I would like to respond to the letter submitted by a number of University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty and students ("Santorum over Ayers", Feb. 15) regarding their dismay that the Lancaster County Republican Party did not support William Ayers’ right to speak at the UNL campus last fall, yet invited former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum to honor Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan Tuesday at the annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner.

The authors of the letter may be surprised to know that I, and most conservative Nebraskans, place a high value on academic freedom and the right to freely express views, regardless of political philosophy. What they appear to have overlooked is one fundamental difference between Santorum and Ayers, two men who hold views with which their political opponents strongly disagree.

Both are men who tried to make a difference. One ran for office, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. The other, an unrepentant terrorist, used bombs. It was not so much Ayers’ words that caused Nebraskans to protest his appearance. It was his deeds. That the faculty and students who are critical of the Lancaster County Republican Party for not supporting Ayers fail to recognize that is telling.

Dallas D. Jones, chairman, Lancaster County Republican Party
 

From the Lincoln Journal Star: http://journalstar.com/articles/2009/02/20/opinion/letters/doc499dec67b6785045836839.txt