To the Editor:

The dictionary definition of “conservative” is, “Holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation.” How does that definition square with today’s elected Republican actions and agenda?

By definition you would think Republicans would want lower taxes for as many people as possible. That is a very traditional value. Yet unless you make more than about $90,000 a year, your overall taxes went up. A conservative businessman, when facing hard times, would cut his expenses and do everything possible to increase his income. Yet the “conservative” N.C. legislature cut the state’s income by giving the largest tax breaks in state history to the wealthiest 1 percent of our citizens. The state is now facing a very serious deficit. This will have to be made up either by additional cuts to education and Medicaid or by increased taxes on the poor and middle class and more increased fees for every possible service.

There can be no more traditional values than good schools. Over the last 50 years there has been a bipartisan effort in the N.C. Legislature to create one of the best school systems in the South. That is, until now. Recently, a national rating company listed N.C. as the worst state for a person considering a career in teaching. This ranking did not take into consideration the 5 percent pay raise given to new teachers which, incidentally, was paid for by cutting other portions of the education budget. Career teachers got next to nothing.

What could be a more traditional value than protecting the very land and water that make this state such a special place to live? Yet the response by the N.C. legislature to coal ash spills by Duke Energy, the reversal of almost all environmental laws and the approval of fracking seem to be the very opposite of traditional values. In every case, the beneficiaries of these changes are large out-of-state corporations, not the citizens of North Carolina.

Conservatism values the individual. Every individual should count. Yet the state legislature recently passed the most draconian voter suppression law in the country. A federal judge, while ruling on this law, asked the attorney representing the state, “Why does the state of North Carolina not want people to vote?” Of course the answer is, “voter fraud.” The number of actual voting fraud cases in the state, however, can be counted one hand. This is simply a naked attempt to suppress minorities, elderly, youth and poor from voting. Maybe that is a Republican value. But it is not a conservative value.

If you call yourself a conservative, think about what that means. Look around and see who represents those values you hold so dear.

Louis Vitale

Franklin