This progressive would like to congratulate Sen. Kelly Ayotte. All New Hampshire citizens (progressive, liberal and conservative) should be proud and gratified that we have Sen. Ayotte as one of our representative in Washington because of her recent Senate vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Whatever her political motivations were to “buck” the Republican cowards in the Senate, this is evidence of her determination to bridge this insidious and venomous national political atmosphere, engendered and perpetuated by the “tea party” extremists in her own party.

Her courage and tenacity to not give in to their unyielding, scorched-earth positions is a welcomed change. I say this as an unapologetic progressive, diametrically opposed to most, but not all, of mainstream Republican Party policy.

It is this brand of Republican Party that I hope will prevail in the fight for the heart of the party. The party of Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower was a party of restraint, caring and civility; not full of vilifying denigration of the less fortunate. Let’s hope the Republicans will look back (as those in the tea party are always urging) to this more gentle, caring Republican Party that believed the federal government was a force of benefit to the middle class and the less fortunate in our society.

Joseph Distefano

Nashua

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