Nobility is relative

Responding to the June 23 “Fast and Furious” letter [“Not a noble action,” Northwest Voices], I contend that “noble” remains a relative concept.

Following President Obama’s election, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s primary concern was not promotion of the general welfare as the Constitution’s preamble specifies. His stated objective was to see that President Obama served only one term; this typifies noble Republicans and a critique of their general fitness to serve.

If you consider obviously orchestrated obstructionism intended to declare the president as ineffective as a “noble” Republican tactic, you should also consider the public insults and continuous Republican efforts to delegitimize this presidency as “noble.”

These hearings represent a continuation of that “noble” effort. Consider Darrell Issa seeking all information without actually investigating the originators in President George Bush’s administration. This contempt citation against Obama’s attorney general for not producing documents that would be illegal to expose, further confirms the Mitch McConnell/Darrell Issa sham.

They are counting on entrenched ideologues, the misinformed, and basically ignorant and racist individuals to support the fraud. We the people of the United States deserve something better than deceit. President Obama’s evocation of executive privilege is honorable in support of his administration. I hold this above and beyond the contrived “nobility” of his Republican adversaries.

— Alfred J. Vann, Seattle

Robinson’s omissions

Eugene Robinson’s column [“GOP’s fast, furious witch hunt is partisan politics at its worst,” Opinion, June 23] may be compelling to the reader who isn’t well versed on the whole “Fast and Furious” matter. However, had Robinson included all the facts his case may not have been quite so compelling — I believe it is deceitful to state that the Bush administration did the same thing with the arms as was done under the Obama administration.

He accidentally forgot to mention that under the Bush administration: one, the arms had electronic sensors for tracking the guns; two, it was done with the cooperation of the Mexican government; and three, hundreds of arrests were made as a result of this program. (The sensors were eventually found out.)

It is deceitful to discuss this matter while leaving out crucial information that favors “the other side’s position.”

— Steve Miller, Mount Vernon

Contemptible Congress

As House Republicans prepare to vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, I have one question: Where can I vote to hold House Republicans in contempt of “We the People”?

These are the same Republicans who ran on “jobs, jobs, jobs” in 2010, yet have spent their time so far in the majority proposing and voting for 46 bills on abortion, 113 bills on religion, 73 bills on marriage, 72 bills on firearms, 604 bills on taxation, 467 bills on government investigation, and continue to vote against the transportation bill to upgrade deficient highways, tunnels and bridges, which would provide actual jobs — now!

Contempt, thy name is Republican.

— Paula Joneli, Des Moines