LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: SEND MODERATES PACKING, RESTORE A STRONG GOP

To the editor:

David Limbaugh, even though he confuses fascism with socialism, is still in my opinion a very good columnist. But David needs to quit worrying about how George W. Bush handles his candidacy. If Bush loses in his bid for the presidency, it will be the third loss in a row for the moderate Republicans. It will suggest to the party that it should return to a more libertarian or more Reagan-like party. If he loses it may be the best thing for the Republican Party.

My suggestion to the Republican Party is help pack the bags of the moderate Republicans and send them on their way. If you get lucky, the moderates might move in with the Democrats, which would be additional weight for the opposition to carry. Of course, you would lose most of your leaders in Congress, but would that be so bad? After the cleansing, the party needs to build a coalition of Republicans from the Republican wing of the party, the Republican Liberty Caucus, the Libertarian Party and the Reform Party. This coalition may be easy to form after the purge of the moderates.

The Democrats often refer to the Republican Party as the stupid party. Many of the brightest members of the party have moved on to distance themselves from a "me too" party, and the party was left with an overabundance of moderates. With the moderates in charge, it is hard to dispute the claims of the Democrats. Positioning themselves more toward libertarianism would probably help them recover some of the past members of the party.

The Republican Party could have been blessed with some of the greatest minds out there but chose to ignore them to pay homage to the moderates. It is time to gather these intellectuals together again into the Republican Party. If George Bush wins we'll have four or more years of moderates in charge of the party, and there will be no chance for a coalition.

I miss the Republican Party as a strong opposition to the Democrats. Please come home where you belong before you get lost. We need at least one major challenge to the Democrats.

JAMES NALL

Marble Hill, Mo.