Dear Editor,

Anybody who has read the Warren Times Observer very long, as I have, understands that the local editorial opinions reflect a right-wing bias when it comes to national/state politics. That is, of course , its right under the First Amendment. There are times, however, when that bias leads the writer of “Our Opinion” into a ludicrous position, such as the opinion written on April 26, 2017. In that opinion, the House Congressional Democratic caucus (uniformly described as liberals) is castigated for negotiating for issues they favor because the White House needed their votes to pass the Continuing Resolution and keep the federal government from shutting down. Such negotiating was called obstructionism and indeed, caused the White House to drop a demand for funding to start building the “Wall” along our southern border. The opinion goes on to suggest that the White House was very clever in dropping its demand because it allegedly took away the Democrat’s negotiating leverage and somehow put them on the “defensive”. This is where the bias becomes ludicrous. The GOP, as every sentient being knows, is a majority in the House and Senate. If anybody is being obstructionist, it is segments of the GOP, especially in the House. If the White House could get its own party to agree with it, there would be no need for any Democratic votes, whatsoever. Because of GOP obstructionism, the congressional Democrats have negotiating leverage which they are using successfully to maintain funding for their favored issues, such as Planned Parenthood, Pell Grants, foreign aid — and denying funding for the Wall. This is so obvious to any interested reader, that the bias laid bare in the Opinion is not only ludicrous, it verges on the pathetic.

Greg Fraser,

Warren