To the editor:

As a lifelong, registered Republican, I am appalled at the manner in which my party has been hijacked by the lunatic, right-wing fringe. At a time when the country desperately needs cooperation, reason and collegiality among our elected representatives, the Republican Party of today seems destructive, recriminatory and obstructive. In short, it appears petulant and totally self-involved in its own issues with power. The result is an apparent disregard for the needs of this country and those whom the elected representatives were elected to represent.

The clearest example of this is in Republican elected officials’ approach to the challenge of revamping health care. Instead of constructive criticism or positive offerings, Republicans have resorted to the last decade’s tactics of outright, deliberate lying and fear mongering. Shame on all of you!