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Complaints about costs of recall ring false

I am perfectly fine with anyone who disagrees with efforts to recall Governor Scott Walker based on the costs to the state. It is, after all, a valid argument worth consideration.

However, I find it irritating when individuals complain about the costs of recall elections when the costs are obviously not a genuine concern for the individual. Specifically, I direct this letter toward Ron Reynolds.

Mr. Reynolds was quoted in the Dec. 7 County Post as being unhappy with local Democrats for wasting a “ton of money” for the state. I take issue with the quote and I doubt the sincerity of Mr. Reynold’s comment. If Mr. Reynolds was concerned about the costs to the state as a result of recall elections, he would oppose all unnecessary elections and primaries. For Mr. Reynolds, this is not the case.

As you may recall, last summer Republicans ran a non-Democrat, with no legitimate expectation of winning, against Fred Clark in a Democratic primary election. The primary was an unnecessary cost to the state as Republicans created an artificial primary. Despite the lack of necessity and the costs, Mr. Reynolds signed nomination papers for the non-Democrat to create the artificial primary election. Additionally, there is no doubt that Mr. Reynolds strongly supported the artificial recall because he signed the nomination papers for the non-Democrat twice, on June 8 and on June 11.

This double standard is a model example of hypocrisy. I am not surprised because hypocrisy is all too common with people who are political party cheerleaders. By “political party cheerleader,” I am referring to individuals who remain loyal to a party brand name regardless of the offensiveness of the party’s actions. It is comparable to the way many people are loyal to sports teams. However, political parties are not sports teams. On a personal level, I believe that political cheerleading is a dangerous behavior as it encourages closed mindedness.

To be fair, cheerleading is not exclusive to Mr. Reynolds or Republicans. The same cheerleading occurs within the Democratic party. To liberals, like myself, I ask that we recognize this pitfall. Remember that a core belief of liberalism is open mindedness and critical reflection. Get involved with politics and political parties, but don’t support parties with blind faith. Most importantly, don’t allow political party cheerleaders to define who we are.

To Mr. Reynolds, I appreciate reading your letters and seeing a different perspective on issues. However, in the future, I hope you put more thought into who you call a “sour grape” and appreciate that many of us disagree with you.

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