Last October, conservative pundit David Brooks deplored the anti-intellectual tone that had come to dominate the Republican Party's rhetoric. Last week conservatives expressed outrage at President Obama's introduction of Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a person who would bring "empathy" to the court.

As Republicans ponder the multitude of reasons for their declining base of support, they might want to assess the strong positions their party has taken in the past year against both thought and feeling. What a powerful platform on which to run in 2012! What a bold new definition of freedom!

If you prefer your candidates to be as vacant as the foreclosed homes dotting the American landscape, if you want candidates free from all the complications that afflict thinking, feeling human beings, vote Republican!

JONATHAN BALDO, ROCHESTER