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Letters to the Editor
Battle-worn fighters
A senior
U.S. Marine Corps general, Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who led troops in
Iraq and Afghanistan, said Tuesday, "actually it's quite fun to
fight 'em, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some
people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling," (Inside
Politics, Friday).
Military officials
said on Thursday that Lt. Gen. Mattis should have chosen his words
more carefully but — to the chagrin of the liberal national press —
he will not be disciplined.
Manyveteranswould
agree that the general was simply expressing the views of
battle-worn fighters such as Gen. George S. Patton, who was known
for his salty language.
ARMOND "SI" SIMMONS
Pell City, Ala.
Day
labor and the law
As a taxpayer in
Montgomery County, I am appalled by the establishment of day-laborer
centers and by the remarks of David Weaver, a spokesman for County
Executive Douglas M. Duncan ("Center to serve day laborers,"
Metropolitan, Tuesday). Mr. Weaver said the county would not check
the immigration status of day laborers served by the center because
that is the responsibility of the federal government.
I point out that under the Immigration
and Nationality Act, it is illegal for an alien to seek employment
without authorization and illegal to hire an alien who does not have
authorization to work.
In addition,
federal law requires employers to deduct federal income and Social
Security tax from employees' pay. Our county taxes should not be
used to help people circumvent federal law. What would be Mr.
Duncan's position if the federal government used federal taxes to
help people evade county ordinances?
JOSEPH DE MARIA
Rockville
President Clinton redux?
Mona Charen is deluding herself when she
writes, "Hillary cannot campaign as a centrist and hope to win the
nomination" ("Campaign cosmetology," Commentary, Wednesday). When it
comes to taking back the presidency, Democrats can be quite
rational—theydumped Howard Dean for Sen. John Kerry, didn't they?
In fact, if the Republicans aren't
careful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton may very well be our next
president. First, she has to get everyone who voted for Mr. Kerry in
2004 to vote for her in 2008. Very doable. Then she has to convince
only about 2 million people who voted for President Bush to vote for
her. (Mr. Bush won by 3 million votes; if 2 million of those voters
swing to the left in 2008, she'll win by 1 million.)
Now, what are the identifiable subgroups
of people in the Bush camp whom Mrs. Clinton can target with a
message that will persuade them to switch? I can think of at least
three:
• The religious liberals. These
are people who believe strongly in religion in general, and the
right to life in particular. Plus, they are strong supporters of
large social programs that essentially do God's work, helping the
weak and poor. Mr. Bush's stance on religion or abortion tipped
their scales to the Republican side in 2004. I believe Mrs. Clinton
is going after this group by moderating her stance on abortion. Her
primary objective then becomes convincing them that the Democrats
care more about the needy than do the Republicans. Again, very
doable.
• The liberal hawks. These
people believe that going into Iraq was the right thing to do. That
was the issue that tipped them over to the Republican side. They
believe in a strong military, but they also support expansive social
programs. Given that Mrs. Clinton was in favor of the war in Iraq, I
believe she is going after this group, as well.
• The social libertarian/fiscal
conservatives (SLFCs). These people believe that the government
should stay out of people's personal lives. They strongly favor
separation of church and state, freedom of sexual orientation and
loosening prosecution of victimless crimes. They also favor low
taxes, limited government and spending cuts. They believe social
welfare should be driven primarily by nonprofit organizations. Now,
if Mrs. Clinton starts arguing for a smaller government and spending
cuts and stays neutral on taxes, she may be able to swing quite a
few SLFCs over to the dark side. Hillary Rodham Clinton as our next
president? Very doable.
MICHAEL WILLNER
Mason Neck, Va.
The
Cuban mistake
Your Wednesday
editorial reported the selection of Cuba to an action panel at the
United NationsCommissionon HumanRights("Cuba: human-rights
overseer?"). Oscar Wilde once wrote "experience is the name everyone
gives to their mistakes." Obviously, then, experience must land you
a spot on the 53-member commission. It is no surprise that many
dictatorships such as Cuba, China and Zimbabwe go out of their way
to become members and then block resolutions or investigations
dealing with their abuses.
The
commission has become useless. Reforms must be implemented,
including appointing an independent human-rights expert to chair the
commission. Models already exist: the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights have received
international praise because they are made up of independent
experts.
On Jan. 24, Mexico proposed the
creation of a regional organization to promote and evaluate human
rights throughout Latin America. The proposal is a mechanism meant
partly to "depoliticize conflicts" between Latin American
democracies and Cuba. Cuba accuses the United States of furtively
sponsoring resolutions and "arm-twisting dependent countries in
Latin America" to criticize the Castro regime.
These accusations are unfounded. The
United States lobbies governments, but no less than former Czech
President Vaclav Havel, former Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle and
former Chilean President Patricio Aylwin have urged the
international community to support Cuba's beleaguered opposition.
The Castro regime has orchestrated a
campaign to dehumanize its opposition and denounce dissidents as
traitors, CIA agents and terrorists. This is the language of a
desperate regime. Cuba's dissidents have worked for tolerance and
reconciliation. They speak to Cuba's future. They need and deserve
the support of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Unfortunately,
the "experience" of the action panel and the commission is likely to
deter such support.
FELIPE E. SIXTO
Center for a Free Cuba
Washington
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