Letter: Jeffords had guts to stand up for beliefs

I applaud the extraordinary courage of Vermont Sen. James Jeffords in leaving the Republican Party to become an independent. In fact, I am a registered Republican myself. But I became a Republican under the moderate leadership of Gerald Ford. I even campaigned for Ford's presidency.

But since the Ford administration, the Republican Party has become increasingly right-wing. In particular, the Bush administration has already proven in a short time in office that it does not care about preserving the reproductive rights of women. Nor does this president care about encouraging the development of clean and efficient alternative energy sources. Bush appears to be more concerned about paying back his campaign debt to big oil companies than he does about keeping the environment safe and healthy.

He has reduced standards for the purity of drinking water. He has done nothing to tighten auto emission standards. And he has chosen to completely ignore global warming.

For anyone who cares about the health of our planet and its people now and for future generations, Bush is bad news. I am glad that Jeffords had the guts to stand for principles rather than for blind party loyalty.

SUSAN FONG

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