Disheartened by Herald endorsement

I am deeply disheartened by the Daily Herald's endorsement of Representative Randy Hultgren. Representative Hultgren has continuously showed that he values politics over policy. He voted repeatedly to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, knowing full-well that the Democratic Senate would never allow such a vote to even come up.

And need I remind anyone of his "No" vote on the 2013 Continuing Resolution? If Mr. Hultgren is more concerned with his job than with the fiscal crisis our country is already dealing with, then on these reasons alone I do not think he is qualified to represent us.

But the list goes on. At the time of this letter, Mr. Hultgren has yet to endorse the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, a bill that would require officials to inspect horse shows or sales for extreme abuse and cruelty. As of now, the bill has 304 co-sponsors. In addition, he opposes marriage equality; why anyone would want to prevent two adults from pursing a stable, monogamous relationship is beyond me. Besides the fact that many homosexual couples adopt children without permanent families, of whom there are almost 400,000 of in this country alone, marriage equality also has the support of 55 percent of Americans in a May 21, 2014 Gallup poll.

Please reconsider your endorsement of Mr. Hultgren. As you stated yourself, Dennis Anderson, who is also running in the 14th District, is a viable candidate who could potentially help bridge the massive ideological divide in Congress. As a moderately fiscal conservative, I support Dennis Anderson for his pragmatism and willingness to listen to other perspectives. Let's worry about policy, and forget about politics.

Nicholas Brown

Hampshire