Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

Does the Manteca Bulletin see itself as the official voice of the Tea Party and other conservative political organizations in the area?

On Tuesday, (Sept. 6), you printed a notice on the front page in the “In a Nutshell” column about the Tea Party meeting at Chez Shari. This wasn’t the first time that that column was used to promote a meeting of the Tea Party.

On Thursday, you printed Jason Campbell’s article, on the front page, about Frank Aquila’s “predictions” concerning Sarah Palin’s candidacy, and pushed his book once again.  The same article contained the “fast facts” announcing the meeting of the Tea Party in case someone missed that information on Tuesday.

On Friday, you printed, on the front page, another article by Jason Campbell about the Tea Party meeting that the Bulletin had been promoting for several weeks.

Several weeks ago, I was disturbed by Jason Campbell’s article about a couple of extremist nuts from San Francisco who had come to Manteca, and set up a portable booth with a large picture of President Obama, showing him with a Hitler mustache.  As I read the article, I failed to see the news-worthiness of this event, since those persons who hate Obama have long presented him in white face or with a Hitler mustache, or both.  I consider these portrayals of the President as basically racist in nature, since both Presidents Bush and Clinton were disliked by many, but neither was portrayed by their detractors in this manner.

I was disturbed that the Bulletin and Jason Campbell felt that these persons and their not uncommon political views deserved such extensive coverage.  I certainly don’t agree with everything that the President does, but I think that portraying him, or any other President of the United States, so disrespectfully is wrong.  I suppose it is their right to do so, but I don’t understand why the Bulletin needed to give those persons the attention and “legitimacy” that they sought, and traveled all the way from San Francisco for.

I do, however, have a problem with Jason Campbell writing, and the Manteca Bulletin publishing, book reviews and press releases for these political organizations, and promoting their meetings, when it isn’t done for any other political groups.

Stephen Breacain
Manteca
Sept. 10, 2011