LETTER: Both sides to be blamed
To the editor:
I was a little concerned when I saw the headline for the Oct. 3 edition of The Statesman. In bold letters it declared “Republicans in Congress shut down US Gov.” I felt this was a very biased headline on what I would expect to be an unbiased article since it was not an opinion piece.
While the Republicans certainly shoulder some of the blame for the government shutdown, there is plenty of it to go around. As we all learned in government class, when the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, they would meet in a conference committee to compromise and work out the differences.
Many of the Republican proposals included a call for a committee, but the Democrat-controlled Senate flat-out refused to negotiate. Some of these proposals included calls for a simple delay in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act – similar to the exemption the president approved earlier this year for businesses.
The Senate refused to negotiate. Both sides – Republicans and Democrats – can be blamed for the shutdown, and I would appreciate it if political opinions could be limited to the editorial section and not the front page.
– Brandon Lovesee