Criticism, Praise for GOP Financiers

I wish to compliment Kathryn Thompson and Roger Johnson on inviting Bill Clinton to a breakfast gathering of mostly Republican Orange County supporters.

Thompson is right in stating that when she “can’t talk to a Democrat without being called disloyal, then something is dreadfully wrong.”

I was raised in Everett, Wash., home of the late Sen. Henry M. (Scoop) Jackson. My father knew him well. “Scoop” was a very responsible senator and a Democrat. No one was stronger on defense than Sen. Jackson. It was OK to be a Democrat in Everett.

The Pacific Northwest seems to generate people with independent minds. For example, Dad, a lifelong Democrat, voted for Barry Goldwater. Dad is now 89, still of sound mind. He worries for our country and feels that the words coming out of the White House are all too reminiscent of words he heard during the Depression of the ‘30s.

When I moved to Orange County 32 years ago, I was appalled at the attitude that county Republicans held for the opposing party. To be a Democrat made one’s patriotism suspect.

In stating, “We don’t like tootsy-footing (with Democrats),” Tom Fuentes, chairman of the county Republican Party, represents what is wrong with our country. It is obvious that he cares not for our country but only for a narrow, biased vision he holds. This man should be replaced so he can feel the sting of unemployment.

DAVE BAKER, Yorba Linda