Be Pro-Facts, Please
As an ardently pro-life Republican, I feel disenfranchised by the results of the election in the 76th Assembly District on Aug. 8 and angered by the news coverage of the election (“Pro-Choice Forces Take Credit for Victory in 76th,” Aug. 10). I voted for candidate Dennis Koolhaas because he was an excellent, experienced candidate and pro-life.
He and the other pro-life Republicans captured 57.8% of the vote, yet the news media continue to report the victory of Tricia Hunter as a pro-choice victory. True, two pro-choice candidates won, but if this election is to be treated as a referendum on the abortion issue, why do the Los Angeles Times and other news media ignore their own statistics, which show 57.8% for pro-life candidates to 40.3% for pro-choice candidates?
The peculiar nature of the race, which allowed crossover voting, further muddies the issue. Republicans in the district are left to choose between two pro-choice candidates, both largely selected by Democratic voters. Democrats urged Democrats to vote for Tricia Hunter. Thus the large majority of Republicans who voted for pro-life candidates are effectively left with no choice in the October election. But at least report the significance of the statistics correctly.
W. ROBERT GODFREY
Escondido
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