During the last election, the Democrats ran on a non-substance agenda with a slogan of a “New Direction.”

What is this new direction Already Congressman Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, has removed all the efforts by former Congressman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, for a new valley-Bay Area highway to relieve traffic congestion in the Central Valley. Instead, we will continue to have traffic congestion with no “new direction.”

The new Democratic-controlled Congress has spent weeks debating a “nonbinding resolution” on the Iraq war. What is a nonbinding resolution It is a commentary to make the Democrats look good on paper without doing anything. We do not elect our representatives for commentary. We elect them to make decisions.

If the Democrats are so opposed to the war, why don’t they use their power to defund the war The reason is they want to be on both sides of every issue and break to whatever direction the political wind is blowing. The Democrats voted for the authorization of war in Iraq in 2002, but act like they have been against it all along.

No one likes war, but the terrorist network of al-Qaida is not going to leave us alone by us being nice to it. We need to support our troops as the best in the world, allowing them to complete their mission. The terrorists want to destroy America, and leaving Iraq would only empower the terrorists to feel they achieved victory and America is weak. It would only be a matter of time before they would coordinate and plan their next attack on America.

Real leadership makes a decision on what is best for the country, not for its political interest. The Republican Party recognizes the danger these terrorist networks are to America and is working to protect America without a slogan of a “New Direction,” which has been nothing but a bunch of hot air.

America has always been a nation of strength. The Democrats have shown themselves as a party of weakness.

Frank Aquila is a Manteca resident and president of the South San Joaquin Republicans. His e-mail is mantecarepublicans@yahoo.com.