GOP’s theme exploits soldiers

If an organization charged admission to a celebration whose theme was to honor the Girl Scouts, and the proceeds were donated to the Girl Scouts, that would be honorable. If instead, the organization kept the profits, that would be exploitation.

So it is with the president’s inaugural celebration whose theme will be to honor our military. The Republicans plan to raise more than $40 million from this bash to keep for their own political purposes. Their “tribute to the military” theme is just a way to wrap themselves in the red, white and blue to avoid criticism and to help their fund-raising. That’s exploitation.

If the Republicans think it’s right that the champagne flows in Washington while our soldiers’ blood flows in Iraq, something is wrong with their “moral values.” If they really want to honor the troops rather than exploit them, they should give their profits to charitable organizations that support the military.

David Storm

Everett