Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Now fear this: The chair's too big for the chair's feet to touch the ground.

What follows is a series of emails sent to party acolytes from Floyd County GOP Chairman Dave Matthews concerning opinion pieces published by the News and Tribune. A link to each piece is provided below his commentary on them. I wonder what must have happened to him earlier in life to lead to such grievous insecurities.

My fellow Republicans,
Please forgive me if I am about to do something that might annoy you. But, I am becoming so concerned about the blatant, ultra-liberal bias of our local paper that I am about ready to call us to action. I am going to send you three separate "opinion" columns that they have printed just recently. Please feel free to just delete each of these emails if it does not interest you. However, I wanted you to be aware of what is being printed in our local, predominantly conservative part of the State to maybe alarm you as well. It would not be inappropriate for you to send the editor, Shea Van Hoy, an email at his address: Shea.Vanhoy@newsandtribune.com. I am not necessarily encouraging anyone to terminate their subscription, although as little as ten cancellations would sound a very loud message.

I do not subscribe myself, so I would not feel right telling anyone what they should do about their subscriptions. I do watch this section of the Tribune every day on the internet and, as I have previously said, I am alarmed at so obvious an attempt to force a view that is so far left. The Courier Journal is already a lost cause....everyone knows that. I hate to see the Tribune go down the same path. Shea is the new editor, taking the place of Steve Kozarovich. At least Steve made attempts to try to achieve some sense of balance. It appears that may be all but totally gone now.

So, if you feel led, take a look at this email and the following two. They demonstrate views that should outrage us as conservatives. If you prefer not too, I won't be offended....just delete those emails. Hey, you can even email me back if you disagree with my point of view....I'm open to others' opinions. However, if you share my opinion about these, please consider what you might want to do to have your voice heard and to help our local press realize that they in no way represent the majority of readers in our community. I will also list the web site address where you can find the articles. If you go there, note the comments submitted by readers. Some of them will surprise you, several will make you mad and a few you will applaud. Maybe add a comment of your own. Thanks for considering this.....we want to help you keep informed and realize that the battle is right here in Floyd County....not just in Washington D.C.

God bless, Dave Matthews
Chairman, Floyd County Republican Party

HARBESON: The honor in war
........................


The second set of articles (yes, there are two of them) establish the agenda. As a society, it is not enough that the homosexual lifestyle is legislatively accepted. Now, the demand is that all in society must accept this type of lifestyle as just as normal and moral as the heterosexual lifestyle. A Biblical understanding of what God says about this particular immorality is not only criticized but is also called hateful, demeaning and socially unacceptable. Our beliefs and values are under attack.

These articles are perfect examples to look at on the website and see the long list of back and forth comments from the readers. I strongly encourage you to join in and make your opinions known. The "Left" is certainly screaming their opinions from the rooftops.

Dave

GESENHUES: Being gay isn’t wrong
NASH: Tolerance and understanding is common sense
........................


Third and final article from the Tribune. These two are actually letters to the editor. I hesitate to even add this to the list, primarily because it was directed at me. I also hesitated because Steve Fetter tends to come across as obtuse and hard to understand. After all, who would possibly use the fact that children might be unwanted as justification to support abortion. But here it is anyway.

I also add my response as a demonstration of how you can also send a letter to the editor (Shea.Vanhoy@newsandtribune.com) to get your opinion heard. I have often told people that we have more conservatives in this part of the country and State than liberals. The only problem is that the liberals are the ones screaming loudly, demanding that we agree with their philosophy and being published. The stakes are too high for us to stay silent. Let your voice be heard. Make sure the Tribune and Floyd County know that we care about moral, conservative views on these issues.

Thanks for considering this,
Dave Matthews
Chairman, Floyd County Republican Party

FETTER: Remember the unwanted children (letter to editor)
MATTHEWS: Party head responds to abortion letter (letter to editor)

6 comments:

Iamhoosier said...

I've yet to see any coherent argument against gay marriage other than it is considered a sin by some religions. Okay, I get that. I tolerate your right to believe that. What I don't tolerate is using government to enforce your religious belief. How would allowing gays to legally marry and to have the same rights and responsibilities as other couples, harm you?

John Manzo said...

It's fascinating to read this. The catch phrase, 'homosexual lifestyle,' is used in reference to the belief that sexual orientation is a choice as opposed to an orientation. It's sort of like saying the N-word and declaring you are not a racist.

The New Albanian said...

Incredible. Not Matthews, but the flock of sheep paying attention to him, while thinking they think.

Kate Caufield said...

The part that's killing me here is in the first few sentences..."The OPINION" section. Huh? The N&T certainly isn't posting it in the fact, or even news sections...so what's the problem? I'm about ready to subscribe, and tell them exactly WHY I'd do such a thing.

Shea Van Hoy said...

Thanks all,

The thing is, I run all letters to the editor, unless they are libelous or in bad taste. We also don't run "bad customer service" letters or get involved in things like child custody disputes on the Opinions page.
Other than that, it's exactly as stated — the Opinions page. I don't particularly care what a writer's opinion is. I just want to fill the page with local folks. We've published or will publish responses to the columns and letters listed, including those by Matthews himself.
There are plenty of letters and columns we publish I or my co-workers don't agree with — hence the disclaimer at the top of the page. And to think that everyone at the paper has the same collective opinion — or even just the folks in the newsroom — is false.

Thanks for reading, Shea.

G Coyle said...

Mr Matthews, Jesus Christ did not write "letters to the Editor" of "news"papers, so you shouldn't either.