They are radicals who want

to break up the traditional family. They want the UN to rule from its

lofty, unaccountable perch. They're liberals and un-American, and antiwar,

and French and German environmental extremists.

What we need, by implication,

are the old-style Strom Thurmond Democrats who call a spade a spade.

What is so sad about De Marino's

drivel is the fact that so many people who call themselves Republican

believe as Mr. De Marino believes. Thus the success of Fox News, Sean

Hannity, Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, and a host of other brave draft dodgers

who are willing to tell people what they want to hear.

The fact is, I don't have to

exaggerate the damage being done to the common man by the present administration.

President Bush and his co-prisoners of big business are doing everything

in their power to dismantle the protections built up over the last century

for the common citizen against the holders of real power.

Environmental protections,

fiscal protections, anywhere the government has intervened to level the

power of money over all of us, are now under attack by a rapacious group

who cloak their real intentions behind verbal attacks and right-wing dogma.

These protections began, I might add, with a great Republican: Theodore

Roosevelt.

The electorate has become fat

(literally), and intellectually slothful, so no one, Democrats included,

seem to want to stand up to this clown of clowns.

The Democratic party is a big

umbrella that undoubtedly includes many individuals who hold some

of the views Mr. De Marino writes about (except for the weird theory on

splitting the family; I didn't get that).

The Republican party undoubtedly

includes real fascists, racists, misogynists, morons, simpletons, and

bastards. I happen to know some who are not.

They're just people who desperately

wish to limit the fiscal power of the government, and don't trust the

other side to do so.

I believe these people are

seeing what they want to see with the present administration, but I personally

wouldn't dare try to catalogue them except to say I don't agree.

And for those Republicans out

there who can still understand honest disagreement, I would hope you can

disagree without the constant negativity expressed by the spokesmen of

your party. I'm not going to hold my breath on De Marino.

Timothy J. Parker

Peachtree City