As a conservative Republican, I would have to agree with most of what Andrew Goetz had to say in his column "Republican Party members take power to new extremes".

The problem with the column was that it was somewhat incomplete. Goetz cites President Clinton's impeachment as the most obvious abuse of power by Republicans and invokes the famed "high crimes and misdemeanors" line to prove his point. I would agree that lying under oath wouldn't qualify and that Clinton should have been found not guilty, as he was.

Although the situation in California is a circus, it is the law. If Gov. Gray Davis hadn't lied about the deficit during the campaign to win re-election, then maybe Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, wouldn't have financed a recall effort.

There are just as many examples of the Democrats using parliamentary procedure to gain advantages as well. All of this is a result of a two-party political system that has gone awry.

No longer is either party interested in their stated causes, they are only interested in power at the expense of meaningful debate.

I have no problem saying, as a staunch conservative, that the GOP is wrong on some issues, but so are the Democrats. In this power-grab, two-party system we are governed by, meaningful, respectful and productive debate falls victim to 15-second cable news sound bytes. Why? Because losing one of those debates would spell doom to a party or candidate for years to come. Don't believe me? Ask Gore.

Anthony Shamoun
former MSU student