LETTER: Zinke has been disappointment to conservatives

Corey Stapleton was right. He stated during the Republican primary debate that conservatives would not be able to count on Ryan Zinke. I hope Stapleton runs again so we can replace Zinke with a true, reliable, and courageous conservative.

Montanans should remember the conservative vote in the primary was split between Rosendale and Stapleton. Despite commercials playing every 10 seconds and an abundance of money, Zinke won only by default. We were stuck holding our nose in the general election and voting for Zinke. Anything would be better than losing the House seat to a Democrat, right? Apparently not.

 Zinke has sought to keep the multitudes quiet by throwing a few beads and trinkets, but on all the important issues of the day Zinke went AWOL. Concerning Obamacare, illegal alien invasion, amnesty, out-of-control D.C. spending, and now the issues of baby chop-shops, sanctuary cities, and the importation of un-vetted immigrants from Syria, Zinke has looked the other way and adopted the tone-deaf habits of the inside-the-beltway crowd.

Now we are treated to Ryan Zinke reminding us endlessly that he was a Navy SEAL (Did you know that?) and saluting everything in sight. Old people love that, right? I could overlook these frailties if only his voting record reflected why we sent him to D.C. in the first place, but it does not. He’s as establishment as Boehner and Ryan, McConnell and McCain. In these tough, threatening, and monumental times, I expect more from our congressman. Instead, regarding the conservative principles essential to restoring the republic and saving this nation, we got stiffed by Zinke.

I hope Corey runs again. Though he had few if any yard signs, no billboards, and virtually no radio commercials, he almost beat the well-financed Zinke machine. Clearly, Corey would have been a far better congressman. —Tracy Sharp, Polson