This is my LTE which is published here. The lack of integrity of the co-called Conservatives leads to two main problems. How do you negotiate or deal with people who live outside of reality and filter facts through an ideology. The second is how can you come to any solution when clear factual data is anything one wants it to be? The only solution is to beat these people politically and keep their hands off the power levers.
There are two areas where American values have changed since I was a young man 50 or so years ago. The first was serving our country via the draft, and the second involves integrity.
I cringe every time someone lays that "thank you for your service" nonsense to me. My dad and all my uncles served in the military in World War II, and my brother and I served in Vietnam. It used to be something expected, no big deal. If it was up to me, everyone would serve two years in the service of our country, the military being one option.
The Republican Party and the conservative media have lost all sense of integrity when dealing with facts. An example of this is when Sean Hannity had four people on saying how Obamacare had hurt them. A reporter from another organization followed up and found that three of them would be helped by Obamacare, and with the fourth, it was not clear. Mr. Hannity never acknowledged his error. He just went on to his next lie. This is the norm for all conservative media.
There will be some who say that both sides do it. To a very small extent, this is true but the Republican Party, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, the Drudge Report, etc., have made it an art form. The so-called left-wing media for the most part gets its facts straight, and when wrong will acknowledge it. I am not talking about opinions, but clear, demonstrable facts.
I have conservative friends who are embarrassed by the stunning lack of integrity shown by the Republican Party and the conservative media. Having honor, they have no place to go. They, like me, understand the need for a debate between the two sides to keep each other honest. They also understand that you cannot solve problems if you do not have a respect for the facts.
The Republican Party and the conservative media have become a national embarrassment. Their main problem is this stunning lack of integrity, and not their political opinions.