to be reinstated. No one group should be singled out or excluded.
I believe, just as Strode does, that Obama needs to be defeated. Where we disagree is that I believe that Mitt Romney is the person who has the best chance of defeating Obama. What's curious is that Lopez seems to infer there is no one in Kern County like me. I refuse to believe that. All moderates need to speak out now. Give your voice and prove that we Republicans are a diverse group indeed. It is time to refute the closed minds of those Democrats who believe Republicans are of single mind, and prove that all Republicans are a thinking, mindful group of people, no matter that we may be right, moderate or somewhere in the middle.
Sharon H. Thomas of Bakersfield is the wife of former U.S. Rep. Bill Thomas, who retired as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Another View is a critical response to a previous editorial, column or news story.
