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To the Editor:
I acknowledge Martin Dyckman’s well-written letter in the Aug. 15 issue. He challenged my letter (8/8/12) by bringing up several points against the Republican Party worth investigating further.
The letter motivated me to research the points made and helped me to see more fully how important it is for us to check out things for ourselves, especially since there is little room for full explanations in a letter to the editor. For example, the idea that the Bush-era tax cuts were for “the wealthiest Americans” sounds like they were the only ones to get a tax cut. The truth is that they were across the board cuts so that every class had some tax relief.
As for teacher job elimination, it was aimed at “low-performing” personnel and it was part of an effort to cut budget expenses and therefore not raise taxes, yet it sounds like an assault on teachers in general if that additional fact is not known.
As far as Obama’s jobs bill, according to Wikipedia, there were reservations on both sides of the aisle and questions about its actual cost as well as its effectiveness, so it wasn’t just that the Republicans killed the bill to stand in the way of Democrats.
There was also a comment about Mitt Romney and foreign investments. Many Americans diversify their investments in this way, and I found out that some prominent Democrats also have benefited by such investments, such as Nancy Pelosi. What I was really trying to say in my letter, besides the idea that the Republican Party can seriously impact jobs and benefit working America, is that the basic philosophy of governing is what should help guide us as we choose in the next election
My understanding is as follows:
• Conservatives (i.e., Republicans), in general, favor less government spending and regulation in our lives, more personal responsibility, free enterprise, lower taxes, a pro-life, traditional family values platform and believe our rights come from God, which makes them unalienable.
• Liberals, (i.e., Democrats) in general, favor more government involvement and regulation in our lives, more entitlement programs, more spending, a pro-choice stand and believe our rights come from the government (which means the government can control them as well).
Our country is desperate for some positive change. We face a massive deficit, record high unemployment levels, record numbers of foreclosures, and rising costs in every area of our lives and a destructive breakdown of the family. We are on the precipice of complete economic ruin. This is what we have to show for 3.5 years and all the Obama stimulus money spent and the $1.1 trillion deficit we now have. I’m no political expert, but we all can agree on this one thing, I think: if what is being done is not working, we need to do something different.
Besides doing our own research and not believing everything we read or hear, we also have to be ready to make some sacrifices. We each have to decide which party can best accomplish our goals. I personally believe it’s time for new, conservative leadership close to the original plan of our founding fathers.
Loretta Hastings
Franklin
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The folks in the mountains of Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee share more than a common boundary, they share a deep appreciation for the wild, sometimes rugged, but always beautiful landscape they call home. 
