04/15/06 Liberals' Vote To Cut And Run Not Statistically Significant

Dear Editor: Last week, a handful of Wisconsinites -- representing just 2 percent of the electorate -- voted in local referendums about the U.S. role in Iraq. Thirty-two of Wisconsin's 1,902 municipalities participated, some being the most liberal in the state. These are municipalities that John Kerry won by 69 percent (as opposed to the 49 percent he received statewide). Of the 2 percent of Wisconsin voters who went to the polls, 60 percent voted for the u.s to cut and run. Not exactly an overwhelming majority.

But you wouldn't know that to read The Capital Times. It's no surprise that this newspaper is reflexively liberal. It's no surprise that this newspaper is reflexively anti-Republican. But it is both surprising and disappointing that this newspaper takes the very idea of democracy so lightly.

Even if The Capital Times and a few of the residents of a few of Wisconsin's most far-left towns never see it, our nation firmly believes that freedom is God's gift to every man, woman and child.

The people of Iraq and Afghanistan never knew freedom until our nation's men and women in uniform -- along with our allies -- delivered it. But today, thanks to those brave individuals who have volunteered to wear the uniform, freedom is taking root in places where it never existed before. That in itself is a victory. And it is the right thing to do.

But it is also the smart thing to do. The oppressive regimes of the Middle East breed terrorists full of hatred that we can barely comprehend. They do this by preying on the jealousies and the unhappiness of their own downtrodden people. Our armed forces are fighting those terrorists now in the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan. The real, permanent solution is freedom and prosperity in the Middle East. The only thing that will take the wind out of the terrorists' sails is a free, prosperous, stable Middle East.

Thirty-two out of Wisconsin's 1,902 municipalities have now voted on whether or not we will help to create that free Middle East, or whether we will withdraw and try to build a wall separating ourselves from the world. Twenty-plus municipalities believe we should give up. That is their prerogative in a free nation.

But don't try to sell us on that being the will of the people of Wisconsin, much less our nation. The Capital Times might be that out of the mainstream, but the rest of us are not. We understand that the world changed on Sept. 11, 2001, and every day we are on offense and working to spread democracy is a day there is less of a chance we will be defending ourselves in Milwaukee, Madison, or anywhere else in our country.