GOP: Shut up about social issues

To the editor:

The 2012 election is the most critical vote in the history of the United States. If the Democratic Party retains control of both the Senate and the White House, it will effectively control the destiny of the United States for many years to come, not just the next four years.

Until recently, it appeared the Republican Party was within grasp of recapturing the Senate. But those hopes are fading quickly because Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, a Senate candidate, made his insane remarks about "legitimate rape" and condemning the use of contraceptives after rape.

Wake up, Republicans. And I’m not speaking to Republican voters. I’m speaking to Republican senators, congressmen, governors and Republican officials all across this nation. Are you willing to jeopardize the future of the United States by focusing on controversial issues that have nothing whatsoever to do with the survival of the Unites States, issues that liberal Democrats are more than happy to exploit and use against the Republican Party? If so, then you will be to blame for a Republican defeat in 2012 and the dismal future facing our children and our grandchildren.

There is not much time before the November elections to refocus your efforts on issues that are critical to the survival of the United States – issues like reducing unemployment, balancing the budget and paying down the national debt. These are the issues that will determine the ultimate survival of the United States. You have the power to reshape the destiny of the United States or allow this great nation to slip away.

For the sake of this generation and generations to come, please help preserve the future of this great nation by refocusing on those issues that will help preserve and strengthen our nation. Disagreements over abortion and contraception can be resolved later, but solutions for increasing employment, balancing the budget and reducing the national debt must be addressed now. Voters will follow your lead, but only if you lead in the right direction.

Dan Finnegan

Las Vegas

Harry and the ‘birthers’

To the editor:

I’m 77 years old and have voted in every local, state and national election since becoming eligible. I’ve voted for both Democrats and Republicans and never once been concerned with a candidate’s taxes. We have millionaire politicians from both parties in the House and Senate, and I don’t begrudge them their status, as long as they acquired their fortunes honestly.

But Sen. Harry Reid, by making this an issue for Mitt Romney in trying to distract from President Obama’s record, puts himself in the same category as the "birther" lunatics. If he has tangible evidence that Mr. Romney pays no taxes, he should notify the IRS. Otherwise, he should shut up.

Dale Brouker

Las Vegas

Reid International Airport

To the editor:

That Sen. Harry Reid would insert himself into the uproar over the name of our airport fills me with revulsion.

First, even if the charges he leveled at the late Sen. Pat McCarran are correct, they do not make the man worse than the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who was a leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

I can only guess why Sen. Reid took the opportunity to enter this controversy. If the name were to be changed, how many of us will be remotely surprised if Sen. Reid actively campaigns for the airport to be named Reid International?

Bob Lease

Las Vegas

Medieval methods

To the editor:

I cannot get over the Review-Journal giving so much play to animal cruelty ("Dogs get zapped before snakes bite," Sunday Review-Journal).

This Willie Stevens, who calls himself a dog trainer and uses shock to train a dog to avoid snakes, should have somebody keep shocking him. There are so many proven ways to train animals with positive reinforcement that I cannot believe he gets away with it. Yet the Review-Journal saw fit to advertise for him. When will we get away from that medieval mentality?

Lisa Watson

Henderson

No vision

To the editor:

In Monday’s edition of letters to the editor, writer Irwin Kaufman writes in his last paragraph, "President Obama has a clear vision for America. Unfortunately, Mr. Romney is short on specifics and long on rhetoric."

Tell me, Mr. Kaufman, did you see President Obama’s clear vision for America in your sleep, or are you just making a statement you don’t even believe? This president has not had a vision for this country since he’s been in office. He has blamed everyone but himself for all the problems that have faced him. He has no leadership values, nor does he have any idea how an economy works. He has surrounded himself with people who have no knowledge of the workings of an economy, and if they did, he would have turned this around in his first two years when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.

Sorry, Mr. Kaufman, but the free ride in this country is over, and most people believe this down deep: This president has been protected by the press for three-plus years, has all the benefits handed to him and still hasn’t got the job done.

I’ll take the guy with business sense, who knows how to grow the economy and get this country back on the right track, not a guy with vision that can’t see.

Dave Mesker

Las Vegas