Michael Forbes
Who would have thunk it of the Republicans! The Russian word apparatchiki comes to mind after reading that the staff of Rep. Michael P. Forbes of New York resigned when he defected from the Republican Party to become a Democrat (July 20).
These party faithful, unfaithful to Forbes, really fit the definition of apparatchiki found in the Harper Dictionary of Modern Thought, which defines the “apparat” or “apparatchiki” as a bureaucratic hierarchy “which originally allowed democratic discussion before a party decision was taken but in practice has been used to justify the demand for unquestioned obedience by party members to the decisions of the party leadership.”
This blind obedience to party is a trait of Republican congressmen that frightened me during the speakership of Newt Gingrich and became even more apparent during the impeachment hearings. Forbes is well rid of staff members who prefer obedience to the leadership to any feelings of loyalty to their boss.
BARBARA S. THUET
San Diego
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