To the editor:

“Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Democratic Party?” Will the Kansas Republican Party’s Loyalty Committee be asking this question? The party’s executive director, Christian Morgan, would seem to think so, stating, “If you can’t stomach a Republican in the election, then you can sit on your hands – you can’t go out there and support the opposition” (Journal-World, July 31). I know both parties want their members to stay on their side of the aisle, but should toeing the party line preclude voting one’s conscience? Should a few conservatives define what a Republican is and charge their own with treason if they don’t?

Any representative’s job requires them to take the old “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” approach. Getting a bill passed often requires doing something for someone in the other party in return. Is it Morgan’s intention to purge any and all Republicans who fraternize with the enemy?

This loyalty committee is no less than resurrected McCarthyism politics, another black eye to the GOP, and seems counterproductive. Quite frankly, the Republican Party can ill afford any more bruises, and now they plan on beating themselves up? Pop some popcorn, and enjoy the show folks. Ain’t politics fun?

Steve Craven,

Lawrence