What is The Columbian trying to say in the Aug. 13 editorial “Sen. Murray is off-key,” describing Sen. Patty Murray’s press conference on the impact of sequestration as “off-key” and a “dog-and-pony show?” Are we to embrace the thoughtless implementation of sequestration because it is a form of payback to those “reliant on the federal government for their salaries?” Does The Columbian endorse the suffering of “federally supported employees?”
Instead of going for the all too easy fed-bashing, The Columbian should be calling for our elected officials to get rid of sequestration. We need to reduce federal spending and the size of the national debt but our elected officials need to manage this smartly. What we have now is a small band of politicians who prefer a dysfunctional government to a working government. We need to elect officials who will work to resolve problems and move the country forward, not stake out non-negotiable positions to the detriment of the financial well-being of the nation.
Too bad Murray’s press conference did not meet Columbian standards but shame on The Columbian for using this as a reason to imply hard-working federal employees somehow deserve the insecurity imposed by sequestration.
William Campbell
Washougal
