2014 congressional race

We enjoyed our season of retrospectives and resolutions. Exhaustive political analysis (Eric Alterman's "Kabuki Democracy" series in The Nation) briefly gave way to reviews of stage plays. Now, the elected have taken office, and the analysis resumes.

Have to disagree with Bruce Roberts (Letters, Jan. 1) that there has been no significant opposition to 4th Congressional District Rep. Doc Hastings. This region is a hub of inspiration for positive change. Each of the opposition campaigns, from Jay Inslee through Rick Locke, Craig Mason, Sandy Matheson, Richard Wright, George Fearing, Jay Clough and Mary Baechler, has offered a significant alternative throughout years of gradual change in the district's demographics and economics.

Reflecting the values of the Democratic Party, any of these determined candidates would have quite naturally represented and balanced the interests in common to all.

Recently, there has been significant opposition to progress on hugely important issues, for this region and beyond, when the Republican Party swerved off its side of democracy's meandering path of honest debate and got caught in a rut of stubborn ideology.

Democrats of the 4th District will field another candidate with a forward-thinking message and campaign again for a thoughtful, less reflexively party-line vote by the citizens of this district.

L.J. ANDERSON, Kennewick