The letter written by John Wagenknecht on April 2, titled "Where's my Republican pal?" caused a few members of the Republican Party to become a little defensive. I think I understand why. They're not sure what their party stands for these days. They believe they are "pro-life," but most are pro-death penalty and pro-war. They also believe they are patriots, yet want to change our Constitution to limit our civil rights.

The last one wrote, "Mr. Democrat, you might wonder where your Republican buddies have gone. We are still here, freedom-loving, patriotic Americans." Whose freedom is he talking about? When a person is attacked by our president and other government officials for trying to make the best decision for him and his spouse, such as Michael Schiavo, is that freedom? When a woman's right to choose is threatened every day by our president and his party, is that freedom? When the president wants to amend the Constitution to deny two people of the same sex who love each other the right to create a family environment for themselves, is that freedom? The writer also said, "We believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Our Constitution has never been so violated.

Where do I start? Separation of church and state, or the part about all Americans being created equal? In that regard he writes, "Yes, most of us believe in the Lord God Almighty just as the founders of our country did." Their party continues to spin this as higher morality and the party that's closer to the, "Lord God Almighty." I don't find morality in an administration that would mislead American citizens and invade a country where so many innocent people -- and sadly, so many children -- were killed, all for self-interest.

The fact is, they don't believe in the United States Constitution, and they are not American patriots. The Democratic Party does and always has fought to protect the constitutional rights and freedoms for all, right here at home. True American patriots?

I guess my favorite statement was, "We believe in majority rule, after all, isn't that the foundation of democracy?" Well, we all know that's not true or Al Gore would be President. Forget about Florida, if majority ruled, Al Gore won by over 300,000 votes.

Thanks to John Wagenknecht for his letter. He's not alone in his quest to find his "Republican pal."

(Mancuso is President of the Democrats of Napa Valley Club.)