America's values

During the last presidential election, Republicans in Washington portrayed Democrats and liberals as out of sync with America's values. Since the election and after repeated denials of involvement, at least two people in the Bush administration were revealed to have leaked the name of a classified CIA employee to reporters. Since the election and after repeated denials from the president himself, we discovered the National Security Agency was spying on American citizens without warrants required under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and possible infringement of the Constitution. Since the election and after repeated denials from the president, we discovered the United States was rendering alleged enemy combatants to secret prisons located throughout the world. Since these discoveries have been revealed to the public, rather than investigate President Bush's breach of executive authority and execute the check the legislative branch of government was designed to perform, Republicans in Congress are attempting to retroactively grant the Bush administration immunity from any accountability. Nor is the president being admonished to stop his lawbreaking. With torture, warrantless wiretaps of American citizens, leaking of classified information and failure to hold the executive branch accountable, Republicans give a whole new meaning to America's values. If these are the values you think America should stand for, then vote Republican on Nov. 7. If you think America's values should aspire to something greater, then vote Democratic. Dennis Flynn, Pennsauken - Published in the Courier Post, October 25, 2006