Call me naive, superstitious, a religious nut, but I actually believe the God mentioned four times in the Declaration of Independence; the one inferred in the U.S. Constitution by the phrase, "in the year of our Lord," and the deity mentioned in the preamble of the Illinois State Constitution is indeed able to bless, and withhold blessing. So, when I read about the Illinois Republican Party; the party of Lincoln; the party of life and traditional values getting a little weak at the knees when it comes to standing against gay marriage and other Democratic party mainstays, well, I have to laugh. Go ahead, rubberize your backbone and sell your salable souls. You may get a few anemic votes, but you'll lose the foundation, and yes, I believe as you approve what the Almighty will not...you will push our already wayward state further into the column of unblessed.

Robert P. Edwards

Granite City