Four readers react to Press enbdorsement

LoBiondo is wrong choice in 2nd I was very disappointed that The Press chose to endorse U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd. While LoBiondo may have broken with his party on occasion regarding the environment and wildlife, a close inspection of his voting record reveals that he only does so when his party has enough votes and has released him to cast a “look how independent I am” vote. Does the endorsement mean that LoBiondo deserves re-election in spite of the fact that he will continue to support the war in Iraq, tax cuts for a chosen few, continued favors for big business and funding cuts to social programs? LoBiondo will continue to say he is a moderate while supporting a government that intrudes into private lives, suspends civil rights and sometimes puts protesting citizens under federal watch. President Bush has been quoted several times as saying that his agenda is not dead yet, and if he retains control of both chambers of Congress, we can look forward to yet another attempt to privatize Social Security. I expect LoBiondo will continue to support it. The Press has displayed a myopic view of LoBiondo, a view which will have an adverse impact far beyond the 2nd District of New Jersey. Mary Hardwick, Northfield - Atlantic City Press, October 26, 2006 Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, has authored in his 12 years of service little more than a measure banning the burning of the American flag. I don't know what it's like in everyone else's neighborhood, but where I live, every day it's the same thing: Bands of anarchists marching up and down Shore Road burning the flag. Thank you, congressman, for giving serious attention to a problem that doesn't even exist. I am troubled, however, that the colored cloth itself has taken on almost Ten Commandment status as a graven image, while the national fabric itself is fraying badly. Not long ago, I would not believe that this country would create secret overseas prisons, remove protections for the innocent such as giving you the right to face your accuser and hear the charges against you if you are arrested, or justify torture as necessary for national security. I couldn't believe that we would go to war with a country that didn't attack us, using outright false pretenses or ones that simply didn't exist. Yet, there LoBiondo was, voting for a war in Iraq and the other laws while putting the bill on the national credit card. For my part, I just don't fly the flag much anymore. To fly it routinely would indicate support for this administration's policies. I do fly the flag on Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day and election days, where reverence for a long and proud history overwhelm the nonsense currently going on in Washington. Unfortunately, my flag has been hijacked by causes I don't support, so it will stand furled inside my house. Bob Filipczak, Linwood - Atlantic City Press, October26, 2006 Even knowing some of his negative positions and voting record, the Press endorsed U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo. That's unfortunate because we need a representative who will put people before the Bush agenda. Karl Rove instructs Republicans to “stay on message,” but a Democrat who does so is accused of speaking in “generalities or party-line platitudes.” The Press says Viola Thomas-Hughes is not as knowledgeable, perhaps because for 12 years LoBiondo has been educated at our expense. And although she may be less polished as a speaker, we know her votes will benefit constituents rather than special interests. LoBiondo has a $2.5 million war chest; she has about $10,000. He has paid staff in Washington and New Jersey; Thomas-Hughes has a few dedicated volunteers. It's almost impossible for an average American to run for office. However, this year people are angry and disgusted with long term “servants” who have become entrenched in Washington. This year everyone must vote to send Thomas-Hughes to Washington to better represent “we the people.” Bettie J Reina, Milmay - Atlantic City Press, October 26, 2006 LoBiondo should remember Sandman U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo's announcement that he now wants Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign does not excuse LoBiondo from being one of the biggest Iraq war cheerleaders in the country. Having Rumsfeld resign won't end the war. The people who should resign are the senators and congressmen, Republican and Democrat, who continue, like LoBiondo, to mindlessly support the Iraq war and who echo every one of the Bush administration's excuses for why we are still in Iraq. LoBiondo, in his meeting with The Press editorial board, echoed one of the silliest excuses for why we are in Iraq: That the terrorists are too busy killing our soldiers to be able to mount an attack on the United States mainland. The reasons why we have not been attacked again are more complex than that. Republicans around the country are finally turning against the war. It is time for LoBiondo to do the same, or he'll end up the Charlie Sandman of our times, when Sandman ended up being one of the last supporters of President Nixon. LoBiondo should recall what happened to Sandman, a Republican who was then the 2nd District's congressman — voters replaced him with Democrat Bill Hughes. Norm Cohen, Linwood - Atlantic City Press, October 26, 2006