Roy Ramos hit it right on the head when he wrote that racism is not the partisan issue. However, his feeble attempts at Democrat bashing are simply asinine.

First of all, he argues that Judge Clarence Thomas was “guilty until proven innocent.” It is apparent that Mr. Ramos doesn’t have any knowledge of how that political process works. The hearings (not a trial) were not to find out if the judge was guilty of sexual harassment. They were nothing more than a glorified job interview for the Supreme Court.

Secondly, Mr. Ramos stated that the only reason Democrats were against Thomas was because of his political views. News flash Roy: naming a Supreme Court justice is a political process.

Moreover, check the U.S. Constitution, Roy. It clearly states that the president nominates a justice with “advice and consent of the Senate.” We all know the reason Bush nominated Judge Thomas was because of his views (and color). Therefore, shouldn’t the Senate have the same privilege when they give their consent?

Also, Mr. Ramos argues that Democrats “dragged his (Thomas) name through the mud.” Hey, Roy, Bush sent out some of his great Republican cronies to find dirt on Anita Hill.

The issue of sexual harassment is too important to be a partisan issue. Yet, we had Republican senators saying that sexual harassment charges were a part of a Democrat-led conspiracy, that started 10 years ago, to keep Clarence Thomas off the Supreme Court.

They also said Anita Hill was making the story up because she secretly wanted to sleep with the judge. If that’s not mudslinging then I don’t know what is.

Finally, Mr. Ramos ends his letter with a shot at Democrats by saying, we are “so open-minded that our brains leak out.” Yes, Roy, I am open-minded. I do believe that it’s all right for people to have different beliefs and interests than me. I won’t take away their rights to those beliefs unlike the Republican party.

The Republican party is full of self-righteous, narrow-minded hypocrites that believe their oppressive values should become laws that take away rights granted by the Constitution (i.e. free speech). Not all Republicans think this way, but that is what the Republican platform is all about.

The Republican party isn’t the KKK as Mr. Ramos argues; however, it does use race to gain a political advantage. For example, the use of the Willie Horton ad in the 1988 presidential campaign, President Bush calling the Civil Rights Bill a “quota bill” and Bush’s nomination of Clarence Thomas were all tools used by the Republicans to gain a political advantage based on race.

Mr. Ramos, the Democratic party isn’t perfect. However, neither is the Republican party. They both have corrupt as well as hard working individuals. Maybe, if you weren’t so closed-minded, you would be able to make a valid point (racism in both parties) without insulting an entire group.

Scott Pierquet

Junior

Accounting