As one of the organizers and the MC of the Legislators’ Town Hall, I want to thank Brandon Cline for attending and writing his article last week. Peninsula Patriots, the local chapter of the John Birch Society, believes that Americans are entitled to meet their representatives and ask them questions. Allow me to address some of the concerns brought up in Brandon’s article.

First, the John Birch Society was not against civil rights laws. Quite the opposite. They were against bussing little kids, whether Black or White, miles from their homes to attend a school full of strangers. I believe history has proven JBS’s position to be the humane one. We are having a similar problem on our peninsula with little kids being bussed far away, when there is a grade school a block or two from their homes.

Second, the United States of America is a constitutional republic, not a pure democracy. If we were a pure democracy, a statistical majority of voters could, and probably would, wipe out the Bill of Rights for the minority. That is mob rule, and the statistical minority would forever live in fear of losing their property, their liberties, and so forth at the whim of the majority.

After the end of each legislative session, the John Birch Society produces scorecards for federal and state legislators nationwide. The score each elected representative receives compares his voting record to the U.S. Constitution. For example, if he or she votes “yes” on an unconstitutional bill, his score goes down. If he votes “no,” his score goes up. Very simple.

The scores for the 2024 session have not yet been calculated. For the 2023 session in Olympia, Sen. Jeff Wilson voted in favor of the constitution 60% of the time. Rep. Jim Walsh and Rep. Joel McEntire each voted constitutionally 83% of the time. The scoring is nonpartisan; however, Democrats’ overall scores are lower than Republicans’ when their voting patterns are compared to the Constitution.

I asked a question about House Bill 1889 which Gov. Jay Inslee signed in March. I write for Substack and have researched and written articles about this new law because it deeply troubles me. It puts Americans and legal resident immigrants in the workplace below illegal aliens. Employers will choose the latter because they won’t have to pay their half of Social Security taxes and employees residing illegally in Washington will not be paying SS taxes, either. This sets a troubling pattern that, should other states adopt it, will be the death knell for Social Security, which is already in trouble. At the same time, it promotes lawbreaking.

DIANE L. GRUBER

Oysterville