THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190020
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Anyone reading this editorial page for the past year cannot miss the obvious message: Cartoon Republicans as personified by Newt Gingrich are evil, ruthless people who are out to further impoverish the poor, destroy the elderly, etc., with mean-spirited glee. Hence, Newt Gingrich kicking an elderly woman (no less) in a wheelchair down the stairs, sinister-looking Republicans tripping tiny Tim on crutches and, my favorite, Newt forcing a family to perform on a high wire without a government safety net that we all couldn't possibly live without.
This propaganda is so blatant that it will eventually backfire. And how about those insightful, repetitive columns which grip our imaginations: ``GOP targets the poor to aid the rich'' (Perspectives, Dec. 28, 1995). This is pure baloney. The idea is to halt runaway spending - a legacy of 40 years of misguided ``compassion'' that has placed us on the verge of national bankruptcy. And since when does a $500-per-child tax cut help only the rich?
While I have seen the occasional conservative columnist on your pages, I wonder if we should just honestly rename this paper The Virginian-Liberal Democrat. Then we wouldn't even have to play at editorial balance anymore, would we?
COLIN F. SMITH
Virginia Beach, Jan. 9, 1996 by CNB