Letters critical of Pioneer Press endorsement

The Spotlight Letters in the Pioneer Press today focus on the paper’s endorsement of President Bush, and run 6-1 criticizing the endorsement. That ratio is indicative of the response that the Editorial Board is receiving.

Winning the election may be the last laugh, but the President did not carry Minnesota, certainly not the Twin Cities. This is a case where conservatives cannot follow the usual pattern that people who agree don’t write. If you agreed with the Pioneer Press endorsement, I urge you to write and give the editorial board your support -- letters@pioneerpress.com. It’s not too late.

As for the letters, I think they generally miss the significance and the point of the Pioneer Press endorsement. More than just endorsing the President, I read the editorial as a very strong -- for a “balanced” mainstream media paper -- endorsement of conservative principles. Given that principled basis, the president was a clear choice. There was no chance that Sen. Kerry would have taken the country in the direction the Pioneer Press felt best. The president was not an emotional pick, but a logical one.

Yes, President Bush has drifted from the conservative path during his first term, in my opinion in some very significant ways. And while I may anger or disappoint some of my readers in the future, my columns will without a doubt address these issues. At times, I’ll also bite the hand that feeds me when the Pioneer Press wanders from those principles. Reminding those one admires when they stray from the principles one admires is the essence of loyalty.

To its credit, the Pioneer Press made the same observation about the president’s conservative failures. The editorial board’s endorsement was a profile in courage for a Minnesota paper. They deserve conservative support, not haphazardly, but consistently. I urge the conservative community to provide the same support and constructive (not vituperative) criticism to the editorial board as it has to me and my columns.

Thanks for the support.