Letter: Newman represents 'Tea Party of the Left'

To the editor:

I was so shocked by many of the things...candidate Marie Newman said during [the Feb. 21 3rd Congressional District candidate forum with U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Western Springs,] that I had to listen to a recording of the event to confirm...she actually said them. And there it was – her glib retort to Lipinski’s explanation of his support for laws protecting religious freedom: We already have that written in our constitution.

So, in her view, Congress need not act to protect that freedom for everyone.

Sound familiar? It’s the...argument used by opponents to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, who argued that with the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, we did not need...legislation protecting civil rights. At best, Newman is woefully ignorant of the role of Congress in protecting and advancing civil rights and liberties. At worst, she simply does not care about them. Newman does indeed represent the “Tea Party of the Left”...

Thomas A. Smith

Western Springs