No, voters were paying attention

In Thursday's Daily Herald, Jim Slusher expressed his concern that the "Blue Wave" took with it so-called moderate Republicans down ballot. He attributes this to "inattentiveness in voters." Not hardly, Mr. Slusher. We have been paying very close attention, and what we've seen is a party that has spent the last 10 years cowering in submission to a would-be dictator.

How many of these defeated candidates stood up and denounced the actions of a president who sent goon squads into DuPage County to grab hardworking people out of our yards and off our rooftops, separating families and leaving children in fear? How many showed up at candidate forums and denounced a senseless war and the testosterone-fueled leadership that has resulted in higher prices for every resident of this county? Which of them admitted their party has gone off the rails and promised to fight to bring it back in line with true American values?

Clerk candidate Patricia Kladis-Schiappa is quoted as saying candidates were overlooked "simply because we had an 'R' next to our name." Well, she and other candidates chose to wear that "R." If she really disagreed with the actions of her party, she had options. She could have stood up and expressed that opposition loudly and clearly. If switching parties was too painful for her, she could have run as an independent.

To be silent is to be complicit. What voters have told her is that she cannot escape responsibility for the obscenities committed by her party. So she'd best get to work to turn it around if she doesn't want that scarlet "R" hanging around her neck and dragging her down in the future. We're watching.

Patricia Motto, Elmhurst