Dear Governor:

As a fellow Californian, I ask you to endorse Senator Kerry for President.

I am deeply concerned by President Bush's betrayal of the Republican values of the party I grew up in. In 2000, millions of Republicans supported the man who claimed to be a "compassionate conservative." But Bush has proved himself to be a reactionary who has hijacked the GOP.

The so-called PATRIOT Act that he champions is ineffective in fighting terrorists, but it does attack our Constitutional rights. President Reagan would never have countenanced this.

Furthermore, Bush has insisted that Saddam Hussein was an ally of Al-Qaeda, although they were enemies; and I believe it is this deception that ultimately led to the torture of Iraqis mistakenly arrested and held at Abu Ghraib prison.

Bush has gutted environmental protection laws established during the Nixon and Ford administrations, and during the presidency of his father.

Finally, the Republican-majority Congress balanced the budget in the 1990's, but two years of Bush's policies created the largest deficits in history.

Governor, you have shown your willingness to make hard choices in order to balance the budget. Vice President Cheney, however, is on record stating that there is no need to do so.

Kerry is the most conservative politician the Democrats have nominated for the Presidency in half a century. He believes in many conservative values, such as limited government, reducing the deficit, civil liberties, and environmental protection.

I ask you to defend the Republican values you believe in, and to join other Republican leaders in choosing new leadership for the GOP that truly reflects the values of its members. In the meantime, I ask you to endorse Senator Kerry for President. He may be a Democrat, but I believe him to be the better choice.

Sincerely,
C. Colvin