I have to agree with many of the disappointments expressed by Mayor Nick Isgro (“What really makes America great,” March 3).

Civilized debate among those of different viewpoints was a standard of conservatives for generations. So too was moderation, where change takes place slowly to avoid chaotic and damaging shifts in society. Many still honor those standards.

Tragically, the term “conservative” has been hijacked by extremists to use as a mask hiding their radical, selfish agendas. It started when Newt Gingrich ushered in an era of unprecedented personal attacks, animosity and career destruction as a method of political maneuvering. Since then the Republican Party has become a platform for negative people spreading fear, anger, hatred and obstructionism, enabling libertarians and tea party enthusiasts to dominate the national Republican conversation promoting austerity, fallacies and outright deceptions.

For example, the health care industry, where profits determined every decision, used extortion (pay our price or suffer) to extract maximum wealth from our pocketbooks. Despite the fact that millions of Americans have benefitted from Obamacare and the majority support it, those that love austerity deceptively beat the drum of hatred for a black president and poor people, claiming, “Obama has hijacked our healthcare system.”

Isgro complains about “praise of totalitarian dictators, a refusal to disavow the KKK, retweeting white supremacy groups, disgusting and insulting slurs towards women, and a pledge to open libel laws to intimidate the press from reports that politicians don’t like, among other things.”

Of course having identified himself as a Republican, by not informing the readers that these “things” are all Republican behaviors, transfers these anti-democracy attributes to liberals and Democrats.

Decency in disagreement can make America great, but that requires honesty and willingness to compromise. Let us be a civilized society and reject the corporate, libertarian, and tea party drumbeat of austerity, austerity, austerity.

Brad Sherwood

Waterville