Letter to the Editor: Disappointed in Walden

Oregon has been a state often led by principled Republicans who worked across the aisle in order to follow the constitution by promoting the general welfare.

It looks like our region of the state is now represented by an agent of the Tea Party, Congressman Greg Walden. We are profoundly disappointed.

Not only did Representative Walden vote to shut down our government in the ongoing fight to deny affordable health care to all citizens, but he also voted for serious cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that benefits approximately 47 million Americans.

These acts have the largest impact on the most vulnerable in our society. One tool to measure poverty is by students who receive free or reduced lunches. Based on numbers from the spring testing cycle, available at schools.oregonlive.com, these are the percentages of free or reduced lunches here in The Dalles:

Chenowith Elementary = 87.6 percent; Colonel Wright Elementary = 72.6 percent; and Dry Hollow Elementary = 62.7 percent.

It is long past time for our congressman to think and act independently of the current intransigence that has consumed the Republican-led House of Representatives. We urge Representative Walden to remember his constituents and return to representing the people his 2nd congressional district, not a radical fringe group.

Marolyn Wilks and

Bruce Lumper

The Dalles