Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I recently sent a letter to the editor expressing my dismay with the Tea Party for not standing up to the wingnuts (great term) who have been shown carrying racist signs at several (never said all) Tea Party rallies. I would like to thank the two ladies who invited me to attend a local meeting to see first-hand what goes on and chastised me for my opinions. I sincerely wish they had gotten my point.

Yes, I, like many millions of voters, get my news from "mainstream media outlets" such as CNN, Fox and the big three networks, in addition to online news and print. I do shy away from radio entertainers (his description) such as Limbaugh. I know and understand the political leanings of most outlets, so I focus on what politicians do or do not say, finding this less slanted and more illuminating than any political newsletter. Pundits and panels are seldom if ever fair or balanced, just opinionated. This I proudly admit, I get informed like most independent thinking people probably do.

As for my political leanings, I am amazed that one of you determined me a Leftist (I’m sure you meant left-wing Democrat, not leftist as in Communist) from that letter, since smearing people who disagree with you is bad, right? I prefer to be called a moderate, which allows me to support what I agree with rather than a polarizing party as evidenced by my earlier letter supporting Arizona’s law. Lastly, I did not label the Tea Party as racists, bigots or haters. What I did say and stand by is if you allow behavior such as what did happen (was not a big left-wing conspiracy) to happen without remark, you lend silent support. In life as in politics, you are part of the problem or part of the solution. Doing nothing is part of the problem. Thanks again for the invite, but I don’t play well with others.

S. J. Mehaffey

Gloucester, Va.