To the editor: 

Reading Sean Kuhn’s article about the Sullivan County Conservative Party’s recent dinner (“Conservatives Pay Tribute to Ed Magilton, Tuesday, February 24) moved me to respond, though I was not at the dinner, nor am I a member of the Conservative Party.

The comments about the passing of Ed Magilton aside, the tone of the article was quite odd, to say the least. But in his curious choice to quote two Democrats about the nature of the Conservative Party rather than a member of the party itself, Mr. Kuhn inadvertently illustrated the most daunting challenge facing new Party Chair Bill Chellis: For decades now, the Sullivan County Conservative Party has stood for very little other than serving as "a second line" for candidates to appear, usually without regard to political philosophy or vision of governance. Even on a State level, the CP has been mostly preoccupied with blaming others for the nation’s problems rather than with educating the populace about what it really means to be a conservative (small c).

Knowing Bill Chellis as I do, I believe this is a challenge he will embrace and one that he is more than adequately equipped to handle. Hopefully, he will seize this opportunity to establish a platform so people know what principles guide the party and then help them understand why those principles are important to the survival of the country.

Absent that, the Conservative Party will never amount to more than “a second line.”

John Conway

Barryville, NY