Dear Editor,
While I appreciate efforts toward partisan equity in The Eagle's opinions section, I am nonetheless inclined to wonder if the selection of columnists is conducive to true intellectual inquiry.
Conservative columnist Caleb Enerson presents metered but uncompromising support for the Republican Party in his column, "On the Right." He writes on issues of morality and security, espousing a variety of mainstream Republican narratives - distrust for the Hollywood liberal establishment (Sept. 25, 2006), calls for personal moral responsibility (Oct. 23, 2006) and for increased security in response to the events of September 11 (Sept. 11, 2006).
The comparatively "liberal" columnist, Jong Eun Lee, aligns himself - in the title of his column, no less - with the "Blue Dog" coalition, a bloc of the most fiscally and socially conservative Democrats in Congress. The coalition, which often votes to the contrary of core party values, counts the recently elected Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) among its ranks. Shuler is a Southern Democrat whose views, the Associated Press notes, "would make him a Republican in most other parts of the country."
While Enerson and Lee are doubtlessly talented columnists, it seems disingenuous to create the appearance of balance while selecting authors who, according to their affiliations, represent only half of the ideological spectrum.
Jeff Behrens SOC, Class of 2005
