Thursday, May 14, 2009
Glen Caroline's spirited defense of the GOP [Loudoun Extra, May 10] left out a major parallel between the national party and the local party. In a wonderful coincidence of purpose, Republicans here — like those nationally — followed a rigidly dogmatic laissez-faire philosophy right over the cliff. Their refusal to regulate development locally, like their refusal to regulate banks and Wall Street hedge funds nationally, ended in chaos.
Sure, we would all be able to go faster and freer if all highway rules were suspended. For a brief spurt, such freedom would energize the brave and the skilled. But in a short time, the accidents would begin to destroy more and more, until the piled-up crashes clogged the highways and made movement impossible. Anyone who has driven on the highway or raised kids knows that regulation is a necessity.
The Republican ideology is a radical anarchy, not a conservative respect for tradition. Our good old rural Loudoun has been radically transformed, not conserved, by Republican refusal to regulate development. In the same way, the traditional U.S. economy and the traditional American values that made us admired around the world have been destroyed by Republican recklessness.
Let's hope the Democrats can undo the damage.
David R. Williams, Lincoln
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