Letter: GOP hopefuls good at lies, but not ideas

I knew the recent debate would not make me vote Republican, but I watched out of curiosity. I hoped candidates would talk about their plans for the country, but I didn't see that. They were completing on who is most like Reagan. No one.

Reagan signed the law giving my friends legal residency and a path to U.S. citizenship. These debaters wouldn't do that.

Then came the lies. Donald Trump said that childhood immunizations could cause autism. Absurd.

Carly Fiorina said that Democrats don't really want to help the undocumented workers; they just want to have an immigration problem to discuss. Equally absurd.

Another said undocumented workers don't pay taxes. Also, not true.

So what else? Each tried to prove he or she is far to the right on hot issues. They said they were against same-sex marriage, and that they didn't approve of a woman and her doctor deciding on whether to have an abortion. Some even said no one should speak a second language.

So where was help for their Republican base?

A Republican candidate might approve of families torn apart with deportation or a raped young girl forced to carry the baby, but plans to help the lives of Republican voters? I didn't see any. Did you?

Fran B. Reed

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Letter: GOP hopefuls good at lies, but not ideas."