I have never met Blaine Blackstone, but I appreciate his articles in The Sanders County Ledger. I know many conservatives that have not subscribed to the Ledger in the past because of the newspaper’s past liberal slant. It makes good “business sense” for the Ledger to now present articles, such as those from Mr. Blackstone, that offer a conservative viewpoint to the readers of the county.

Recent election results show that Sanders County votes “conservative” or “non-liberal.” In the 2018 general election, 63% of the Sanders County voters voted for the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, 66% for the Republican U.S. Representative candidate, 68% for the Republican Montana Supreme Court Clerk, and 72% for the Republican Montana House District 13 candidate. In 2016, 73% of the county voters voted for Donald Trump. It is wise for The Sanders County Ledger newspaper to provide conservative based editorials and articles to the county whose population base is largely conservative. To do otherwise would be like a Seattle newspaper ignoring the Mariners and the Seahawks.

A socialist tactic is often to ignore the message and instead to attack the messenger by name calling and attempts to discredit the messenger. Aircraft pilots during World War II had a saying: “if you’re not getting any flack, you’re not over the target.” Letters to the editor by a vocal minority in the county that attack Mr. Blackstone’s articles seem to indicate that he is over the target with his messages.

Paul C Fielder,

Thompson Falls