And I thought it was just me. … I am referring to a Sept. 12 Letter to the Editor titled "Negativity doesn't work for us" in which the author commented on walking by the Republican Women's booth and experiencing "bumper stickers that were full of vitriol towards liberals and … President Obama."
I had the same experience in that I was not expecting such negativity and bumper sticker name-calling which is not conducive at all to a discussion of different ideas. One reason I went to the Alaska State Fair was to gather different ideas on subjects that are important to Alaskans: Pebble mine, Bristol Bay resource development, moose preservation, alternative energy, etc. All these folks and more were willing to discuss calmly and, without using negativity towards their "opponents," their approach to these issues. Not so with the Republican Women's booth; I didn't go up to it because their negative approach did not seem like it was going to lead to meaning dialogue.
Do these Republican women see civility and a desire for meaningful discussion as a weakness?
— Lance Powell
Anchorage