George,

Mis-labeling Meredith Richards' suggestion for a referendum on the parkway as a binding referendum does no one a service. She never said binding. She never said let the people decide. She said let's hear what they think. Why be afraid of this?

Sound party leadership means the right time to know how people feel about a hot button issue is ASAP, not two hours after the polls close in May. Or have we grown so used to inept GOP campaigns we can imagine no other kind. There is another kind. The GOP can run candidates who turn May's election day into a one-issue referendum. And that referendum would be binding. Those who fear a well-financed referendum have more to fear than they realize.

We know Republicans have nothing to lose doing that. What we don't know is if they have seats to gain by it. We have no idea how many people are fed up with our party's perpetual paternal parkway obstruction and want it to end.

A decision on the parkway will one day be made, and it damn well better be made by Democrats. That's all Meredith is trying to achieve.

Rey Barry (electronic mail, February 6, 2004)