I am sure that everyone who advocates Congress repeal of McConnellcare (i.e., the new health care law that is commonly called “Obamacare”by people who don’t understand the Constitution) and starting over knows perfectly well that if the law were repealed, Congress certainly would not attempt to create something better in the foreseeable future, if ever.

This whole idea of a principle that could be stated as “Don’t fix it; throw it away”is foolish and dangerous. It is certainly not a principle that some people would want to see applied to capitalism or the Catholic Church.

This fascinating scramble for the Republican nomination has introduced me to two phrases, one new and the other old but unfamiliar to me, that make Newt Gingrich even more repugnant to me than he was before. The first is his use of “food stamp president”to suggest that President Obama is pandering to, or bribing, needy people to support him. The second, “dog whistle politics,” is used by pundits who recognize that he is sending a not-so-subtle message to the racist, redneck segment of the electorate in hopes of getting its support without overtly expressing his bigotry. If he lasts all the way to the Washington caucus, I hope Republicans will be smart enough and decent enough to bury him.

Martin Bensky, Richland