Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I have been a Republican for more than 50 years. I have obviously lived under both Democratic and Republican administrations during that time. In fact, in my 28 years in the military, I served under Democratic and Republican presidents and swore to obey their orders. It mattered not what the president’s political affiliation was, he was the president, whose orders I swore to obey. I didn’t take that oath with any caveats that I would obey the orders only if I liked him or his politics. He was the president, period.

I am proud of this country and proud to be an American. No matter which party is in the majority in the Congress, their interest should be in doing what is right for all of the American people. That seemed to be the norm until 2000, when the Bush Administration took office. During that eight years, party interest took on more influence; however, some bipartisanship was still evident. After 2010, partisanship began to play a larger role ...