To the editor:

Mike Hoeflich’s opinion column of Feb. 10 on the actions of House Speaker Mike O’Neal completely and totally misses the point.

When he claims that the actions of Speaker O’Neal who is, in effect, suing himself, are ethical, fair and impartial by legal ethics standards, Hoeflich is applying some arcane rule out of one of his tattered textbooks and, incidentally, the wrong one.

The whole point of this dispute is not the legal standard for attorneys, but the ethical standard of a legislator (attorney or not) suing his own Legislature because he doesn’t like one of its laws passed over his objection. This is like Nancy Pelosi suing the federal government every time the House of Representatives passes a law she doesn’t like.

There is a legislative remedy for Mr. O’Neal to correct any perceived mistakes, but he has to get the votes to do it. That’s the way the system works, Mr. Hoeflich. We don’t eat our own young and we don’t sue ourselves. Our state and federal governments are already paralyzed because of temporary attacks of insanity or unethical behavior by their members. We don’t need any more of the same.