Sometimes it's OK to let the other side get a win

Recent congressional votes indicate how far to the extreme our Idaho Republican representatives have veered from traditional Republican values. What happened to the Republican Party religiously supporting our troops, our businesses, and U.S. dominance?

Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo and Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher voted against healthcare for veterans.

Simply, they didn’t want to vote yes if the bill required the VA to treat vets forever for cancers caused by their service duties, they wanted to make it a one-time expenditure. Ask our Vietnam veterans, exposure to toxins lasts a lifetime. Support of our armed forces must extend beyond the defense budget, we need to ensure our service men and women are taken care of.

All four of our U.S. congressmen also voted against a bill to support one of Idaho's largest employers, Micron, and bringing home chip manufacturing jobs from overseas. The state had earmarked additional funds for Micron tied to the passage of the CHIPS Act (which did pass), but our congressmen voted nay, citing an additional $200 billion of spending unrelated to chipmaking. But, that $200B is for scientific and tech research so we can compete with China. We must support homegrown research and manufacturing, the alternative is a growing dependance on China.

Voting against Biden has become more important that voting for Idahoans and it’s our fault for being more loyal to R and D than to ourselves and our neighbors. Sometimes it’s OK to let the other side get a win if it’s good for Idahoans.

BARBARA SCRIBER

Sandpoint