I am not a member of the Republican Party, but I would like to thank the Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives who recently refused to vote to raise taxes on the American people.

They refused, because they know that the real issue behind our government's fiscal problems is not a lack of revenue. The people are over-taxed already. The real issue is that unbridled spending has become an accepted practice in Washington.

Somewhere and at sometime, our federal government got the idea that it is an acceptable practice to spend more money than it has. It became an acceptable practice to borrow more than forty cents of every dollar it spends. This insanity is what has caused the impending financial crisis, and what will destroy the republic if it is not stopped very soon.

The representatives who refused to vote to raise taxes, were refusing to perpetuate a completely dysfunctional system of taxing and spending. They should be commended for their stance. It is sad that many media outlets have portrayed them as "obstructionists" because they refused to compromise with insanity. As one of their ranks has observed, "We were not elected to raise taxes. We were elected to cut spending."

Lawrence McSwain
Rehoboth Beach