Dear Editor:What a way to ruin a person's breakfast: reading the three letters in this morning's Patriot that were muttering about politics. (Letters to the Editor, 10/24/13) Each letter was chock full of misinformation and disinformation so one has to wonder: did these people get any education at all when they went to school? Do they have any concept of the precepts that support this country's Constitution or the manner in which (in better days) our government operated - on the basis of persuasion and compromise? Obviously not. To extol the anti-democratic tactics of the Tea Party and say those tactics were okay with them indicates that they know very little about this country. That goes for the World War II vet who blames President Obama for shutting down the WWII memorial. Obama didn't shut it down: the Tea Party shut it down when they shut down the federal government. Get it straight, man. For the record, Patty Murray, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, tried 20-plus times beginning in March 2013 to meet with her counterparts in the Republican House. The House refused each and every offer. Why would they want to meet when the plan was to wait until they supposedly had President Obama over a barrel? Unable to get what the Republicans wanted via compromise and persuasion, why not follow the Tea Party lead, tie the government up, and ask for ransom? That's the way we do things in the USA? Since when? How nice, the Tea Party has adopted the tactics of Somalia pirates. That's something about which they and their devotees can be proud. I clearly remember the days when Joseph P. McCarthy terrorized this nation. I never thought his reign of terror would end, but finally it did. It's eerie to see how much Ted Cruz resembles McCarthy. Hopefully, Ted Cruz and his gaggle of no-nothings in the Tea Party will get their comeuppance in the 2014 mid-terms. Given the damage they did to this country in general and to individuals/families in particular, each and every one of them should be thrown out of office. If they want to make $174,000 annually plus benefits, let them go out to the private sector and earn it. Muriel C. Schuerman Downey

Dear Editor: Mr. Huber had a perfectly valid point in objecting to the label "terrorist" for Tea Party members. No matter how twisted, terrorists have a goal to achieve and belief that it's possible. The Tea Partiers more closely resemble spoiled children who have to have a destructive tantrum when they can't get their way. They wanted to repeal Obamacare. They knew they didn't have the votes in the Senate. They didn't even have the votes in the House to override the promised veto. So they threw their tantrum and sent government workers home, then voted to pay them anyway. Mr. Huber, if that's your idea of fiscal responsibility, get help. Frankly, it isn't even responsible citizenship. Three questions: When have Republicans failed to approve the budget of a Republican president? Never. When have Republicans not approved lifting the debt ceiling for a Republican president? Never. Who was the last President to present a balanced budget? Bill Clinton, Democrat. The budget approved by the Senate was already a compromised budget. The Republicans didn't get all the cuts they wanted, but the Democrats gave in on some. John Boehner kept saying it wouldn't pass the House, but refused to back that up by allowing a vote. What Boehner was really saying was that he might lose his Speakership if he didn't cave to the Tea Party. On the subject of wasted tax money, I read that Boeing and Lockheed want to team up to spend billions developing a replacement for B-2 bombers. We've had two wars recently. How many missions did the B'2's fly in those wars? We've spent billions on the F-35 fighter. Now all we have to do is train pilots to hold their breath for the duration of their missions because they can't breath in the cockpits. We were warned about granting too much influence to the military-industrial complex. The warning came from President Eisenhower, a Republican who knew a little about the military. Ms. Van Leuven is constantly reminding us of "reckless government spending" but in her last letter laments the fact that we chose not to replace the Space Shuttles. Kinda gives a clue to her priorities. What's really funny about the Obama haters is that they seem to ignore his real vulnerability, which is a lack of executive experience. If there's a consistent flaw in this administration, it's unpunished incompetence. From the botched ATF adventure sending arms to Mexico to the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act, there seem to be no consequences for abysmal failure. I consider myself a moderate Republican. But unlike some of my brethren who are resigning from the party out of embarrassment, I refuse to turn over my primary vote to the Tea Party crazies. David Mathews Downey

********** Published: Oct. 31, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 29