To the editor:

Now that Republicans have declared war on the middle class and brazenly thrown their support to the top 3 percent, they need something to convince the people who actually work for a living to vote for them. It turns out their most effective weapon is weapons.

Fear! What would conservative Republicans do if they could not inflict fear into the hearts of their followers? The National Rifle Association spends billions lobbying and promoting guns and convincing gullible people that Democrats are going to confiscate their guns. I do not know one politician who wants to restrict hunting or reasonable home safety fire arms. However I do know a few courageous political leaders who say we must get assault weapons off the streets and not allow their sale at gun shows. The truly courageous even go so far as to proclaim that concealed weapons should not be allowed on college campuses and in bars.

U.S. gun manufacturers, with the support of their NRA allies, are the biggest supplier of weapons to terrorists and drug cartels throughout the world. These are the same weapons killing and maiming our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the enforcement professionals attempting to control the drug traffickers. Aiding and abetting the enemy is an act of treason. This illegal practice will continue as long as our Congress does not have the guts to stand up to the NRA.

And while all of us get diverted by these fear tactics, the conservatives continue to destroy the middle class and pander to the rich.